Mrigank Warrier's Blog

Farrokh Jijina was my oldest friend.

The peeling, splotchy walls of Calcutta’s National Economic Restaurant are of such antiquity that it is not in question whether Tagore ever visited for a slice of toast but whether Chandragupta Maurya stopped by for a cup of tea.

I dislike arriving at new places by air – feels more like teleportation than travel – but landing at Dehradun airport charms you with a magnificent first view of the hills.

In February 2014, I went on a mostly solo, four-week backpacking trip from Mumbai to Kolkata, Varanasi (Benaras), Lucknow, Harsil (near Gangotri), Mussoorie, Mcleodganj, Delhi, Jodhpur and Udaipur.

Watching the gleaming coaches of my train disappear down a red laterite valley after depositing me at Thivim Station six hours behind schedule, which, according to Goan Standard Time, is not very late at all.

I write for The City Story, an independent website that documents interesting people, places, experiences and eating options in Mumbai and London.

An earnest bachelor travelling on work slides his glasses up his harried nose and attempts to tinker with his laptop while a family of seven corners him in with a teething baby, a farting grandpa, a painfully beautiful daughter, a corpulent son who strips…

This morning, I conducted a one-person sociological experiment.

Before I see her, I hear her.

Think of S.