The Internship: June 2026. Sid had a six-week internship at IIT Bombay starting on 22nd June. So we went to Mumbai to drop him - I stayed there from 21st to 28th June to ensure that both Sid and Shweta were settled properly. This was the first time Sid was staying in hostel, and even Shweta was experiencing something close to hostel life for the first time (after my departure). While I was there, we had a nice luxurious stay at The Westin Mumbai Powai Lake. While Shweta and me had some excursions, we were able to hang out with Sid for a few hours only. It was fun. However, more importantly it was good to see Sid getting his first hostel-life experience. We also bumped into Shilpa Shetty giving Shweta a memorable fan moment.

Taj Mahal and a Leather Hunt: January 2026 - A long weekend road trip to Agra. Having celebrated Mom's 78th birthday a couple of weeks ago, we decided to visit Agra from Jan 24-26 with her and Sid. It was Sid's first visit to see the Taj Mahal. It was also the first long road trip in which Sid drove throughout. We had a luxurious stay at the Marriott with a (distant) view of the Taj Mahal. It was a fun-filled trip with loads of local food and shopping. In fact, we did go a bit overboard with the shopping (4 leather jackets, 6 pairs of leather shoes, a big marble vase, loads of edibles etc.). Mom described this roadtrip as "a perfect blend of relaxation, sightseeing, and shopping spree with family".

Jai Bajrang Bali: November 2024 - A weekend road trip to Salasar Dham organized by my Mom. My mother wanted to take her family to Salasar Balaji (Lord Hanuman, also called Bajrang Bali). So my brother drove all of us in his huge MG Gloster - this vehicle is no less than an RV (with the exception of not having a kitchen and toilet; but the space is just too good). Mom called it her family weekend trip to Salasar Dham (9th and 10th Nov.). For all of us, this was the first ever family trip (after marriage of both us brothers and after Sid elevated Mom to being a Grandma). On the 9th we visited the Salasar temple. The next day, on our way back, we visited the Harshnath temple - an ancient temple rumored to have a 1500 year old history. It is situated on the top of Harsh Parvat which is a part of Aravali hill range in Rajasthan. We returned late night on the 10th. It was a fun family trip, with several in-built picnics. Mom had this nice smile throughout enjoying her "Head of the family" throne.

Tennis Nationals (Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh): January 2024 - 17.5 year old Sid qualified to play in U19 Tennis National Games. This was a trip filled with pride - Sid qualified, and was selected, to play in the Under-19 tennis national championships as a part of the IPSC tennis team. We travelled to Kakinada enjoying the local environs, along with celebrating Sid's achievement of being a National-level player in tennis - we are very happy for him. Thanks to him for creating this trip for us through his extra-curricular achievements!!

Revenge of the Mummy (Singapore): June 2019 - 12.8 year old Sid's second trip to Singapore (the first one was in 2009 and can be seen here). This 12 day trip was filled with loads of fun at the Universal Studios, Madame Tussuads and other attractions that were not present in 2009. One highlight of our trip was the ride "Revenge of the Mummy" - considered as one of the top rides in the world; it was a scary, but at the same time an amazingly adventurous experience. Staying on the top floor of the Marina Mandarin (now called ParkRoyal Collection, Marina Bay) in a Marina Bay Suite made our stay exceptionally luxurious, especially while balancing the lazing around with roaming around at a very leisurely place - of course it burned a big hole in the pocket, but was totally worth it!!!

City of lakes (Udaipur, Rajasthan): November 2018 - 12.2 year old Sid's first trip to Udaipur. Staying in a lake view room at The Lalit Laxmi Vilas Palace for almost a week, walks and dinners around lakes, feasting on the delightfully unique Rajasthani food, visits to numerous forts and palaces, visual treats - both naturally occurring and human made, lessons on our cultural heritage and history, and loads of shopping summarize this extravagant trip. Beautiful sunsets, moonlit nights with reflections of the city lights in the lakes and visually stunning artwork everywhere were the real highlights of our experience.

Roadhouse Blues (with due credit to Jim Morrison and the Doors), drive to Jim Corbett National Park (Uttarakhand): May 2018 - 11.8 year old Sid's second trip to Corbett and first self-driven road trip with outstation stay. Having gained confidence in her driving on the highways of India, Shweta took us out for an amazing roadtrip to the Jim Corbett National Park - ~500 Km return journey. This was our second visit to the place (the first one is at the bottom of this page). The drive was fantastic and staying on the banks of river Kosi was as much fun as the first time. One of the highlights of this trip was Sid and me riding a tandem bicycle.   

"Sholay" (Murthal, Haryana): March 2018 - 11.5 year old Sid's first "only family" road trip. We bought our first "SUV" (petrol version) in November 2017. While I don't drive, my wife (Shweta) is the transportation in-charge of the family. This was our first long drive outside Delhi (without any third party driving us) - ~250 Km return journey. We drove to the hub of speciality north-Indian foods - Murthal, where we had a gala time at the "dhaba" called "Garam Dharam". This is a theme-based eating outlet with the theme of the 1970s classic movie "Sholay" starring Dharmendra (playing the character "Veeru") and Amitabh Bachchan (playing the character "Jai"). Sholay's significance to Indian cinema is probably much more than than the significance of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" to western cinema. It was fun to sit on a replica of the bike that Jai and Veeru used to ride. The food was also yummy. The outing was capped by a lovely picnic at the Karna lake. This trip opened the joyful world of self-driven road trips to Shweta and of course us!    

Paradise (Majkhali, Uttarakhand): March 2017 - 10.5 year old Sid's first visit to Ranikhet. Majkhali is a beautiful and pristine place at an elevation of ~1850 m (6000 ft), near a popular holiday destination called Ranikhet. We made a short visit to the place for a  few days - the drive to and from Delhi was amazing. Photographs do not do justice to the magnificent views of the majestic Himalayas, especially the revered peaks of Nanda Devi and "Trishul". A bright orange bird was nesting somewhere nearby and frequently posed for us. Clear skies, fresh air, green meadows, amazing views! Hope we're able to build a hut in this place at some point of time!!!

Jai Mata Di (Vaishno Devi, Jammu & Kashmir): January 2017 - 10.3 year old Sid's first visit to Vaishno Devi. It was fun to travel in our own "room" ("Coupe" in a train) during the Delhi-Katra-Delhi journeys. It was a short, but beautiful trip to Vaishno Devi and Shiv Khori. After reaching Katra in the morning, we enjoyed the local cuisines till afternoon. Then we climbed up ~15 Km (on well developed walking paths) to reach the shrine well past midnight. After that Sid got a little shuteye on the walking path in his sleeping bag next to a bonfire. We came down from the shrine in the morning by an exciting ride in a helicopter (first such ride for the three of us). It was a quick trip, but loads of excitement and fun!

River of dreams (with due credit to Billy Joel), banks of river Kosi and Jim Corbett National Park (Uttarakhand, North India): January 2012 - 5.3 year old Sid's first stay on banks of a river. There was no tiger sighting, only tiger paws on trails, but we saw several beautiful birds and other animals.