Travel Issue 2023

String Hopping In Thanjavur

V Shoba

Tracing the musical notes in veena country

Citadel In the Sky

Debashree Majumdar climbs up the cloud forest of the Andes to marvel at the Incas’ architectural mysteries written all over Machu Picchu

The Cultural Traveller

Madhavankutty Pillai

An awareness of history and a sense of curiosity enrich journeys and make every destination come alive

The Revival of Cultourism

Suhel Seth

How to make brand India a cultural experience

Going Native In a Ford Bronco

Rishad Saam Mehta

Rishad Saam Mehta navigates the labyrinth of America’s national history as he drives through New England

Bombay Talkies, Still Talking

Kaveree Bamzai

The lost studios of Bollywood still carry the romance and innocence of filmmaking in another era. Open takes a whirlwind tour

See You, Voyager

Moinak Mitra

Ferdinand Magellan, who brought Christianity to the Philippines, was speared to death by the locals five centuries ago. Open retraces his legacy in a modern archipelago

Gods Are Waiting

Priyanka Dalal

A stretch on NH-44 from Bengaluru to Lepakshi is a gateway to a spiritual awakening. Priyanka Dalal discovers the unexpected joys of voluntouring

Reliving the Myth of the Enlightened Madman

Madhavankutty Pillai

Like Sisyphus, Naranathu Bhranthan kept rolling a stone up a hill in order to see it coming down and Rayiranellur is believed to be that place in Kerala. Open goes to the source of the legend and finds many layers to it

Cross Currents

Lhendup G Bhutia

Old Goa is said to have been deliberately dismantled by its inhabitants until nothing remained except its churches and convents. Lhendup G Bhutia strolls through the remains of Portuguese India