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 ...

No calorie counting, no food groups to avoid--just you enjoying each and every bite while the weight melts off. Sounds too good to be true? Read on.   When was the last time you dug into a plate of utterly flavorful biriyani without a sliver of guilt casting a lingering shadow? When did you last revel in the sensation of a chocolate truffle melting across your tongue or savor the sweetness of sun ripened strawberries? If you've been struggling to lose the weight that's slowly crept on you thanks to changing hormones and a stalled metabolism, your answer is probably "rarely" or "never." What if you could indulge in your favorite foods without a single thought for how many calories, grams of fat, or carbs they contain--and still lose weight? Well, Jena la Flamme, a weight loss expert in New York City, says you can do just that. The secret: Learn to work with your body's innate, biological need for pleasure. Indeed, science has shown that t...

Velu is a taxi driver my husband and I know well. He has two sons and a daughter. The good thing is he owns his taxi, he saved up to buy the car. But it means his life is tough--going on long distance assignments at a moment's notice, getting by with little sleep (or sleeping in his vehicle), missing regular meals, being plagued by backache, so on and so forth. But Velu doesn't mind the hard work. As the sole breadwinner, he is used to it. Besides, he wants his children to have a good education. Rani, a mother of three, is a cook. Like many domestic help--she works in two or three places to earn a decent living because her husband is a drunk and of no help at all. She used to cook for my family too at one point but not any more. Rani's mainstay was her long-term employer--a family where she had been the cook for some 10-12 years. Two years ago, this family decided to sponsor Rani's daughter Anitha, then 15 years old, for a beautician's course in Bang...