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# Navin's Works

old-fashioned musings about new-fangled things

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## Posts

- [The Monumental Inscription on the Makki Darwaza](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2023/02/19/the-monumental-inscription-on-the-makki-darwaza/) - The Makki Darwaza is one of the gates of Qila Mohammadnagar, the walled capital city of the kingdom of Golconda. As with other monumental gates, it is strongly protected with double anti-siege gates and all sorts of fortifications. The name Makki darwaza is due to the fact that it faces the direction of Mecca, and
- [Top 7 URL Shorteners of 2025: Which One Should You Choose?](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2025/04/01/top-7-url-shorteners-of-2025-which-one-should-you-choose/) - URL shorteners have become indispensable tools for marketers, businesses, and even casual users who want to tidy up lengthy links, track performance, or share links across platforms. While some URL shorteners focus on simplicity, others offer advanced features like analytics, targeting, and branding. With so many options available, it can be challenging to choose the
- [Finding Inspiration](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2025/05/28/finding-inspiration/) - It's really weird where we find inspiration from. Sometimes, we find inspiration from the most mundane things. Things you wouldn't even look at otherwise. But then, something happens and it's as though someone switched on a light that suddenly shows the previously mundane thing as the preceptor for a great idea. And then there are
- [Why it's almost](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2025/05/29/why-its-almost/) - Usually, when you set it up do something, you do it regularly for a while. Then, depending on how you perceive it to be paying off, or not, you either get really into it and do it regularly, or slowly get more and more irregular with it before finally giving it up. But sometimes, the
- [How much is too much?](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2025/05/30/how-much-is-too-much/) - This is of course something that we have asked, maybe ourselves, maybe our friends, maybe our family - how much is too much? Today, I have been thinking about this from the perspective of knowledge. I have always believed (an I bieleve I believe now too) that there is no such thing as too much
- [Who gets it, and who doesn't](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2025/05/31/who-gets-it-and-who-doesnt/) - Whenever there is a discussion on any group it becomes immediately obvious that there are some people who get the point and some people who don't. Things get really interesting when some people who don't get it start making loud and intense points and this is usually the time when one of two things happen.
- [Some days are harder](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2025/06/01/some-days-are-harder/) - It's such a cliche to say, but it's true. Some days are truly harder. Even the simplest things are hard to finish. Event routine things seem intimidating and it's easiest to just to curl up and do nothing. There really isn't much else to do on such days than to somehow make it through. Thank
- [Prince Restaurant - Hyderabad on a Plate!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2017/07/18/prince-restaurant-hyderabad-on-a-plate/) - An account of a visit to a typical Hyderabadi restaurant, Prince Hotel, where I get amazing chai and shawarma, and a dose of the famous Old City life and culture.
- [A Hell of a Tale](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2016/05/23/a-hell-of-a-tale/) - A chance misreading of a letter sets in motion a long rambling account of what happens in my mind when faced with an unexplainable phenomenon. Also a bit of fun about living in the age of STD booths and inland letter cards.
- [The 'Soul-melting beauty' of a 400-year-old gun](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/02/06/the-flame-of-her-soul-melting-beauty/) - An early-morning exploration of a hidden gateway and an abandoned instrument of death
- [Poets and Saints: A Monsoon Heritage Walk in Hyderabad](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/07/17/poets-and-saints-a-monsoon-heritage-walk-in-hyderabad/) - An account of a monsoon heritage walk among the dargahs of Nampally, exploring the final resting places of saints and poets in Hyderabad.
- [Fateh Darwaza - A Picture Story](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/08/31/fateh-darwaza-a-picture-story/) - Pictures from a heritage walk to Fateh Darwaza
- [The Paigah Palaces of Shah Gunj](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/08/21/the-paigah-palaces-of-shah-gunj/) - I went on a heritage walk with Deccan Archive and INTACH Hyderabad in Shah Gunj. Here are some pictures from the walk The Mahboob Chowk clock tower, built by Asman Jah in 1892. It is a nice little park in the middle of the many busy businesses around it. The European-style facade of Asman Jah's
- [46 Places to Eat in Bangalore](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2018/01/15/46-places-to-eat-in-bangalore/) - I had to have five lunches by myself in Bangalore, and I reached out to my friends on social media for help. The result is a crowd-sourced list of 46 places to eat in Bangalore with recommendations. I have also written short notes about the places I ate at.
