Vikram Deshpande is a foreign-affairs writer whose reporting is rooted in European capitals and regularly reaches into South Asia's diaspora communities. He argues that Europe's choices — on China, on Russia, on migration — are read closely in Delhi for what they signal about the wider order.
Recent work
Where the Forest Goddess Still Dwells Among the Deodars
Nestled within a ancient deodar forest in Manali, Hidimba Devi Temple is one of Himachal Pradesh's most revered and visually striking shrines. Built in 1553 CE, this pagoda-style temple honours Hidimba, the forest goddess and wife of the Pandava Bhima, blending epic mythology with living folk worship. For the traveller seeking both spiritual depth and Himalayan grandeur, Hidimba Temple is an unmissable encounter with India's unbroken civilisational story.
Mahabalipuram: Where Stone Speaks and the Sea Listens
Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Tamil Nadu coastline, is one of India's most extraordinary open-air monuments — a living gallery of Pallava artistry carved directly into granite boulders and shoreline rock. From the Shore Temple to Arjuna's Penance, these seventh and eighth-century masterworks are not relics of a vanished world but active expressions of India's unbroken civilisational imagination. This article explores what awaits the traveller who arrives at Mahabalipuram ready to look — and truly see.