deviousways

A sign I found on a private property on Spencer Road The sign says it all: A bungalow in the Cantonment area in Bengaluru The quaint names, the tree-lined streets, the quiet roads and most important, the bungalows make the Cantonment area, a sure-shot target for real estate 'developers'. My husband and I moved here ten years ago because of this old world charm--we loved the serene areas in and around Cooke Town, the streets adjoining Mosque Road, the hidden gems around Richards Park. But now standalone homes, of every size, from stately bungalows to matchbox-shaped houses, are morphing into apartment buildings. And the end result is a sandwiched existence. Take Davis Road for instance, where I live. Our building is a co-development project, a pact between the original owner and a builder (thankfully, the original structure was not a bungalow). Over the years, more co-development apartments have sprung up around us. In fact, now the buildings are so cl...

A lifestyle statement, or a lifetime commitment? L to R--Greg, Wendy Barreto and Rohit Sudharshan during their B'lore-Goa riding trip A rider doing the Tour of Nilgiris last year When Gregory Barreto (now 31) told his wife Wendy (now 29) that he wanted to cycle from Bengaluru to Goa, her first thought was: “Are you out of your mind!” Then she warmed to the idea and the incredible challenge it offered. The couple knew they must train to test their endurance for the 560 km distance they plannned to cover. “But we really didn't practice regularly. Once, we cycled to Nandi Hills (about 60 kms from Bengaluru city), came back home, and basically collapsed,” recalled Wendy Barreto. Did they really have it in them to do the Goa trip? In January last year, the couple, accompanied by close friend Rohit Sudharshan, achieved what they thought would be near-impossible--cycle from Bengaluru to Palolem in south Goa, with a stopover at Gokarna (Karnatak...

Not long ago, Amy Vodraska was a 100%, bona fide grown-up. She was taking care of two kids, a husband, and a job and working toward her master's. Her nose was so pressed to the grindstone, it's a miracle it wasn't sharpened to a point. And then something happened. Amy Vodraska cracked. "It hit me that I was spending all my time doing what I was supposed to do. I thought, Am I ever allowed to have fun again?" So, in the midst of her all-work-and-no-play crisis, the Boonton, NJ, woman signed up for one horseback-riding lesson a week. She had ridden as a kid and had given it up in college. "As soon as I climbed back on a horse, I felt my shoulders disconnect from my earlobes--and I realized how much fun I had been missing," she says. Fast-forward a few years and you'll find Vodraska, now 43, riding and even playing tag in the ring with Sugar, her Royal Dutch Warmblood, at least four times a week. "Just putting my face in her shoulder makes me feel ...