- [Marabou Stork | Tanzania | 2015](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/02/01/marabou-stork-tanzania-2015/)
- [Black-winged Stilt | 2014](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/30/black-winged-stilt-2014/)
- [Western Spindalis | Cuba | 1995](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/31/western-spindalis-cuba-1995/)
- [White-crested Laughingthrush | 1889](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/29/white-crested-laughingthrush-1889/)
- [Sarus Cranes | Bharatpur | 2017](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/28/sarus-cranes-bharatpur-2017/)
- [Malabar Whistling Thrush | Valparai | 2017](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/26/malabar-whistling-thrush-valparai-2017/)
- [The Parrot of Carolina | 1729](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/25/the-parrot-of-carolina-1729/)
- [Three Birds | USSR | 1990](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/27/three-birds-ussr-1990/)
- [Topaz and Comet | Sao Tome and Principe | 1989](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/24/topaz-and-comet-sao-tome-and-principe-1989/)
- [Kama Ayurveda | 2019](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/24/kama-ayurveda-2019/)
- [Owl | Hungary | 1984](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/22/owl-hungary-1984/)
- [Ceylon Spurfowl | Sri Lanka | 1979](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/22/ceylon-spurfowl-sri-lanka-1979/)
- [Mirror box | Macau | 2016](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/23/mirror-box-macau-2016/) - Drawings of birds on a mirror box | Macau | 2016
- [Memory Cards | Kashmir | 2019](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/23/memory-cards-kashmir-2019/) - Paintings of birds on papier mache memory cards by a Kashmiri naqqash | 2019
- [Pheasant | France | 1954](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/23/pheasant-france-1954/)
- [Hendrick's Gin | 2016](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/23/hendricks-gin-2016/)
- [Wooden Box | 2010](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/23/wooden-box-2010/) - Birds painted on a wooden box by a Kashmiri artist | 2010
- [Card | 2022](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/23/card-2022/)
- [Mourning Dove | Haiti | 1975](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/23/mourning-dove-haiti-1975/)
- [Found Art | 2019](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/23/found-art-2019/)
- [Papier-mache Box | 2017](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/23/papier-mache-box-2017/)
- [Pandemic blood](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2022/01/14/pandemic-blood/) - How long can you endure something without writing a poem about it?
- [Download NOW for FREE - 16-Months in Your Pocket!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/12/31/download-now-for-free-16-months-in-your-pocket/) - One of the casualties of the mobile era is the physical calendar. Here's a calendar you can download and print out and carry in your pocket (or pocket book or EDC bag) or just leave lying on your desk. Bonus: it has 16 months, going up to April 2022.
- [7 am Soundscape](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/12/01/7-am-soundscape/) - A poem about the sounds that surround me when I wake up early in the morning,
- [How I save money by shopping online](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/12/02/how-i-save-money-by-shopping-online/) - Lying awake at night, scrolling through e-stores and adding random stuff to shopping carts - here's how I do it. A poem in the grand tradition of Father William!
- [Remembering Kanchipuram](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/12/04/remembering-kanchipuram/) - A poem about a remembered trip to the ancient Pallava capital of Kanchipuram, also famed for its idlis.
- [Golconda Diary](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/12/05/golconda-diary/) - Stepping back in time as we walk through the ancient capital of the Qutb Shahi kings of Golconda.
- [A few monochrome images](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/12/26/a-few-monochrome-images/) - Here are a few monochrome images I've shot over the last few years.
- [The Conversation of Ifthekar and Aijaz](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/12/10/the-conversation-of-ifthekar-and-aijaz/) - A chance encounter with two Hyderabadi blokes at a local eatery turns into a hilarious episode.
