Traipse

To walk or tramp about; to gad, wander. < Old French – trapasser (to trespass).

Once Upon a Train (1)

March 31, 2018

Some years ago over afternoon tea on our back porch, Mary Kay and I heard from a guest the outlines of a story set on one of the earth’s storybook islands: Sri Lanka. Its former Dutch and English masters called it ‘Ceylon’, a name that has become synonymous with delicate tea, temples with Buddhist relics … More Once Upon a Train (1)

The Dalai Lama’s Pistol

March 13, 2018

It must surely be one of the oddest bits of historical flotsam cast up by India’s exotic, but restive northeast. The artifact in question – seldom seen by outsiders – now holds pride of place on a wall in the Shillong* headquarters of India’s paramilitary unit, the Assam Rifles. There in a regimental ballroom, surrounded … More The Dalai Lama’s Pistol