We began our descent into Kochi at 7:30 pm. There wasn’t much to see outside – it was almost dark – but from what little we could make out, the land seemed to be dense with trees, and the air heavy with moisture. Narrow streams, which we decided were the famous backwaters, snaked through the land. And judging by the …

The first sound that greeted you at the arrival lounge of Udaipur’s Maharana Pratap Airport was Bollywood singer Kumar Sanu’s. The flat screen TV, hoisted on a pillar, was playing Pooja Bhatt praying in a temple, and Sanjay Dutt doing what he does best: singing Tumhe Apna Banane Ki Kasam Khai Hai in Sanu’s voice. My mother tugged at my …

It had rained the previous night. It was 9:30 am. The bus that would take us to Puducherry was about to leave in an hour. We were in 10 kilometres away, navigating through narrow lanes, in an alien city, driven by a man who couldn’t understand us, and who seemed to be harbouring a personal grudge against Google Maps. After …