Caroll, a master of tales and travel, real and imagined, gave us the perspective to travel to a wonderland at the speed of thought and more.
We bring to you Portmanteau, a dream catcher and weaver of travels, companion too for when you embark on that voyage. Like its namesake, enabling travelling in style and luxury, holding within it all the essential and then some. As the master himself put it, 'The time has come,' the walrus said, 'to talk of many things: of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings.'
Portmanteau will reach you fortnightly packed with goodies and quirks from around the globe. Yes, if you want to add a bit of your own or just holler an appreciation, we would love nothing more than that! So feel free to write to us at the end of your Portmanteau dalliance.
So without further ado, your portmanteau is ready for your voyage.
Sharing the mutual love for travel!
Ashish
A deep dive into a story that's arcane, thoughtful, and sometimes humorous!
Something unimaginably beautiful commands a legend for every little thing that makes it beautiful. No wonder legends are plenty in Hawaii, possibly the largest number of folklores anywhere in the world. Long before the civilized world embarked on seafaring ways, denizens of the Pacific Islands had taken to the open ocean like fish. Many legends have commonality across the fifty shades of blue.
Maui and the demigods rule the narrative across islands and countries weaving a rich tapestry of shared culture and identity. Then there are legends inspired by the uniqueness of an island. The Naupaka flower is curious in more than one way, or should we say half-way. Seen growing in the mountains of Hawaii or closer to the coastline, this white flower is, well half a flower.
A wallet full of Pizza, anyone?
We would travel to the ends of the world in search of great pizza. That said, all pizza still lead to Rome. Well, Italy. The whole world has done its best to catch up, yet the homeland has its charm. Few pizzas are a little shy and still hide in the beautiful cobblestone streets of old cities such as Naples. One of our favourites is the wallet pizza! “Pizza a portafoglio” is best enjoyed in its purest form, the delicious and minimal Margherita (Yes, we are pizza purists. Bite into us!).
A smallish pizza, Pizza a portafoglio folds into four to fit in between your fingers, as you roam the town taking in the beauty, through eyes and mouth! You say big deal? You bet! To have a pizza that four-folds into a soft juicy treat is no mean feat—that too a Margherita where every ingredient has to work hard to create magic. Most popular in and around Naples, this is one wallet, we recommend you keep topping up.
Snow covers the green grass, blocks the roads, is a muddy mess, in general, makes it inconvenient. Not unlike the times, we are living through. The ever optimists, Calvin and Hobbes show us the glass half full side of the story on a snowy day.
We are inspired to borrow a leaf from the great work of Bill Waterson, literally and metaphorically, as we continue our explorations of the world we so dearly love, for now through this travel mate of ours, Portmanteau.
Movies that inspire, tickle and awaken the traveller in you!
As destinations go, the canyons of North America have an attraction as few other places do. Fraught with dangers from smooth cliff faces to flash floods, almost desert-like austerity with some mean beasts ruling the terrain, one would fail to understand the magnetism of the canyons. Yet millions of us make our pilgrimage to these snaking tunnels and cliffs carved by the dance of destruction between the ever-moving water and the never-moving boulders. A place such as this that draws travellers and adventurers alike is bound to have many stories. One such is that of Aron’s choice. While canyoneering, he slips and falls with his hand stuck between boulders. His choice - amputate his arm or die waiting for help.
Based on the true story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, The Terminal is one of the most classic comedy-travel movies ever. It tells the story of a man in transit to the USA, who is forced to turn the JFK airport terminal into his home, after a diplomatic and bureaucratic nightmare involving his country leaves him without a nationality, meaning he cannot enter the United States legally.
With an airport director that is adamant on not having migrants live in the airport illegally, what follows is a hilarious tale of a simple, blissfully ignorant man who adjusts to calling the airport his home, and even becomes employed (under the table).
Directed by and starring Ben Stiller, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty was not exactly a box office success, nor does it hold much purview among movie critics. And yet, I’ve found myself rewatching it several times. Whether it’s for the drop dead gorgeous visuals of Iceland and the Himalayas that are portrayed in the film, or the quirky acting of Stiller And Co, I’m not sure.
The film’s premise is simple: A man must embark on a journey to find a photographer to retrieve a photograph to be used for a magazine cover. What ensues is a goose chase that spans 4 countries and 3 continents.
Read about an archipelago that's both Argentine and British, and has its own unique identity today.
Imagine a country whose population doubles if a fully loaded cruise ship would land on its ports! Falklands for you cold, windy platter! Eight hundred-odd islands in the sub-Antarctic region, although touted as the gateway to Antarctica, someone missed the memo, as more ships sail to the Antarctic Peninsula than to these islands.
Now, precisely the kind of place we would like to be! As close to the South Pole as London is to the North Pole, the difference being no landmass to break the strong chilli winds, leads to two curiosities - trees that grow horizontally and a population who are more British than Britain, stiff frozen upper lips, huh?
"Thanks to Covid-19, I don't need to blame my friends this year for cancelling the Antarctic Expedition!"
Baker Deepthi Wadhwani shares a delectable recipe for a cheesy, garlic-y pizza bread that you can't stop eating once it's out of the oven.
"I’ve been interested in baking since my childhood. I grew up In a house where the bookshelves were packed with cookbooks and mesmerising cake and dessert recipe books, I was naturally drawn to the kitchen!
My fascination with baking started because of the oven. As a child, the oven was a magical machine we owned. I would sit and watch the cake batter rise. I have had my fair share of failures as well. Seeing my cake rise and fall, like it just had a heart attack or something.But, with time, I perfected some recipes and started taking orders for birthdays and other events. It’s been a little over 11 years, and I now consider myself a decent baker. It’s hard to pick a favourite food. I like so many things that I won’t give up ever - Rajma chawal, Chicken Biryani, spaghetti Aglio olio, Neapolitan pizza, juicy chicken steaks, Ratatouille, among others.
In deserts, I love dark chocolate mousse, Berry Charlotte, a simple Panna Cotta and even a single slice of vanilla pound cake will hit the right spot for me. "
Deepti Wadhwani
Add all the ingredients for the dough except butter into a bowl and knead for about 15-20 minutes, checking if it's smoothly yielding. Now add the soft butter and gently knead till it’s fused. Cover bowl with a cling wrap and set aside to rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1-2 hours.
Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the garlic butter. Once the dough doubles in size, punch it down and turn it over on to an oiled kitchen counter. Roll out the dough into a square about 8” by 8” roughly. Spread the garlic butter evenly. Now starting from the far side, roll the dough towards you. Cut into equal size slices. About 10-14 depending on the size.
Place it in a greased round pan. Cover with a cling wrap and let it rise again until doubled in size. About 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade. Brush the top of the bread with some milk gently and sprinkle some sea salt and mixed herbs.
Bake for 20-25minutes. The bread should be golden brown and will sound hollow when you tap the sides and bottom. You could add some cheese at this stage and quickly bake it for another 5-8 minutes or until the cheese melts.
1/4 cup Water (room temperature)
2 teaspoon Sugar
2 teaspoons Yeast (instant dry yeast)
1/4 cup Butter (softened)
1/2 cup Milk room temperature.
2 1/3 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
Garlic Butter:
6 Tablespoons Butter (softened)
3 Garlic Cloves (grated) or 1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Dried Parsley or Italian Seasoning
Fresh Chives chopped (optional)
A blissfully chaotic and groovy playlist of 10 songs ranging from the 70s to new age sound
Puzzles to get your neurons firing.
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