- [Parker Quink Black](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/08/parker-quink-black/) - Ink: Parker Quink BlackPen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light
- [Jinhao Brown](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/09/jinhao-brown/) - Ink: Jinhao BrownPen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light
- [Krishna Inks Permanent Black](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/10/krishna-inks-permanent-black/) - Ink: Krishna Inks Permanent BlackPen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light
- [Bril Black](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/11/bril-black/) - Ink: Bril BlackPen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light
- [Hero No. 1117 Orange](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/12/hero-no-1117-orange/) - Ink: Hero No. 1117 OrangePen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light
- [Krishna Inks Lyrebird Waterproof Water Green](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/13/krishna-inks-lyrebird-waterproof-water-green/) - Ink: Krishna Inks Lyrebird Waterproof Water GreenPen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light
- [Camlin Scarlet Red](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/14/camlin-scarlet-red/) - Ink: Camlin Scarlet RedPen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light
- [Krishna Inks Peacock Blue](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/07/krishna-inks-peacock-blue/) - Ink: Krishna Inks Peacock BluePen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light
- [Bril Red](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/06/bril-red/) - Ink: Bril RedPen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light
- [Monteverde Midnight Black](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/05/monteverde-midnight-black/) - Ink: Monteverde USA Midnight BlackPen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light
- [Krishna Inks Elegant Teal](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/04/krishna-inks-elegant-teal/) - Ink: Krishna Inks Elegant tealPen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light
- [Bril Violet](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/02/bril-violet/) - Ink: Bril VioletPen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light This paper is magic, and brings out a surprising side of the Bril Violet. The ink is a very commonly used school ink that costs very little. However, with the right paper, it reveals a golden surprise.
- [Sheaffer Skrip Black](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/03/sheaffer-skrip-black/) - Ink: Sheaffer Skrip BlackPen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light
- [Platinum Citrus Black](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/09/30/platinum-citrus-black/) - Ink: Platinum Citrus BlackPen: Generic glass dip penPaper: Cosmo Air Light This is a 'magic' ink which I find very pleasing to use. It writes a wet light yellow colour, which changes before your eyes as it dries into a brownish black. It's a well-behaved ink in the pen, flowing well and easy to clean
- [Krishna Inks Vaikhari](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/11/01/krishna-inks-vaikhari/) - Ink: Krishna Inks RC Series VaikhariPen: Lamy Safari B nibPaper: Cosmo Air Light This is a complicated ink and the only way I can describe the colour is by saying see for yourself! It's supposed to be orange, but on paper it seems quite different. However, I must put a caveat here - my ink
- [London - A Few Glimpses](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2018/04/17/london-a-few-glimpses/) - London was brilliant - both from a place to visit perspective as well as a photography perspective. Here are a few glimpses from my visit there.
- [In Pics: Five Birds of the Western Ghats](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/04/11/in-pics-five-birds-of-the-western-ghats/) - Here are pictures of five birds of the Western Ghats. While the pictures themselves are no great shakes, the birds in them are what makes birdwatching in Southern India so rewarding. Each of these birds is a delight to watch once you have spotted them.
- [Pallivalu Bhadravattakam - A Song of Sword and Anklet](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/08/31/pallivalu-bhadravattakam/) - A new earworm from an artist I used to listen to ten years ago sends me on a hunt that leads to a UNESCO Cultural Heritage listing and a song about demonm seed that will cause your eyes to explode!
- [My Encounter with a Nagarjuna Sagar Racer](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/08/26/my-encounter-with-a-nagarjuna-sagar-racer/) - A chance encounter with five-year-old pictures leads to an interesting turn of events, and the chance encounter with a Nagarjuna Sagar Racer is relived!
- [How I got my Cabooter Jolly On!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/02/03/how-i-got-my-cabooter-jolly-on-2/) - Under attack by villainous winged vermin, and thwarted at every turn, I have to dig deep into my fighting reserves to face the flying scum that desecrate all that we hold dear. Do I rise to the occasion? Or to the birds have the last cackle? Find out this and more in this thrilling post!
- [Ra Ra Rasputin - The Most Famous Russian in the World](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/30/ra-ra-rasputin-the-most-famous-russian-in-the-world/) - A look at arguably the most famous Russian who ever lived. We examine the life and death of Grigori Rasputin, and the completely unexpected thing that made him famous around the world.
- [Crossing the Street - Hyderabadi Style!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/04/07/crossing-the-street-hyderabadi-style/) - Crossing the street in Hyderabad is unlike anything else you have done in your life before. Read on to find out how nonchalance in the face of what others will consider deadly circumstances is an everyday Hyderabadi thing.
- [A Psychedelic Rolls Royce and the Beatles Lifestyle](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/21/a-psychedelic-rolls-royce-and-the-beatles-lifestyle/) - The popularity of the Beatles was legendary, as were their larger-than-life lifestyles. What better symbol could be there of that than a Rolls Royce done up in psychedelic designs! Read all about it!
