Half the Story

Half the Story Think of me as a wanderer with a camera and a pair of rose tinted glasses. This blog is my personal account of my travels and travails. Hello! I'm Vidya Murugan.

Writer, Editor, Photographer and Wife at My Travelogue. Mountains, oceans, little villages, old forts, big cities they all simply call out to me. I am fortunate to have had friends who indulged my madness. When I got married, I discovered that the husband was bitten by the travel bug too; that was just discovery #1. Ever since we have been traveling and discovering a whole new world. So much fo

r settling down! This blog is my personal account of our travels and travails. I started My Travelogue to connect with you, listen to your stories and share mine. So don't feel shy - leave a comment, laugh with us or at us, feel free to disagree. Let me know if you would like to write for us, or would like us to write for you. We would love to collaborate. Drop us a line at [email protected]. I have a full time job on a construction site, and am currently working towards my Masters in Sustainability Management. Life keeps me busy and I'm thankful for that. My Travelogue isn’t just my creative outlet, it's my happy space. I am thrilled that you have chosen to be a part of my journey. I hope you enjoy the ride. Stay Blessed,

All dressed up and feeling fabulous, Amma and I set out for our mother daughter day out and made it to Colaba in time, a...
31/08/2026

All dressed up and feeling fabulous, Amma and I set out for our mother daughter day out and made it to Colaba in time, arriving at the majestic National Centre for the Performing Arts feeling rather smug about our punctuality. Mumbai’s cultural cornerstone by the sea, the NCPA has a way of turning an afternoon into an event, with its soaring ceilings, soft golden lights, and well heeled audiences spanning generations.
I had heard so much about Ashutosh Rana playing Ravan in the much acclaimed Hindi play Humare Ram that when I found out it was coming to Mumbai, I knew I had to take Amma and go. I booked tickets a month and a half in advance, managing to snag two of the very few seats left. Top row. Centre. Sitting up there and peering down, I felt the world spin just a little.
Initially, the anticipation in the hall was infectious, charged with the sense that something special was about to unfold. But as the delay stretched on without information or reassurance, anticipation slowly gave way to impatience. Whispers floated around the auditorium like mischief. Someone believed the actress playing Sita hadn’t arrived yet; someone else blamed technical issues.
When the play finally began, all lingering irritation dissolved instantly. From the very first exchange of dialogue, we were hooked. The writing was sharp, lyrical, and deeply thought-provoking; ancient ideas delivered with a modern pulse. Ashutosh Rana’s Ravan was commanding, complex, and magnetic: a villain who made you pause, reflect, and even nod in reluctant agreement.
For three hours, the audience remained completely riveted. We laughed, fell silent, and shared knowing glances across generations as the story unfolded. The performances were precise and powerful, the emotions grand yet deeply personal. Time stretched, then vanished. The world outside the theatre simply ceased to exist.
As we walked out, we knew it wasn’t just a play we had watched. It was an evening stitched together with stories, shared reactions, and the simple joy of being together.

Maternal bravery played its part too. The strong smell of pain-relief balm filled my nostrils as Amma kept rubbing it into her wrists, without a single comp

At dawn, the guides and drivers stood in animated clusters, trading reports of tiger movement and warning calls heard ne...
24/08/2026

