Soul Nest at Pyramid Valley International – Trip 2

Posted on July 29, 2026 by Currylines

Jul 11th – 13th, 2026

The instructor’s soothing voice washes over the audience, holding them in rapt attention inside the womb of a mega pyramid, a gigantic structure which has been specifically designed to induce optimal focus in those who seek to find peace in its embrace.

I am at the Stillness Summit event at Soul Nest, a distinctive space where luxury merges with the spiritual. The event is a thoughtfully curated blend of learning and reflection through insightful discussions and wellness experiences.

This is my second visit to this delightful resort after my initial and equally pleasurable stay in Jan 2025.

Soul Nest beautifully intertwines comfortable accommodation with bespoke experiences for both mind and body, spanning yoga, sound healing, gaushala visits and even outdoor activities like boating and other adventure activities.

This luxury retreat located in the premises of Pyramid Valley International, a globally well known meditation center, lies in the Kanakapura Taluk of Ramanagara district (now renamed as Bangalore South district) in the state of Karnataka, India.

So enter into this tranquil haven with me and heed their persuasive exhortation which urges you to ‘Relax, Recharge and Reconnect’!

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Posted in Domestic travel, Event reviews, Holidays, Hotels and Resorts, Reviews, Travel, Vegetarian, Wellness | 2 Comments

Avathihalli Railway Station Silk museum And Other Station Restorations By INTACH

Posted on July 26, 2026 by Currylines

July 2nd, 2026

A cloudy morning, gentle diffused sunlight and the aura of nostalgic heritage greets me as I stand before a relic of a bygone era that has been lovingly coaxed back to life.

I am in the precincts of a railway station featuring a charming stone building which is one of four railway station structures that have been painstakingly restored from the decrepit condition into which they had deteriorated.

A project undertaken by INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), these buildings that are over a century old, have been given a new lease of their ‘old’ life.

The heritage route covers four distinct stations, beginning at Doddajala, wending through Devanahalli and Avathihalli and culminating at the charming Nandi station right at the base of the Nandi hills.

Avathihalli also has the distinction of housing a compact silk museum labelled Story of Silk, which is a tribute to the sericulture cottage industry that has been the hallmark of this region right from the 18th century.

So chug along the heritage track as I embark on a journey to visit structures that take us back in time, not too far from our very modern, bustling Bangalore city, Karnataka, India.

Live the experience with me as I try to tempt you to visit these architectural gems for yourself and revel in their quaint colonial charm and the pleasant relief of their restored glory.

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Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary – Trip 2 and Trip 3

Posted on February 26, 2026 by Currylines

Feb 8th, 2026 and Feb 19th, 2026

The boat glides forward, its oars briskly slicing through the gently flowing waters of the Kaveri. We weave alongside mini islands … thickly vegetated mounds that rise out of the water and provide sanctuary to the innumerable birds that make these trees their home … birds so many in number, that their large, pale forms hunched along the branches are visible even from afar.

As we draw closer, we are greeted by the guttural squawks of hundreds of pelicans, open billed storks and painted storks, which oblivious to our presence, go about their daily routine of lifting their large wings and balancing like ballerinas, flying around busily in search of fish, attending to clamoring little chicks in their nests and in general, inadvertently performing for us, their enraptured human audience who have come to be entertained by this avian extravaganza in this renowned bird sanctuary called Ranganathittu which lies in the Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya district in Karnataka, India. Standing in clusters, their white bodies glowing in the sunlight and webbed feet gripping the tangled branches, they make for easy targets for the camera, even one as basic as mine … and I click away to my heart’s content.

So join me on the waters of the bountiful river Kaveri and enjoy the beautiful winged specimens that she and her islands generously play host to, where every branch holds life and every breath of wind stirs wings into graceful motion.

This post is about my second and third visit to the place and I am combining the 2 in one post because they happened in quick succession, 7 years after my first visit in 2019 (not counting the few times that I visited as a child, of which I have no photographic records!)

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Posted in Birds, Domestic travel, Holidays, Nature, Reviews, Travel, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Pause, Camrose Estate – Sakleshpur

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Currylines

Jan 14th – 16th, 2026

Shall we start the New Year with a Pause … a true pause to stop and smell the roses? Well, the cliché takes on an almost literal meaning when you find yourself at The Pause at Camrose Estates.

I enter the gates of the property just to be greeted by the welcoming notes of innumerable birds. I quickly activate my Bird Call app which I have recently discovered (better late than never) and in moments it results in an impressive list of nearly 25 species of birds which are currently ‘performing’ exuberantly in my honor … or so I would like to believe.

I am now within the grounds of this picturesque villa tucked deep inside the heart of a lush coffee plantation, where birdsong is the only soundtrack by day and utter silence, your companion by night … a silence so profoundly ‘loud’ that your ‘city abused’ ears are initially thrown into bewilderment but then slowly made to realise that this gift of a complete absence of noise is to be savored to the fullest … and a sound sleep which one has not enjoyed for ages, is to be thoroughly Slept!!!

And to further delight those in quest of quietude, this spacious and charming retreat with verandahs overrun by delightfully unruly flowering climbers and the serene backwaters of the Hemavathi river lapping its periphery, is barely a leisurely 4.5 hours from Bangalore.

So join me on my first discovery of 2026 and stop awhile at the The Pause at the popular hill station of Sakleshpur in the Hassan district of Karnataka, India and spend a couple of days unwinding in its lap and relearning the art of staying still.

