Memoirs of a Wandering Nomad

The curse (or boon) of the White Rider that sits on my shoulder requires me to not only visit new places, but also revisit many. The one place that I have been visiting almost once each year for the last decade, and I do not mind doing so, is Sri Lanka, specifically Colombo. I have seen it during the time of war, and now I am seeing it during the time of (relative) peace. I was in Colombo during the famous incident of an army aircraft hitting a civilian building in Colombo. I am there, today, when Modi is addressing the Sri Lankan parliament as if it is an extension of his political influence. It seems like a jolly good idea, therefore, to at least list down some of the changes in the perception I have had over the years about this wonderful neighbor of India, while the new Government faces its first acid test of a 'post 100-day' general election: The Earlier Sri Lankan Parliament and Galle Face Seafront People: * People are almost uniformly warm and hospitable,...

Surviving Colombo - Kandy - Bentota ----------------------------------------------------- ------ The sun is getting rather too much for my eyes through these windowpanes even as I sit in the waiting lounge at the Negambo Airport, about 45km from Colombo - officially Sri Lanka's largest airport - waiting to take my flight out to New Delhi. So I have put my shades on and that is how I am writing this to you. I suppose that this is reason good enough for any oversights and faux pax that may continue to remain in this post, like the last few fish that remain in the nets after one has unlo aded the lot on the deck of the trailer. I have been hibernating for too long on this blog site. The reason is not the lack of substance, no sir, in fact my nomadic lifestyle is as intact as ever and gives me enough fodder for thought. I have been in between vacations, and travels - Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Indore, Saat taal (twice), even outside the country to Bangkok and Pattaya (second time). But it was...