At dawn, the guides and drivers stood in animated clusters, trading reports of tiger movement and warning calls heard near the Forest Rest House earlier that morning. We had slept through it all.
A quick breakfast later, we were back in the jeep, chasing that elusive tiger sighting. We had missed it the previous evening and our guide was determined not to miss it again. We lurched through dust and stone, reading the forest like an evolving map; fresh pugmarks pressed into damp earth, alarm calls drifting through sal trunks, the choreography of other jeeps converging and dispersing.
Deer appeared along the way, including the barking deer. Small and solitary, they move cautiously at the forest’s edges, close to dense cover. Barking deer favor thick undergrowth where they browse on leaves, shoots, fruit, and fallen seeds. The males carry small antlers and long, curved canine teeth, an ancient trait that gives them a vaguely primal look. When alarmed, they let out a sharp, dog-like bark that can echo through the forest, often the first warning of a predator passing unseen.
Mid-drive, the morning shifted. We had paused briefly to catch the sunrise when another jeep pulled alongside with unsettling and urgent news. There had been a health emergency. We needed to turn back.
But the jungle was generous. On our way out, a flicker of movement caught our eye. A yellow-throated marten burst onto the track and gamboled across the path. These animals often move in pairs, and sure enough, its mate appeared moments later in front of our jeep. Agile, intelligent, and rarely seen, martens thrive in forested landscapes, feeding on rodents, birds, reptiles, insects, fruit, and honey. They hunt alone or in pairs and are known, on rare occasions, to bring down prey much larger than themselves through speed and coordination.
Watching them vanish into the trees felt like a private gift. Knowing she had spotted animals rarer than the tiger itself filled the LO with unbridled pride and joy. The jungle released us gently, as if aware.
Plans unraveled, anxiety replaced anticipation. Yet as we drove away, relief and reassurance followed close behind.

17/08/2026

The open jeep bumped along the forest floor. The landscape is defined by the Terai, a low-lying belt of marshes, grasslands, riverine forests, and sal jungle stretching along the foothills of the Himalayas. The terrain is gentle yet deceptive—flat and dry in parts, but alive with movement just beyond the trees.
These forests support one of Corbett’s richest wildlife mosaics. For naturalists, the zone is a living study in balance. Sal canopies give way to chaurs that sustain prey, which in turn sustain predators. The jungle is stitched together by waterholes and wandering trails. Hornbills glide between tall trees while parakeets flash through sunlit clearings.
Our first sighting was a turtle, quiet and ancient, part of the forest’s patient rhythm. Soon, movement stirred in the thicket. An elephant. A tusker who initially refused to show himself to the eager crowd, choosing instead to bide his time.
We waited patiently, and finally he stepped out, crossing into the jungle on the other side of the track. That intentional crossing left hearts racing. Excited, we pressed on. Not meant for those chasing stories and checklists, Bijrani rewards patience.
After driving around with no further luck, we returned to the same spot. Our star of the afternoon had stepped into a small clearing, posing with effortless poise. Dust-covered and backlit by the setting sun, he made for a striking photograph.

Then, he walked away majestically, swaying his hips ever so gracefully and trumpeting softly to warn the jeeps not to follow.

We reached a little late, our tickets wouldn’t show up and we had to repurchase them, but we made it to the last tour gr...
30/06/2026

We reached a little late, our tickets wouldn’t show up and we had to repurchase them, but we made it to the last tour group—only to find it was private. A new guide was hastily found for our handful, and from there the tour was seamless.

Designed by Lutyens and Baker, this was the Viceroy’s House, commanding and ceremonial. After 1950, it became the working home of the President, where constitutional rituals unfold alongside everyday governance. Rashtrapati Bhavan opens with composure. Durbar Hall, once the stage for imperial ceremonies and durbars, now hosts investitures and national honours beneath its soaring dome. Ashoka Hall, designed as a state reception room and famed for its murals that journeyed from Japan, has witnessed both colonial pageantry and post-Independence diplomacy. The Banquet Hall, earlier reserved for viceregal feasts, continues its role as a place where visiting heads of state are welcomed with quiet formality.
Outside, lawns stretch with measured calm, and peacocks stroll with impunity. The dome rises with majesty, power paired with purpose.

As always, the LO was part of the tour entertainment package. The tour was in Hindi, and I became her interpreter. The poor child would grow listless during long explanations, prompting more than one person at the end of the tour to gently suggest that she be fed. You can be in arguably the most important building in India, but people will still want to make sure that your child eats.

Beyond its grandeur, the tour is an affordable and invaluable learning experience, giving children and citizens alike a chance to see history, design, and democracy in action. To tour Rashtrapati Bhavan is to witness the weight of history and the quiet optimism of a nation moving forward.

