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Comfort Food Posted by Nitya on Nov 18, 2016
When people move away from home for school, work, and where life takes them, they often leave behind countless childhood बचपन (bachpan) comforts including the tastes स्वाद (swaad), aromas ख़ुशबू (khushboo), and flavors ज़ायका (zaayka) of a warm home-cooked meal (भोजन bhojan formal usage/खाना khaana common usage). These become lingering memories यादें (yaadein), dormant in the subconscious mind, and are teased awake…
IST Posted by Nitya on Nov 10, 2016
If you’ve ever been invited to lunch or dinner in India, or if you’ve even arranged a meeting of sorts, you might have had a taste of IST or Indian Standard Time. IST is an inside joke that describes an Indian’s sense of time समय (sum-aye), or lack thereof. If you are invited to a party…
Kiraana Shops and Buying Groceries Posted by Nitya on Nov 3, 2016
In the good old days (as I like to think of them) before mall and supermarket shopping became all the rage in India, small mom-and-pop shops called kiraana (किराना) or baniya ke dookaan (बनिया के दूकान) were the only places where one could purchase day-to-day groceries. In these stores, the shop/store owner and his store helpers were the…
School, Marks, Exams, … Posted by Nitya on Oct 27, 2016
In India, before schools break for winter, classrooms and homes are a flutter of nervousness as children prepare feverishly for their first semester exams or pareeksha (परीक्षा). In India, all exams have marks/points unk (अंक ) that matter in determining your overall performance for the year. If you pass (or exceed a certain percentage), you are…
Festivals … and Mithaai! Posted by Nitya on Oct 20, 2016
When I was growing up in India, the fall season was always my favorite time of the year. Once the monsoons had tapered off, typically marked by Ganesh visarjan (गणेश विसर्जन/immersion of Ganesh idols), it was time to look forward to cooler and shorter days. However, the barely imperceptible shift to decreasing temperatures was not as much the…
I Need to See a Doctor Posted by Nitya on Oct 12, 2016
Falling sick during a trip is any traveler’s worst nightmare. A sniffle in Agra can quickly snowball into a full-blown flu by the time you reach Kerala. And if you don’t do something about the emboldened germs, you might soon be spending your time convalescing inside your houseboat instead of enjoying the sights of the…
How far is the Pushkar Fair? Posted by Nitya on Oct 5, 2016
The mention of Pushkar Mela (fair) usually generates an excited buzz in travelers to India. Domestic and foreign tourists alike visit the fair for a glimpse and experience of Rajasthan’s intense colors and customs. However, the original fair itself started as a venue where Rajasthani farmers traded camels and cattle. Each year, in the Hindu month of…