Mitraniketan: A Self-Sufficient Project

We met Pushkaran, a retired engineer, after ending our vow of silence at the end of a vipassana course. During conversation, we told him about our pottery journey and in turn he invited us to a project, which has a pottery unit that he was sure we were going to benefit from. The project is … Read more

Palm Paradise

Varkala for the Soul

Three days after we broke our vows of silence we took refuge in paradise: Varkala. After some serious effort, we found a picturesque, solitary, cottage huddled between a coconut grove in the mangrove. We haggled a bit with the rickshaw driver “owner” and he generously agreed to a minimal amount. It was quiet and private … Read more

Cyril shooting

“Night-sky-photography-crash-course” on Kovalam Beach

After our arrival in Trivandrum, we realised we had a night to kill until our 10-day Vipassana Meditation Course held in the hilly outskirts. So, we spontaneously decided to spend the night at Kovalam Beach to relax, swim, eat seafood, raw pineapples and mangos and drink beer before our long abstinence. The only “productive” thing we did … Read more

Dharamsala Calling

We took the opportunity to explore Dharamsala before leaving for the plains of northern India: completing a 15-hour bus journey to get up there without actually experiencing the mountains seemed senseless. We rode into McLeod Ganj on a local tin bus, excited about the food and mountains we were going to encounter. We walked through … Read more