Old shop boards
Old shop boards make me think about all the invisible hands behind a street. A faded edge. A letter repaired in a different shade.
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☺︎ @walk.around.cities
Cities aren’t checklists.
Some of my favourite moments in a city have very little to do with the ‘places to see’. It’s usually an old doorway I almost walked past. A ferry moving at its own pace. The passion fruit I picked up from a tree that tasted yummy. Or a street slowly waking up while the rest of the city is still figuring out its morning.
That’s why I walk. I love the feeling of turning into a lane, sometimes with a plan, sometimes with no real plan, and coming out with a story about a person, a craft, a building, a plate of food, or some everyday ritual I knew nothing about an hour earlier.
Stories from the walks
Buildings shaped by climate
I’ve always been fascinated with Madras’ Indo-Saracenic buildings, and how the humid coastal air shaped the way they were designed.
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When postmarks tell stories
I picked up philately recently, for one very specific reason. I wanted to collect the little pictures some post offices press over the stamps.
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Stories in stained glass
I’ve always looked at stained-glass windows for their colour. But this time, I found myself wondering what actually makes them glow.
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A letter from Landour
At a quiet bend in Landour, an old post office continues to hold its place. For this story, I wrote and posted a letter from the same corner.
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A village carrying an ocean
I went to Langza expecting snow-covered mountains and the giant Buddha. But what stayed with me was the ancient ocean hiding beneath my feet.
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A pahadi soundscape
Just Uttarakhand as it sounds: temple bells, rustling leaves, birdsong, footsteps along mountain paths. Sound on. Stay a little longer.
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The town with two names
How does a town called ‘the shore where the waves sing’ almost disappear from our maps?
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Old Dubai by abra
What did Dubai feel like before the towers? Maybe one way to answer that is to cross the Creek by abra and enter Deira.
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The face of a house
Mogappu is the ‘face’ of a Chettinad house, and once you start noticing it, every house begins to feel different.
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Bombay evenings by the sea
The city can be loud all day. But by evening, something soft happens near the sea.
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Markets reveal themselves
Before the cafes, malls, and perfect viewpoints, there is usually a market waking up somewhere.
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Kumartuli before Pujo
Anyone engrossed deeply in an art form makes me feel inspired. Walking into Kumartuli was like making a way into artist heaven.
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Chitkul, through a song
Yes, this place is a beauty. Yet I’ve been pondering on the song itself, ever since I read about what it means.
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Slow life by the water
Slow life loading. That’s exactly how I feel when I think about Fort Kochi.
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Amritsar food lanes
Before you turn a couple of corners walking, you’ve already stuffed yourself with jalebis, lassi, and kulchas, and still feel like you could use some more.
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Calcutta bylanes
The very roads where early morning scenes feel like ritual. Rickshaw pullers, old uncles with newspapers, aunties drying their pickles.
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Jaipur blue pottery
The craft that rules the entire town picks its name from the striking cobalt blue of the art. That’s Jaipur’s dear Blue Pottery.
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Athangudi tiles
Even today, each tile is handmade with fresh dyes, a metal-cut stencil, and a cement and soil mixture. The whole process takes close to 15 days.
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The highest post office
Letters from a 14,567 feet high post office in Spiti. The urge to collect the postcards and write a few lines from deep down your heart.
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Airavateshwara
Less fanfare, less chaos, less crowd, but more to take in. Your eyes just bask in the grandeur.
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By the Tungabhadra
Have you ever sat by a flowing river, letting go of any thoughts, and simply just exist? Chintamani gave me that.
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The poder’s bread
Growing up in a Tamil household, I was used to newspaper and milk delivered on cycles. But freshly baked bread? Totally new.
Watch👋 on foot, in Madras
Walk with me in Madras
Every so often I organize a walk through Madras on foot: Mylapore’s lanes, old shop boards, buildings that were built for this heat. Small group, slow pace, lots of stopping. The next one is announced on Instagram.
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What does your city still do?
Tell me about a street in your city I should walk. I read every message, and some of them turn into walks.
aishwaryaashok@gmail.com