- [Close Encounters of the Hyderabadi Kind!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/23/close-encounters-of-the-hyderabadi-kind/) - The Hyderabadi notion of personal space is an interesting phenomenon, and can come as an unexpected shock to newcomers. I recall some of my early encounters and share my experience so that you can be adequately prepared for when you finally make it here!
- [Diary of a Pilgrimage, by Jerome K. Jerome – Chapter 2](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/25/diary-of-a-pilgrimage-by-jerome-k-jerome-chapter-2/) - A weekly serialization of the book, Diary of a Pilgrimage, by Jerome K Jerome, illustrated by G G Fraser, published in 1891 in New York by Henry Holt and Company Chapter 2 – Thursday, 22nd The Question of Luggage.—First Friend’s Suggestion.—Second Friend’s Suggestion.—Third Friend’s Suggestion.—Mrs. Briggs’ Advice.—Our Vicar’s Advice.—His Wife’s Advice.—Medical Advice.—Literary Advice.—George’s Recommendation.—My Sister-in-Law’s
- [Diary of a Pilgrimage, by Jerome K. Jerome – Chapter 3](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/02/01/diary-of-a-pilgrimage-by-jerome-k-jerome-chapter-3/) - A weekly serialization of the book, Diary of a Pilgrimage, by Jerome K Jerome, illustrated by G G Fraser, published in 1891 in New York by Henry Holt and Company Chapter 3 – Friday, 23rd Early Rising.—Ballast should be Stowed Away in the Hold before Putting to Sea.—Annoying Interference of Providence in Matters that it
- [An Aquarium by Amy Lowell](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/29/an-aquarium-by-amy-lowell/) - Streaks of green and yellow iridescence,Silver shiftings,Rings veering out of rings,Silver—gold—Grey-green opaqueness sliding down,With sharp white bubblesShooting and dancing,Flinging quickly outward.Nosing the bubbles,Swallowing them,Fish.Blue shadows against silver-saffron water,The light rippling over themIn steel-bright tremors.Outspread translucent finsFlute, fold, and relapse;The threaded light prints through them on the pebblesIn scarcely tarnished twinklings.Curving of spotted spines,Slow up-shifts,Lazy convolutions:Then
- [Diary of a Pilgrimage, by Jerome K. Jerome - Chapter 1](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/18/diary-of-a-pilgrimage-by-jerome-k-jerome-chapter-1/) - A weekly serialization of the book, Diary of a Pilgrimage, by Jerome K Jerome, illustrated by G G Fraser, published in 1891 in New York by Henry Holt and Company Preface Said a friend of mine to me some months ago: " Well why don't you write a sensible book? I should like to see
- [The Erased Humans of Yellowstone](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/28/the-erased-humans-of-yellowstone/) - Yellowstone National Park is perhaps one of the world's best known national parks. Marketed for generations as an untouched wilderness paradise, the official story is nevertheless a fiction. Read the stories of the thousands of generations who lived in the area where the national park is now, and their erasure from the official stories. The
- [Temple of the Pig - A Tale of Treachery](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/27/temple-of-the-pig-a-tale-of-treachery/) - This is the tale of the Pannikoil, or the Temple of the Pig, which flourished in my hometown, Coimbatore, for a brief period. Here is the story of the unlikely prophetess and her treacherous end. This happened sometime between 1982 and 1986 – these were the years we spent in a house on VNK Thevar
- [Moonrise on Secret Lake](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/24/moonrise-on-secret-lake/) - And the sun went down.We sat in the twilightHe and he and she andSheAnd of course, I. The ducksSplashed about.The peacocks, hoarselyClaimed territoryAnd of courseTheir mates. A gust of windA rustling of leavesA Solitary crowLate for some eveningAppointment. Disappointment? And the moon cameUp and up slowlySlowlySlowlySlow……ly As we watchedThe ducks flew home.
- [Change by Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/22/change-by-letitia-elizabeth-landon/) - And this is what is left of youth! . . .There were two boys, who were bred up together,Shared the same bed, and fed at the same board;Each tried the other’s sport, from their first chase,Young hunters of the butterfly and bee,To when they followed the fleet hare, and triedThe swiftness of the bird. They
- [A Boy Named Current](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/20/a-boy-named-current/) - A sleep-befuddled brain on a lazy Sunday afternoon tries to process an unexpected visitor and hilarity ensues!
