Rakhee Ghelani

Tag: Family

  • Nagaland: The last frontier

    Nagaland: The last frontier

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    Two boys no older than ten wander the dusty roadside, semi-automatic rifles slung casually across their backs. Hearing the vehicle, they meander off-road into the thick verdant forest that’s lush but eerily silent.  I ask my driver where all the animals are and he responds drily, “These Nagas eat everything.” Characterised by headhunters and a…

  • Things I’ve Learned From Back Pain

    Things I’ve Learned From Back Pain

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    It’s been ages since I blogged and I have my reasons I promise. Most recently I’ve spent the majority of the past couple of months flat on my back…. literally. I thought debilitating back pain was just exaggerated or something old people got. That is until it happened to me and I was flung straight into…

  • Exploring Old London Town

    Exploring Old London Town

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    Old London town has to be one of my favourite cities in the world. I’ve been there so many times now, it feels like a second (or perhaps now third) home. I’ve always a had a lot of family there, and have a bedroom in one of my cousin’s homes, which always makes it such…

  • Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London

    Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London

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    At Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London’s fancy Knightsbridge, they offer a lunch special that is great value at 3 courses for GBP 38. I’m always a fan of a bargain and have long been fascinated by watching Blumenthal’s molecular gastronomy on Masterchef, so I wanted to see if his food lived up to its…

  • Nagomi Visit : Eating Local in Tokyo

    Nagomi Visit : Eating Local in Tokyo

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    It’s no secret that I love food. I particularly like trying out local delicacies when I travel, which isn’t always easy when you’re in a new city only for a few days. Eating local in Tokyo was particularly challenging because of my language constraints. Aside from hello and goodbye, I didn’t know any Japanese and…

  • Exploring Gujarat : Champaner

    Exploring Gujarat : Champaner

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    I’ve been to Baroda (or Vadodara) more times then I can remember as it is where some of my family lives, but I’m embarassed to say I’ve never visited the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site of Champaner until now.  I did a fly by visit of Baroda last weekend and thanks to my own stupidity…

  • The Big Fat Indian Wedding : Shaadi Time

    The Big Fat Indian Wedding : Shaadi Time

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    This is the fourth and final part of The Big Fat Wedding, you can find the rest here: Introduction Pre-Wedding Rituals The Engagement It was a rather rude alarm that woke me up early in the morning to have my saree draped the morning after the Sangeet. It was a little hard to believe that…

  • The Big Fat Indian Wedding : The Engagement

    The Big Fat Indian Wedding : The Engagement

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    This is the third part of The Big Fat Wedding, you can find the rest here: Introduction Pre-Wedding Rituals Shaadi Time Bright and early on a Tuesday morning the Engagement ceremonies began. The timing of these are generally dictated by astrology, which explains the 7.30am start. The first ceremony is Vratham. This is where Carl…

  • Big Fat Indian Wedding : Pre-Wedding Rituals

    Big Fat Indian Wedding : Pre-Wedding Rituals

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    This is the second part of The Big Fat Wedding, you can find the rest here: Introduction The Engagement Shaadi Time Like every wedding there are pre-wedding rituals that must be adhered to before the real business of joining two families starts, and this grand wedding was no different. In a more western tradition, this…

  • The Big Fat Indian Wedding

    The Big Fat Indian Wedding

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    It had to happen, I just can’t believe it took me so long. Before you get too excited, no I didn’t get married. This is so much better! I dressed up in sarees, wore plenty of bling and partied away without the inevitable stress that comes with being a member of the wedding party. I had…

  • Farewell 2013

    Farewell 2013

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    Another year comes to an end, so here is a quick post about my highlights of 2013 and what my plans are for next year. Highlight of 2013:  Visiting Australia and spending time with my family and friends. Saying goodbye to my 30’s was also a highlight, the decade has been a mixed bag of the…

  • Life in a Gilded Cage: Kenya

    Life in a Gilded Cage: Kenya

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    I have visited Kenya several times in my life, it is the birth place of my mother and some where I still have family. My most recent visit to Kenya was to attend a wedding reception for my sister in 2008. That will be the last time I ever visit Kenya, something that is only…

  • Back to Reality

    Back to Reality

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    It has now been about a month since I returned to India, after a rather long visit to Australia.  When I got on the flight to Mumbai I was feeling really excited about coming back home. It even surprised me when I started calling Mumbai home, but for now, that is exactly what it is…

  • Returning Home: Melbourne

    Returning Home: Melbourne

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    The day I landed in Melbourne was only 3 weeks shy of the two year anniversary of me leaving.  I was really looking forward to my visit home, it had been a long time. There was a bit of nervous anticipation as I prepared to go back, I felt like so much about me had…

  • Picking up the Travel Bug: French Polynesia and Vanuatu

    Picking up the Travel Bug: French Polynesia and Vanuatu

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    I was fortunate enough to have a private education in Melbourne, which meant that we had access to a range of different activities; one of my favourite ones was school camp. It was an opportunity to explore a new environment and hang out with your friends for days on end. At the beginning of each…

  • Melbourne: The Things I Have Missed

    Melbourne: The Things I Have Missed

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    I have been visiting Melbourne, which is home, for the past few weeks. I still have a couple of weeks to go before returning to Mumbai, but as I sit here on a cold, rainy day I am thinking of all the things that I have really missed here. Some that I knew I was…

  • Climate Change: From Mumbai to Melbourne

    Climate Change: From Mumbai to Melbourne

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    Through Mumbai’s sweltering, suffocating Summer, I have spent many a day fantasising about rolling around in ice cold snow or being rugged up in layers of winter woolies. I have literally had dreams about it. So I was very excited about the prospect of escaping the sauna that is a Mumbai monsoon and spending some…

  • Home: St Kilda

    Home: St Kilda

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    I have travelled to 48 countries in the world, and consider myself a seasoned traveller. However so far my blog has only touched on my adventures of the past two years. So I have decided to challenge myself to relive the other places I have been and share with you the great, the harrowing, the…

  • Remaining a Child in the Eyes of a Parent

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    I recently had a friend drop in to visit me at home whilst my father was visiting me from Australia.  My friend came in and I offered him a seat on the couch, my father was working at the dining table.  For a short while he stopped to chat with us, but then went on…

  • Dating in India: More Than Just Marriage

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    I was recently asked to write a relationship column for a fantastic online magazine here in India called Women’s Web. My first topic is about dating in India, something I have written about before here and here.  These posts have been topics of great controversy, but they are based purely on my own experience and…