TRAVEL TALES of ranaruby

God's Own Country Kerala --- God’s Own Country How green is my country? Most of it is. In varying degrees and shades. But when we traveled from Trivandrum to Kanyakumari on a train, the green opened up. Something different from what I have hitherto seen. Enthralling. Soothingly caressed our visual system throughout the journey. We were struck by the abundant creation of nature as our train glided through the green corridor. Lined up on both sides by coconut trees, some short and some very tall. Interspersed with fleeting views of giant banana trees, with some dark green, some light green, some heavy and thick in foliage only to be broken by sporadic patches of bright green meadows This continued till our train reached the land’s end. We put up at Vivekananda Kendra, not far from Kanyakumari station. A serene campus that induces an aura of meditativeness. So comfortable that we longed to prolong our stay. Getting up at three in the morning and sauntering down the p

A Journey to one of the fearsomely grandest ravines on earth --- The Grand Canyon As our flight started its descent over Las Vegas I was dazzled by the lights below. Lights glittered all over like a huge, sprawling net. Appeared to be laid for the aircraft to land on it like a trapeze artist. I frankly admit that I have never seen such myriads of lights before. Not even when our plane hovered over glittering Manhattan while on its descent at New York JFK. Our son Arjun had already fixed up a car with rent a car center. We were transported there in shuttle service available from terminal 1 of McCarran International Airport. Arjun completed the formalities with the car company and then we drove towards the city center with Arjun at the wheel. After a short drive, we were at the famous Las Vegas Strip. I must admit that the Strip looks vibrant and fascinating in the night, more than any other place I have seen on our planet. Like a fairy tale world. Mandalay Bay, Luxor, MGM,

  Broadway & Vocal Jazz in America Two live events in America enthralled us: 1) Broadway show and 2) A Capella Vocal Jazz. Our son Dr Arjun Sengupta of Ohio State University gave us the first surprise by getting tickets to a Broadway show. We consider ourselves lucky that our first outing to a Broadway musical was on a Hollywood blockbuster ‘Dirty Dancing’. It was held at the Ohio State Theater, Downtown, Off High Street, Columbus. The grandeur of the theatre hall and a packed gathering were the first things that impressed us. And after that, it was just like getting carried away by the performance. In the end, it crescendoed with the lilting song of Dirty Dancing ‘I have had the time of my life…’.A thousand splendid lights synced with the song pulsated and danced, grazing the audience and sweeping up and down the enormous cavernous space in the hall showed a novel way of involving audience participation with the artistes on stage. My wife’s friend Anita Chowdhury, our host at New