Category Archives: Features

The Great Ocean Road

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By R. Arun Kumar

Imagine if you were asked, “When did you feel the happiest?” or its derivative, “What makes you feel full of life?” I might fumble with my reply if the question came out-of-the-blue, but when I am sitting behind the steering wheel of my car, peering ahead at an empty stretch of road that seems to go on forever, an azure blue sky beckoning me on, places crossed out in a folded piece of map waiting to be explored, the answer has always seemed so clear to me. I love the open road and all its possibilities…. Continue reading →

The case for vegetarianism

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By Rohini Mohan

I am vegetarian and it’s not easy in this world of carnivores. Especially since I was bitten by the travel bug early on in life and spent many days starving in many countries. In the greater interest of not passing out everyday from sheer hunger while backpacking in France, I did that one time succumb to eating meat. I tasted everything from black pudding to pheasant to oyster; to be perfectly honest, there were some creations that I enjoyed. Not so much, however that I could not switch back. I did, and I have been off meat for the last couple of decades.

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The Three-in-one Grand Canyon Tour

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By Rohini Mohan

The Grand Canyon, painstakingly chiseled out over millions of years is testimony to the relentless power of nature. When you stand atop its great rim and peer down at the Colorado River, centuries of natural, geological and human history silently stare back at you. It humbles, you, yes, but it also provides you with a feeling of intense gratification, that you are part of its sheer magnificence, that it is a part of you. Continue reading →

Howzzat!

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By Vidya Pradhan

Sunny skies, green manicured grounds and a group of sportsmen dressed in white. No, this is not a preview of the World Cup Cricket matches soon to be played in Barbados. This committed bunch is made up of kids under the age of 11, as focused and disciplined as their senior peers and as serious about winning their 3 game tournament on a school ground in Cupertino.

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Vibha – volunteering for hope

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By Rohini Mohan
There is an image from back home that is really hard to get rid of. A little girl, scraggly, matted hair, bloated but empty belly, tear stained dirty face, knocking doggedly on my car window, begging for a few paisa to buy her next meal. I sit in air conditioned comfort, my thoughts miles away, while my driver shoos her off with a few harsh words. For me, she exists in a parallel universe, this little creature. I see her, but not really- having chosen subliminally to blot out the acute discomfort caused by her presence.

Tennis Ball Cricket – for the fun of the game

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By Vidya Pradhan

If the recent World Cup debacle has completely turned you off Indian cricket, here is a way to recapture some of the simple joy that the game has brought us over the years. Remember the fun of ‘galli’ cricket? A few kids, a cardboard sheet with three lines drawn on it, a narrow alley and a tennis ball; that’s all it took for an afternoon of uncomplicated masti. That’s the spirit that the Tennis Ball Cricket Association(TCA) has been trying to bring to the Bay Area and the weekend Kapil Dev’s in all of us.

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Container gardening 1- Nature in a nutshell

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By Laxmi Natarajan
Summer is here and is a good time to start sprucing up the decks and yards, add color and fun to your living environment, both outdoors and indoors.  Container gardening is an easy way to get an instant garden and provides immense gratification for very little effort. Container gardens are to a landscape what paintings are to a home. They add to the character, personality and the pizzazz in your garden or home. They are portable, flexible, easy to change and experiment with and very rewarding.
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