The husband chose Humayun’s Tomb as our first place to explore in Delhi. I had visited just two years ago, but seeing it...
22/06/2026

The husband chose Humayun’s Tomb as our first place to explore in Delhi. I had visited just two years ago, but seeing it again with a little one transformed the experience entirely. She darted in and out of every chamber, determined not to miss a single space, tracing the logic of the interconnecting rooms as if solving a puzzle.
Inside the main mausoleum, the air felt cooler and hushed. The central chamber rose dramatically above us, crowned by the double dome, light filtering in softly and settling on the perfect symmetry. She craned her neck to admire the soaring ceilings, their proportions magnified by her smallness, and peered through the stone jaalis. I did my best to answer probing questions about what lay beneath.
She asked about the calligraphy, and frowned at the scribbled names left behind by thoughtless visitors, scolding them in all seriousness. Her curiosity, her indignation, her delight!
And here, unlike at the Acropolis, we could let her scramble a little, clambering carefully over the ruins, feeling the texture of history under her palms. I had promised her that in India she could roam more freely, and at Humayun’s Tomb, without breaking any rules, I finally made good on that promise.

Some moments bring together everything you love. In my case, Mumbai, transformative infrastructure, and the husband. Exp...
15/06/2026

Some moments bring together everything you love. In my case, Mumbai, transformative infrastructure, and the husband.

Experiencing Mumbai’s Aqua Line Metro and Coastal Road together is a reminder of what bold urban ambition can achieve. These projects showcase world-class engineering.
The Aqua Line Metro slices through the city underground, cutting hours off your commute with speed, comfort, and seamless connectivity. As the city’s first fully underground line, it tunnels beneath dense urban sprawl and even under the seabed, a marvel of precision engineering.
Meanwhile, the Coastal Road lets you cruise the western shoreline, reducing travel time while adding a scenic edge to your drive. Built on reclaimed land, this eight-lane expressway eases congestion and showcases cutting-edge urban construction.
Mumbai’s infrastructure leap is undeniably impressive, but it is also complex. While these projects are engineering masterpieces, they come with real ecological and social costs. Large-scale reclamation along the coastline disrupted mangroves, intertidal zones, and local marine habitats, affecting biodiversity. Altered shorelines can change natural water flows and increase vulnerability to coastal flooding in extreme weather.
As cities invest in next-generation mobility, success must be assessed not only by engineering achievement, but by long-term environmental resilience and inclusive access.

08/06/2026

A few years ago, we witnessed firsthand, for the first time, a form of worship that involved a spirit entering a mortal body. At the moment, the husband didn’t say a word. Weeks later, he casually remarked that this was not unusual at all. He explained that he had seen people go into a trance before, and that such an occurrence was a crucial part of completing a Shastha Preethi.
In Shastha worship, the Preethi is not merely a prayer but a reciprocal act of hospitality, a way of honoring Shastha, inviting him and his entourage of guardian spirits to accept offerings, protect the community, and restore balance. The deity is believed to arrive not symbolically, but viscerally, through human vessels.
This year, I told my Peripa and Perima that I would attend their local Shastha Preethi and showed up at the designated hour. Perima urged me to sit closer to get a better picture, while Peripa sat right behind me, pointing out what was going on. “That is one of the people the spirit usually enters,” he whispered, pointing toward an elderly man seated a little ahead of us.
The husband had given me the impression that only one person would be possessed, and that this moment would signal that food would be served. What I learned instead was more layered. Any number of people, of any gender, may receive the spirit during a Preethi. Some sway gently, some tremble, some sit still. Among them, there is a designated bearer whose possession marks the conclusion of the prayers. When the spirit enters this individual, he rises and hands over a bundle of banana leaves, signifying that the prayers and offerings have been accepted and that the community may now partake of the prasadam.
The visual language of the Preethi was unmistakable. The men sat bare-bodied in plain white cotton veshtis, with sacred ash smeared across their foreheads and chests. The women brought color and abundance with their silk saris, jasmine in their hair, and gold jewelry. The setting was solemn yet joyous. As the drums beats grew faster and chants rose in crescendo, it became clear that the Preethi was not about possession, but presence,the certainty that the divine had been invited, welcomed and honoured.

01/06/2026

Three curious, loud, and excitable children joined a guided marine walk by Experiences and discovered a whole new way to see Juhu beach. It was an evening of discovery, advocacy, and wonder; proof that when you slow down and look closely, even the most familiar places can reveal extraordinary treasures.

