AnythingUnderTheSun

I declare that the title of Paradise on Earth should be bestowed upon Goa. If not Earth, at the very least Paradise in India. What else would you call a land with coconut groves, mango trees, jackfruit trees all growing together in perfect harmony. A land with blue seas and golden sands. Lush green western ghats.  A tourist magnet for local and international travellers. Beware, skin colour might not be a very good parameter to determine residents vs tourists. Looks like Goa has achieved the impossible harmony between tourists, locals and migrants. Goa is a safe place to be in. When I say safe, I am not just referring to physical safety. It is a safe place to let your guards down. You don't need a great body, don the latest bikinis or cover your body head to toe from prying eyes. You can drink all day long or slurp up on coconut water. There is no right or wrong way to enjoy Goa.  Hike up a fort (the view from up there is stunning), laze around on the sandy beach, head t...

Humans are social animals; at the very same time move around in close-knit circles. As we grow older, these circles get tighter and probably smaller. Our chances of meeting and connecting with strangers get slimmer and slimmer.  At a time when conversations between co-passengers during travels are bare minimal, where we shy away even from making an eye contact with a passerby on a street, what happens when a complete stranger comes knocking on your door. Welcome to CouchSurfing . CouchSurfing offers travellers the ability to crash with a local and possibly a guided tour with the host. It is a cheap (maybe not always a safe ) alternative while travelling. In addition to the favorable economics for the traveller and a possibility for the host to travel to the guest’s hometown, the host gets to be part of a memory (hopefully a good one) and who knows a friend for life. As nerve wrecking as it may seem, it is highly recommended!

Je suis Charlie ou Je suis Ahmed ou Je ne suis Charlie! Qui suis-je? The shooting in Paris last week that shook the world, resurfaced the modern day debate on Islam and its follower. The twitter world was flooded with the hash tag #JeSuisCharlie subsequently followed by #JeNeSuisCharlie and then finally yielding to #JeSuisAhmed. It is one of those incidents that shake you up completely. In a world probably immune to the atrocities carried out by the likes of ISIS & BOKO HARAM in bulk, shooting a few cartoonists by some loony extremists shouldn't surprise us. Even if it doesn't surprise us, it should shock us. This didn't happen in a conflict zone or in a politically unstable region. The attack wasn't carried out by an organized militant/terrorist foreign group. It is scary that in a crowded, lively city of a stable country with a decent judicial system, 3 of its citizens just decided that a certain group of people doesn’t deserve to live. What is...

I was tempted into scrutinising the 2 reports by NDTV reporters  Srinivas Jain  @ SreenivasanJain & Niha Masih  @ NihaMasih   since a certain (Rohit Pradhan)  @ Retributions   produced a rebut http://www.retributions.in/love-jihad-lies-damned-lies-and-statistics/   to the critique by   @ rupasubramanya  (Rupa Subramanya) http://rupasubramanya.blogspot.in/2014/08/how-ndtvs-claims-about-love-jihad-dont.html Looking at his piece I thought, even I could do this. It doesnt really need any special skills. Adding my comments/questions in between.  Before you begin, keep in mind the bias of the reporters. These people are ALLEGEDLY carrying out an investigation to report. They should have refrained form turning this report into an op-ed styled article. HERE WE GO The 1st News Article http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/love-jihad-bjp-s-claims-for-uttar-pradesh-don-t-add-up-580963 Updated: August 24, 2014 17...