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Posted in Domestic travel, Holidays, Home Stay, Hotels and Resorts, Pet Friendly Stay, Reviews, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sri Saumyakeshava Temple, Nagamangala, Mandya

Posted on December 20, 2025 by Currylines

Magnificence in stone … an apt way indeed, to express the gorgeousness of Hoysala temples of Karnataka. While the 3 temples at Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura which are also recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites, definitely are the most famous of these, one also cannot discount the numerous others which are remarkable too, despite being smaller and not as much in the limelight.

One such place that I recently had the pleasure of visiting, is the Saumyakeshava temple at Nagamangala town in the Mandya district of Karnataka, India.

On an online hunt for bird-friendly lakes to visit with my bird photographer friends, I came upon the Hirikere lake in Nagamangala. Further exploration via Google, led me serendipitously to the almost adjacent temple which even in its virtual avatar, caught my fancy and ironically as you will see, became the main focus of my trip, with the lake getting just a cursory visit and being bookmarked for another day for a more thorough visit.

The Saumyakeshava temple is yet another exemplification (albeit a smaller version) of the ornate and intricate unique South Indian style architecture developed under the patronage of the rulers of the Hoysala empire of the 10th to the 14th century era.

So step into its sacred precincts with me and be prepared to be charmed by this beauty in stone.

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Trishvam Symphony, Krishnagiri – Trip 2

Posted on November 29, 2025 by Currylines
Nov 16th, 17th 2025
When a place is so easily accessible, beautiful, comfortable, has a wide range of dishes to satiate the palate and is wonderful for a quick getaway, then it is exactly what I would choose to visit multiple times!

My second visit to Trishvam Symphony comes close on the heels of my first visit in July 2025, barely a few days after it was launched and I am writing about it again just because I like to document all my trips 😊

You can read all about Trishvam Symphony – Trip 1 here.

Lying in the lap of the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, India, Trishvam Symphony is one of the resorts of the well known brand, The Great Indian Group of Hotels and Resorts (TGI)

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Shampoo Ginger – Zingiber zerumbet

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Currylines

During my visit to the Trishvam Symphony resort in Krishnagiri, I had the pleasure of realizing that a large part of their well landscaped garden was dedicated to the prolifically growing Shampoo ginger shrub.

The Zingiber zerumbet is also called pinecone ginger because of the likeness of its flower head inflorescence to the pine cone.

This is an unusual plant whose mature flowers produce a mildly scented and slightly soapy fluid, somewhat like thin honey in viscosity.

This blog post is to document what little I have learnt about this plant and I will update the information as and when I discover more about it.

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Palmyra sprout

Posted on November 25, 2025 by Currylines

I have always been fascinated by palm trees of every kind but the Palmyra palm in particular holds a special place for me, since its fruit is one of my favorites, donning different avatars in its various stages of life, right from the tender to the overripe and also in between.

I have also written about the tender palmyra fruit and ripe palmyra fruit earlier in my blog but today I am here to present yet another facet of this amazing tree.

When the palm seed germinates, the ensuing sprout presents yet another option for consumption and these unusual looking woody, elongated, edible tubers are pleasantly mealy in texture and also rich in nutritive properties.

Also known as Panang kizhangu in Tamil, these sprouts are sold in ‘sheaves’ and can be cooked and eaten in many ways but today I will only be demonstrating the method that I have used. Please note that many a time they are sold pre-boiled and ready to eat but I feel that it is more hygienic to buy the raw ones and cook them at home.

Do let me know in the comments below, what you call these sprouts in your language.

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Bitter Gourd Mini

Posted on October 13, 2025 by Currylines

You either love it or hate it … it can leave you feeling better or bitter. Hint – this is a vegetable riddle and there are no prizes for guessing correctly because I know that hardly anyone will get the answer wrong.

Yes I am speaking of the much loved/hated Bitter gourd or Bitter melon (Momordica charantia), known as Karela in Hindi and by several other names in other Indian languages.

This vegetable with its distinct bitter flavor, presents itself in quite a few variants which include the dark green, sharp ridged, long ones, the pale green, whitish ones, the stumpy short and rotund ones, the smoother skinned Chinese ones and the tiny, mini, thumbnail sized ones, just to name a few.

I was introduced to the last variety, the Mini, a few years ago, while on a visit to Ramnathpuram near Madurai in Tamil Nadu. Being quite a favorite vegetable of mine (yeah I thrive on bitterness :-D), I was very excited to see this miniscule little non-conformist and I bought a bagful to take back home to Bangalore.

So here is one more interesting vegetable to enhance my (currently sadly neglected) series on unusual produce. Check out the rest in this section on Fruits and Vegetables.

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Posted in Fruits and Vegetables, Vegan, Vegetarian | 8 Comments

TGI Redolent Resort, Coorg

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Currylines

Sep 27th – 29th, 2025

When you have the finest view of the resort right from your balcony, it’s tempting to spend most of your time simply letting nature serenade you with its rhythm, as you indulgently sink into a reclining chair and soak in the pleasing panorama, right from the vibrant blue of the pool to the encompassing lushness which it shimmers through.

Of course you do have to reluctantly budge from time to time for your meals and to explore the sights you’ve planned to see but for the most part, relaxation is the mantra, just as it should be on an ideal holiday!

Nestling in the lap of the undulating terrain of the Coorg district of Karnataka, India, TGI Redolent Resort is yet another addition to the list of burgeoning resorts from the well known brand, The Great Indian Group of Hotels and Resorts, a name synonymous with hospitality and comfort.

If you are looking for a very convenient stay which offers modern amenities in the heart of nature and which is also close to a few popular tourist attractions, then join me in lolling around in this scenic getaway, which is less than 5 hours from Bangalore.

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Posted in Domestic travel, Holidays, Hotels and Resorts, Reviews, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments