The annual festival of classical music and dance held in Chennai has come to be known as the ‘December Season’, with exquisite renditions arranged from December through to January. It is the Tamil month of ‘margazhi’, devotion, the basis of South Indian classical music, bhakthi.

Anticipating the customary fog would play havoc with the flight schedules this winter we cleverly booked our travel to Chennai by the Tamil Nadu Express of the fourth of January to discover that we did not fare any better. The train took a beating soon after Delhi - woke up to a chilly morning at Gwalior, six hours late and reached Chennai on the sixth at 1.30 pm.

An invitation to accompany friends on a tour of Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh found us booking ourselves on the Intercity Express to Indore this January 20, 2009.

The cemented path to the temple has been laid through rhododendron forests and after about 300 metres of a sunny afternoon climb we rested at a tea stall to garrulously gulp fresh rhododendron juice.

Responding to the advertisement seeking doctors for the 28th Scientific Expedition to Antarctica I found myself flying through menacing cumulonimbus to land safely in rain swept Dabholim Airport, Vasco da Gama, Goa for an interview at NCAOR.

Bedni Bugyal is one of the larger meadows in Uttarakhand and is also a way station on the Nanda Raj Jatra, a ritual procession held every twelve years. Further ahead is the snow bound trail to Roop Kund.

Also known as the French Rivera of the east, Puducherry, sports pretty homes with long compounds and stately walls. Even the road that leads to it offers spectacular visions of ancient to modern India.

Lake Renukaji, considered embodiment of Goddess Renuka, mother of fearsome sage Parshuram and Sangra, a lonely village, with delightful fields of snow was worth the effort.

Day excursion to Masroor in Himachal Pradesh happened to be one of the highlights of our summer vacation at Mcleodganj. The temple standing magnificently on a hill crescent is a unique example of monolithic temples in the sub Himalayan region. ...

Valley of Flowers had been eluding us for many years, owing primarily to the best time recommended for visit, which is July 15 to August 15 - just when school/college terms have begun.