Usha's Odyssey

We were in Jabalpur for a Cardiology meeting. We stayed with a family who knew my husband. It is generally accepted that the game of snooker originated in Jabalpur. The game of snooker was invented in 1875 at the Officers' Mess in the Nerbudda Club in Jubbulpore (now Jabalpur), India. The game was conceived by Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain, a British Army officer. While stationed in Jabalpur, he began experimenting with a popular cue game called "black pool" by adding colo

Some years ago, we decided to go on a temple tour starting from Chennai. As we travelled along the coast, the journey itself became part of the experience. The humid sea air accompanied us throughout the drive, while coconut groves swayed gently beside the road. Across the flat landscape, huge temple towers would suddenly rise into view, their silhouettes visible from far away. We passed salt pans shimmering in the sunlight, quiet beaches touched by the waves of the Bay of Be

My association with Narmada river goes a long way back - when I heard from my parents that after his marriage his father ( My Grandfather ) took them for a holiday for their wedding along the Narmada river along Satpura hills till they reached some water falls. I am very surprised to hear this as they were teenagers when they got married. The Narmada River is very special geologically. The Narmada flows through what is called the Narmada Rift Valley , a long depression in

There are several caves all over India. Scattered in many places. But the foremost that comes to my mind are Ajanta & Ellora caves. Popularly these caves are considered to be made in Memory of Gautam Buddha. Another Buddhist cave that is popular and easy to access is Karla Caves. Just across the railway tracks near Karla caves there are a few more small caves. My first visit to the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves was with my father and the whole family. At that time, I did not

When we reached Jaisalmer, we checked into a hotel and rested after the journey. The next morning, we set out to wander through the old city. As we walked through its narrow lanes, we came across the marvellously carved havelis—each one more intricate than the last. The delicate stonework, almost lace-like, seemed impossible to achieve by hand, yet there it was, glowing golden in the desert sunlight. While exploring, we struck up a conversation with a local artisan. He told u

Shekhawati is not just a region—it feels like an open-air gallery. The towns like Mandawa and Nawalgarh are filled with old havelis, their walls painted with stories—mythology, British-era influences, daily life. Even if one doesn’t understand every detail, there is a quiet richness in simply walking those streets. What made our visit truly unique is that it coincided with the Total Solar Eclipse of October 24, 1995. The painted walls of Shekhawati tell stories of the past, b

I had heard about visit to Little Rann of Kutch from a friend. He gave me contact number and I decided to go there for 3 days. It is not far from Ahmedabad. Once when travelling in northern Gujarat I met a group of school children - when I asked they told me that they were from Zinzuwada. And that name remained with me. Surprisingly when we went, I found Zinzuwada was just adjoining this Ran. We went to this place with friends for 3 nights. We had to make reservation throug

Once my husband who is a Cardiologist was invited to give a lecture at Bijapur Medical college. To get there we went by train to Sholapur. On reaching we spent sometime in the market. Than we took a taxi to drive to Bijapur. This memory evoked my mind to think of all that we saw in Bijapur and places we visited from there onwards. Bijapur is in northern Karnataka, on the Deccan plateau. His lecture was held at a Medical college on the out skirts of the town. Next day we wen

Most people go to Bhutan by Air flying from New Delhi to Paro. But in our case we flew to Bagdodra via Calcutta. We had decided to go by road, a long journey but we travelled by a very comfortable SUV and were very happy. In those days Mobile phones perhaps were not there. So we made a booking by a phone with a travel agent recommended by a friend. Communication was very poor. We saw two luxirious Innova SUV waiting for us at the airport and were very happy. We all first went

Lakshadweep A group of islands off the Malabar Coast of south-western India, constituting a Union Territory in India, capital, Kavaratti. The group consists of the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands. In 1982 we had gone to Bangaram, an Island Of Lakshdweep. It is at the level of Cochin. The island's beach resort opened in 1974, and as the Agatti Aerodrome was completed it became more accessible to tourists. The Indian government is also pushing tourism on the island, w

This was my second visit to Kutch. I had gone there earlier with my Husband who was a popular Cardiologist for teaching in India. Later on a new Technology called Echocardiography started and he was the first person to introduce that in Mumbai. He invited the famous doctor from Norway, who was the pioneer in inventing this technology after 2nd World war. He was inspired while walking along the beach looking at broken ships. This new Technology transformed the practice of ma

Manali in Himachal Pradesh is now a very popular destination. Around 1956 we set out to go there all prepared with maps. From Delhi, we...

Filled with joy and excitement to see Pindari Glacier, we left Mumbai for Kathgodam in Uttar pradesh, now in Uttarakhand. We went to the tourist office and saw map showing route to the famous glacier. Our group consisted of my elderly parents, and me and my sister. In the evening we reached Kausani. As we had been there before we moved around with familiarity. In front of us was the western Himalayan range. We tried to identify different peaks. We were especially looking for

In my childhood, weekends were spent wandering around to places near by to Mumbai. We frequently went to what I would now describe as the...

Our trip to Kausani is historic in a way. Our parents did not accompany us. Instead, my father put us in charge of his young secretary...