- [Meeting Jerome](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/19/meeting-jerome/) - Jerome K Jerome is an author I like to read as well as emulate. Growing up, a couple of passages from Three Men in a Boat were mandatory reading in English class, and that’s where I first came across him. While these passages were consumed with glee, it was not until many years later that the full revelation of Jerome happened
- [The Adventure of the Nexus One](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/06/the-adventure-of-the-nexus-one-2/) - A blast from the past, when the Nexus One was the hottest phone on the block! Nevertheless, its coolness is instantly dismissed by a typical Hyderabadi reaction! Read on to see what happens.
- [The Sankranti Bull](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/17/the-sankranti-bull/) - The gangireddu is a decorated bull who is taken around the houses in a community as part of Sankranti celebrations. Here's a poem I wrote after my encounter with one a few days ago.
- [The Beefeaters: Keepers of the Ravens, Preservers of the Kingdom!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/16/the-beefeaters-keepers-of-the-ravens-preservers-of-the-kingdom/) - The Beefeaters have the responsibility of keeping the ravens in the Tower of London - or the kingdom will crumble to dust! Read all about the ravens and their keepers.
- [I Am Not Yours by Sara Teasdale](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/15/i-am-not-yours-by-sara-teasdale/) - I am not yours, not lost in you,Not lost, although I long to beLost as a candle lit at noon,Lost as a snowflake in the sea. You love me, and I find you stillA spirit beautiful and bright,Yet I am I, who long to beLost as a light is lost in light. Oh plunge me
- [Startling Truths Behind the Panama Hat](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/14/startling-truths-behind-the-panama-hat/) - The story of Panama hats, how they are made, why real ones are so expensive, and how a priceless hat was hand-woven by one of the masters of the craft.
- [Riding a Bandy, Going to the Shandy!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/13/riding-a-bandy-going-to-the-shandy/) - The words shandy and bandy cannot be found in a conventional dictionary, but what they refer to are very real. Read on for an account of their impact on my life!
- [Get your Hands Dirty - Fun with Paint Pouring!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/12/get-your-hands-dirty-fun-with-paint-pouring/) - Paint pouring is a fun way to make some abstract art even if you don't know one end of a brush from another! Here's what we did with some cheap kits and a little bit of time!
- [Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah - A Commemoration](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/11/11112/) - A few images to commemorate the 408th death anniversary of the founder of Hyderabad, Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah.
- [Should You Quit WhatsApp - Here are the Facts!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/09/should-you-quit-whatsapp-here-are-the-facts/) - There's a lot of confusion around WhatsApp's terms of service changing. Here's a quick look at what the changes are and if youneed to be bothered by it at all.
- [Want To Quit WhatsApp But Can't Quit The Groups? Read This Now!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/10/want-to-quit-whatsapp-but-cant-quit-the-groups-read-this-now/) - Our concern about being in WhatsApp groups could influence our decision to stay even if we are uncomfortable with the latest TOS updates. My friend Hrishi writes about the WhatsApp Group phenomenon, and offers a way out!
- [How to Fly Everywhere and See Everything for Free!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/07/how-to-fly-everywhere-and-see-everything-for-free/) - How do you take an international trip for free? Here's an inside look at the confusing but immensely rewarding world of credit card points, frequent flyer miles, and everything in between!
- [Storm in an Ink Bottle!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/05/storm-in-an-ink-bottle/) - The normally sedate world of fountain pen enthusiasts is stirred up when a new product announcement causes a stir across the globe. Fins out why, and what happens after that!
- [How to Get Off the Binge-watching Hamster Wheel](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/03/how-to-get-off-the-binge-watching-hamster-wheel/) - Most of us are stuck in some way or the other in keeping up with what our friends and colleagues are watching on TV. My friend Hrishi Diwan proposes a plan to change that!
- [Fellowship of the Podi - An Incredible Foodie Saga](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2021/01/02/fellowship-of-the-podi-an-incredible-foodie-saga/) - The saga of a 31-year-old food search that began in Villupuram and ended in Hyderabad.
- [Food for thought in the New Year: DON'T Set Goals!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/31/dont-set-goals/) - When it comes to getting things done and making progress in the areas that are important to you, there is a much better way to do things. James Clear on how systems and habits are more important than goals in an excerpt from his book, Atomic Habits.