The tidal pools became classrooms. Hermit crabs scuttled and squabbled over shells. Snails clung stubbornly to rocks. Every few steps brought pointed observations, rapid-fire questions, and bursts of excitement. The walk was a lively learning experience.
Then came the moment that stopped everyone in their tracks, even as they stepped cautiously closer for a better look. A hook-nosed sea snake, one of the most venomous snakes in the world, showed up in the shallows. We watched, tensed and mesmerized, as someone gently picked it up and tossed it back into the ocean.
Towards the end of our walk, we spotted a pearly sea anemone, closed tight in its tidal pool. The guide tried to build a small moat around it to keep it covered with water and encourage it to open. In the process, a tiny hermit crab was inadvertently trapped. This did not go unnoticed. Our littlest explorer fiercely chided the grown-up, strongly advocating for the crab’s freedom, much to everyone’s amusement.

Even the smallest creatures deserve our care. Take a walk, observe, and discover why protecting our beaches matters.

We ended our adventure by dipping our feet in the waves and building sandcastles.

The children came surprised that the beach was not dirty and left filled with wonder, declaring Juhu Beach an exciting place.

Musafir took us on a private forest hike at SNGP’s Manpada Forest Zone, just a 10-minute walk from home.The trail is ab...
25/05/2026

Musafir took us on a private forest hike at SNGP’s Manpada Forest Zone, just a 10-minute walk from home.

The trail is about 4.5 km and moderate in length, but overall an easy climb. It involves a little scrambling in places, with rocky sections and uneven ground, so good hiking shoes are a must. SNGP, one of the few national parks inside a city, stretches over 104 square kilometers, a mix of rolling hills, streams, and historic paths. It supports a very high biodiversity, including over 1,000 species of plants and hundreds of species of mammals, birds, butterflies, reptiles, and insects. Our guide believed that the British had tried to create an exotic botanical garden here, surrounding the manmade reservoirs in the park.

While this is marked as a bird-watching zone, no birds were spotted during our walk. However, there were lots of butterflies throughout the trail. The guide was especially warm and engaging, lending LO her butterfly identification book, which turned the hike into a hands-on learning experience. LO was thrilled, carefully lifting her binoculars to her eyes every now and then, fully immersed.

The hike peaks at a plateau with panoramic views: on one side, lush paddy fields and the rolling hills of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, and on the other, the urban sprawl of Thane–Mumbai, a striking contrast between nature and city. The morning started cool and shaded, so I dressed LO in full pants and full sleeves in thicker material, perfect for the forest canopy. However, once we reached the open plateau, the sun made them too warm. LO grew uncomfortable and was eager to head down quickly, get home, and change. Once back under the shady canopy, the relief was immediate. She didn’t complain but later, at home, changing clothes felt like the final reward of the morning.

At the end of the hike, we visited the beautiful butterfly garden at the entrance. By then, LO was confidently identifying multiple butterfly species on her own.

So bring your little explorers along and let them experience the wonder of hands-on learning in the heart of the forest that is called the lungs of the city.

18/05/2026

When I saw and her son dancing their hearts out at Noel Alexander’s workshop, it brought an instant smile to my face. a viral choreographer known for his electrifying energy and signature style, had taken social media by storm with his Kaantha choreography. The choreography is a mesmerizing blend of contemporary and folk elements that makes every move feel both effortless and powerful.

With some research, I discovered that the same workshop was happening nearby and perfectly matched our dates in India. I thought how wonderful it would be for the LO to experience it. I initially considered taking her myself, but I can’t dance to save my life or yours. I was filled either dread and consternation until I hit upon the idea of sending her with her older cousin. Alas, her cousin was not free, but it turned out she was busy attending Noel’s workshop!

I quickly rushed over with the LO and dropped her off for her very first dance workshop in India. From the moment she stepped into the studio, the atmosphere was electric. The room pulsed with music, laughter, and movement. Noel is known for his ability to break down even the most sequences steps into easy steps, while keeping the energy high and the excitement contagious. Even then, the choreography was admittedly challenging for the LO. So, she chose to sit out and watch.

Even though she had been too shy to try, she brought home the joy and energy of the session.

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