Dispatches from the Nilgiris is a five-part podcast series about a city-dweller learning that life in the hills follows a very different set of rules.
From unhurried notions of time and astonishingly efficient gossip networks to tea estates, military communities and old-world clubs where cricket whites and "just a spot of milk" remain perfectly normal, the series explores the people and peculiarities that make the Nilgiris unique.
Told with humour, curiosity and affection, these dispatches are ultimately about belonging, and the unexpected moment when a place stops feeling like somewhere you've moved to and starts feeling like home.
Observations. Reflections. The occasional rant.
EPISODE ONE
A city man discovers that in the hills, urgency is more of a suggestion than a principle.
The Hills Refuse To Hurry
EPISODE TWO
Strangers who know my Cats
A mildly alarming encounter with local intelligence networks, unexpected familiarity and feline celebrity.
EPISODE THREE
The Nilgiris, Plural!
A newcomer discovers that the hills are not one world, but several politely sharing the same weather.
EPISODE FOUR
The Last Wodehouse Novel
Cricket whites, bridge, whisky, dress codes and the enduring belief in just a spot of milk.
EPISODE FIVE
The Hills Move In
A return to Bengaluru reveals that the city has not changed very much. Unfortunately, the narrator has.