- [Eight Life Lessons from an Afternoon of Making Pakodas](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/30/eight-life-lessons-from-an-afternoon-of-making-pakodas/) - An afternoon spent making pakodas delivers a bunch of life lessons. Here I present, onion pakodas for your soul!
- [Yuzu Liqueur - Sophistication in a Happy Handcrafted  Japanese Drink](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/20/yuzu-liqueur-sophistication-in-a-happy-handcrafted-japanese-drink/) - Biker, motor-racing-history enthusiast and blogger Dilip Dhanasingh writes an engaging piece on an exotic drink he discovers.
- [Kings and their Coins - Golconda Sultanate](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/29/kings-and-their-coins-golconda-sultanate/) - I share with you two coins from my collection - minted in the medieval Deccan sultanate of Golkonda. Read on for some numismatic fun!
- ['His Majesty, Herself' - Hatshepsut, Egypt's Most Powerful Female Pharaoh](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/12/his-majesty-herself-hatshepsut-egypts-most-powerful-female-pharaoh/) - Three and a half millennia ago, a woman ruled over a land that was so patriarchal, there was no word for a female ruler. Hatshepsut took on the male titles, styled herself the Pharaoh and ruled Egypt independently. Read on for bit of her story.
- [A Cooking Class In North Korea - Dhruv's Amazing Experience](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/27/a-cooking-class-in-north-korea-dhruvs-amazing-experience/) - Chef extraordinaire and indefatigable ambassador of Indian food to the world (all in his spare time) Dhruv Shanker writes about his North Korea experience - which included cooking with the Director of the Culinary Association of the DPRK!
- [KrishAshok's Brilliance - Alcohol in the Kitchen, Cake in the Oven!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/24/krishashoks-brilliance-alcohol-in-the-kitchen-cake-in-the-oven/) - Krish Ashok, that purveyor of fine entertainment and edifiction on the Interwebs has written his first book. Read an excerpt from it and learn to bake a cake just in time for Christmas!
- [How One Monkey Turned the Orange Sunset from Gorgeous to Unique](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/22/how-one-monkey-turned-the-orange-sunset-from-gorgeous-to-unique/) - I was all set to capture an orange sunset at Hampi - a not unusual experience - when there a few unexpected visitors who completely transformed the evening. Read on to find out what happened!
- [Tired Madhavan and the Thirsty Giant](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/16/tired-madhavan-and-the-thirsty-giant/) - Madhavan encounters a magical being who has an unquenchable thirst. Read on to find out what happens in this quirky little piece of magic realism set on a hot and sweltering Chennai summer night.
- [Crossing the Indo-Pak Border on Foot - A Traveller's Tale](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/13/crossing-the-indo-pak-border-on-foot-a-travellers-tale/) - Blogger Atul Maharaj writes a detailed account of his visit to Pakistan - crossing over the international border from India on foot! Some delightfully human encounters ensue - read on to find out.
- [Beautiful Handmade Bird Paintings by a Kashmiri Naqqash](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/15/beautiful-handmade-bird-paintings-by-a-kashmiri-naqqash/) - Here is a look at one of my favorite pieces from my bird iconography collection. Yes it is a thing. Maybe I made it up. No I'm not going to stop.
- [The Republic of Venice - A Republic 1100 Years Old!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/26/the-republic-of-venice-a-republic-1100-years-old/) - Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta - the Most Serene Republic of Venice - is perhaps one of the longest existing republics we have never heard of. From 697 CE to 1797 CE, this Mediterranean Republic was the master of the waves and had a feared navy.
- [The Blue One and the Story of Bow Rest](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/19/the-blue-one-and-the-story-of-bow-rest/) - A short account of a memory from a different lifetime long ago, triggered by an old photograph.
- [Please Do Not Yell at the Tiger!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/23/please-do-not-yell-at-the-tiger/) - I volunteered to stand by the enclosures at the local zoo and keep people from harassing the animals. A few interesting human-human encounters ensued. Here they are for your reading pleasure!
- [10 Tips for an Awesomely Safe and Happy Pandemic Holiday!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/05/10-tips-for-an-awesomely-safe-and-happy-pandemic-holiday/) - As the pandemic rages on, the urge to return to our old ways is on the increase. Here is a way you can indulge in travel without being a danger to yourself and to others.
