The attention to detail at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India is astounding. The bright flowers that greet you at every lobby, reading corner and table tops were a testament to this. In addition floral floor decorations in our room lent a lingering fresh smell of jasmine and roses which lulled is…
Tag: India
Tea Plantation Tranquility
After a gruelling four hour drive through early monsoon showers, and bumpy pot-holed and landslide ridden roads, we arrived at the Gruenberg Tea Plantation Haus which was to be our home for two days. The three storey building set in a valley in Munnar – a hill station in Kerala, India is surrounded by tea…
Backwaters Adventure
I heard of Kerala’s Backwaters for the first time from my 93 year-old grandfather who was at that time, slowly slipping into early stages of dementia. “I used to sell pots from a boat,” he announced one afternoon. I was puzzled but didn’t heed his comments. He had just eaten his second lunch, because he…
Malabar Monsoon Adventure
As we were boarding the flight for our two week trip to Kerala, I scrolled through the weather report and was a little concerned that rain was expected throughout our trip that included a drive up to the highlands in Munnar, the forests of Thekkady and the backwaters of Allappuza in addition to Fort Kochi….
Church By the Water
The St Mary’s Forane Syro Malabar Catholic Church was packed with devotees when we stopped by Sunday afternoon. Many made their way to mass on passenger boats that ply the backwaters of Alleypey. This church has been rebuilt several times on its foundation that was constructed in 427 AD. It serves the community in a…
Sunrise: Alleyppey, Kerala
Kerala is well known for its beautiful backwaters. It is one of the best ways to take in the scenes of urban and rural life in this South Indian state. The backwaters are an intricate knit of rivers, lakes, islets, canals and streams that pass through towns, villages, paddy fields, forests, markets and houses of…
Down Memory Lane: Kolkata Picturelogue
I pulled out these pictures from an old hard drive I found at the bottom of my drawer recently. It’ll be a cliche to say it took me back in time, but it did – technically by more than a decade – but visually more than that. I shot these pictures while on assignment in Kolkata…
Maria Dass the World 