My World of Food and Travel

The last month had been one of the most stressful periods at work this year and I needed some time to detox myself of all the negativities that had accumulated. There is only one place where I hoped to attain that – my parents’ home, where I could shear off the multiple roles that I played and just become their daughter. I chose my soon-to-be-three year old son as my sole companion, leaving behind the husband to fend for himself. Not that he seemed to mind much. As the plane took off for Guwahati from Bangalore, a rush of euphoria passed over both the son and I, for reasons entirely of our own. The brat had the window seat to himself and I had to crane my neck from time to time, wondering if we had entered Assam. Earlier I would just have to look down and glimpses of unending greenery and hills would tell me that we were a few minutes away from landing. This time it was different. I was visiting Assam with the monsoons still on. The sight that greeted me from below jolted me out of ...

“You will have to go further into the lake to see the birds.” “But how does one go there?” “You can take a boat.” “Where will I get a boat from?” “I have a boat. I will take you there.” This was the conversation that proved to be the turning point in our trip to Deepor Beel in Guwahati, Assam.  Deepor Beel is a vast freshwater wetland located in the south western part of Guwahati.   It is a natural habitat to many varieties of flora and fauna. Around 219 species of birds including more than 70 migratory species have been reported in the area. More about Deepor Beel here.   Cormorants over Deepor Beel We were visiting Guwahati during mid-January in 2013 and decided to pay a visit to the area. On the morning of the trip, the husband and I had a big tiff and we sat in the car with sullen faces while my dad sat behind with the baby. Not a good sign, I said to myself. We took the NH-37 and turned left at an intersection called Gorch...