- [Noodler's Ink Apache Sunset - A Beautiful Ink for Every Meeting!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/08/noodlers-ink-apache-sunset-a-beautiful-ink-for-every-meeting/) - Some random thoughts on the acquisition and subsequent non-use of a specific fountain pen ink. With some nice pictures!
- [You've Played the Game. Now Read the Story!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/09/youve-played-the-game-now-read-the-story/) - A short piece of fiction based on the popular game, Temple Run. An exciting setting, providing answers to some existential questions that migh arise when you're running from killer apes.
- [The Fascinating Story of the Jacob Diamond](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/11/28/the-fascinating-story-of-the-jacob-diamond/) - At almost twice the current size of the Koh-i-Noor, the Jacob Diamond has an interesting story behind it. As all good stories do, it involves intrigue, strong and wilful personalities and large sums of money at stake.
- [Greenidge and Haynes - Cricket's Most Destructive Openers](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/17/greenidge-and-haynes-crickets-most-destructive-openers/) - A free-ranging interview with one of the most productive and destructive opening pairs in cricket history - Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, by Ed Kemp for Wisden.
- [Coffee and Hyderabad - A Modern Love Story!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/06/coffee-and-hyderabad-a-modern-love-story/) - Sunaina Patnaik goes on a discovery of Hyderabad's journey of transformation into a haven for coffee lovers.
- [Richard Austin: Hallowed Cricket Grounds to the Gutters of Kingston](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/03/richard-austin-hallowed-grounds-to-the-gutters-of-kingston/) - An excerpt from Ashley Gray's book about the riches to rags story of Richard Austin, one of the most talented cricketers to ever come out of Jamaica.
- [Emahoy: The Fantastic Life of an Ethiopian Musical Genius](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/10/emahoy-the-fantastic-life-of-an-ethiopian-musical-genius/) - Kate Molleson recounts the astonishing story of musical genius Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam. Born into an Ethiopian noble family, her colorful life spans several countries over two continents and different lives on the stage and in complete isolation. all over the course of almost a century.
- [Want to Teach Your Kid Coding?](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/11/29/want-to-teach-your-kid-coding/) - Want your kid to become the next Bill Gates? Let them follow their passion. Don’t turn your kid into someone else’s clone. Read Vijay Mohanty's take on coding classes for tiny tots.
- [Travel Heals and Makes a True Traveler Joyful](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/11/25/travel-heals-and-makes-a-true-traveler-joyful/) - For a true traveler, the whole world is home and the act of travel itself is curative and brings joy.
- [The Adventure of the Amazing Masala Dosai](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/02/the-adventure-of-the-amazing-masala-dosa-2/) - A long meandering disstertation on what a dosai should be, followed by a medium-sized review of a small eatery with big taste. Spolier alert - delicious food descriptions with a big dose of self-indulgent humor.
- [Washing Vessels - An Operations Approach](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/03/29/washing-vessels-an-operations-approach/) - You see, the trouble with operations folks is that they cannot meet something without wanting to organize it, streamline it, reduce it to a set of processes and sub-processes and then embark on a tweaking journey to increase the efficiency of aforementioned processes and sub-processes. And that is what happened with me and vessel washing.
- [How A Schoolboy Scored 1009 Runs In 323 Balls In A Competitive Game](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/11/26/how-a-schoolboy-scored-1009-runs-in-323-balls-in-a-competitive-game/) - A schoolboy in Mumbai scored an incredible 1009 runs off a mere 323 balls in 2016, setting an improbable world record that will most likely stand forever. Journalists Bharat Sundaresan and Sriram Veera go behind the scenes and tease out the story behind the innings - and reveal the true heroes of the day.
- [Elephant Attack in the Serengeti Sunset!](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2020/12/01/elephant-attack-in-the-serengeti-sunset/) - On our first African safari, we encountered an aggressive male elephant who rushed menacingly at us. Though we were accompanied by a very experienced guide, we could not help but be frightened. Read on to find out what happened!
- [Further Reading - More Recent Writings](https://www.navinsigamany.com/2018/10/29/further-reading-more-recent-writings/) - If you've been wondering where my writing has gone - here's the answer. Read on to find my latest works.

## Pages

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