Author: manuscrypts

  • Parva

    S. L. Bhyrappa

    Like many good books, this one too made its way into my list in a random fashion. A friend saw the different Mahabharata versions on my shelf and asked me if I had read this one. I hadn’t even heard of it! I initially thought I’d skip because I thought it was part of the recent glut of (IMO) ridiculous books being written from different perspectives, which were quickly reaching a stage where even the view of the elephant named Ashwatthama would become a book! But this was published around the time I was born, and the hope was that perspective would therefore be (ironically) fresh. And indeed it was. The best part of it is its overall outlook, which makes it seem contemporary, in a good way. 

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  • Habba Kadal

    If you’re here for the wooden bridge located in Srinagar that crosses the Jhelum river, sorry! Perhaps my search optimisation is finally working. This is about Habba Kadal, the Kashmiri restaurant in Whitefield, Bangalore. Though it has been around for at least a year, we chanced upon it only very recently, thanks to a conversation with neighbours. We reflected that our gluttonous days, when we used to actively seek out nearby, and even far-off restaurants, are probably over. But that’s a different subject.

    Habba Kadal
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  • The Coming of Age

    Simone de Beauvoir

    Sometime back, during a college reunion, D’s friend mentioned how she was shocked when she realised that she (and therefore us) were ‘those people’ who were being referred to as ‘middle aged’. A couple of years ago, I had written a blog post on entering the second half of my life, which I was hoping would not be a “mountain’s downhill, but instead, a series of small hills, gracefully undulating until the end.” So yes, I have been thinking of old age, and this book, though written back in 1970, is a great exploration of what it means to be old. 

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  • Hakone, Arashiyama & Nara

    While we stayed in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, we also made day trips to a few places.

    We reached Kyoto via Hakone. Hakone’s claim to fame is the Mt.Fuji view, and yes, it delivers. On paper the ‘Hakone Round Course’ looks like a sprint, but with the Hakone Day Pass and some planning, it’s quite a breeze. We started early and the Kodama 703 was our very first Shinkansen ride, to Odawara.

    Hakone

    We first used the coin locker system in the Odawara station, dropping our large bag so we didn’t have to lug it around. A local train took us to Hakone-Yumoto, where you start the Hakone Round Course, which can also be done in reverse. It uses five different modes of transport – train, cablecar, ropeway, boat and bus. The first trip is on the cute Hakone Tozan Railway to Gora. D decided to do some drama by pretending to lose her Hakone Day Pass.
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  • Osaka

    (from Kyoto)

    Kyoto and Osaka are only separated by 30 mins on a New Rapid Line but couldn’t be more different. Osaka also seems to have a ‘Pepsi to Coke’ relationship with Tokyo. There are the usual jokes made at Tokyo’s expense, but even where people stand on an escalator is different! (Tokyo – left, Osaka – right, probably something to do with samurais and scabbards in Tokyo, as per one guide) We spent only a day but on hindsight, should have spent another day. Despite the rain that bothered us a bit in the evening, we had a smashing time! (read as ‘we got smashed’)

    Stay

    Since it was only a day, we thought it was a good time to check out capsule hotels. We stayed at First Cabin and it was a unique experience. Tiny rooms, common bathrooms and quite minimalist. Most communication had to be done using Google Translate, since only one person seemed to understand and speak English, but they did give us a pocket wi-fi for use for the day.
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