Hi,

    I am a journalist since 1991.

In late 2006, I resigned my job and took to freelance writing.

By then I was several years into the outdoors as trekker, rock climber and amateur mountaineer. Nothing dramatic; just what I can do, at my pace. I also like cycling and running. Occasionally, I work as an outdoor educator.

This blog is a mix of previously published articles and new ones. It is partial to the outdoors but accommodates other subjects.

Latha Venkatraman, friend and fellow journalist, has co-authored some of the stories, particularly those related to running. My gratitude to her for the support.

Outrigger is updated whenever I am in Mumbai or near computers. When the blog isn’t updated for some time, it means I am traveling. 

Some people have asked me about the blog’s name – why Outrigger?

The name was accidental and apt.

When I was working on the story of the first solo and solo nonstop circumnavigation by Indians in a sail boat, my readings introduced me to outrigger canoes. They typically have a second hull; a thin, long, solid hull meant to stabilize an inherently unstable main hull.

The canoe’s design struck a chord for in a different yet comparable context, I was journalist reduced to unstable life by the vagaries of freelancing.

I could do with a blog as outrigger to maintain my sanity.

When I started this blog I called it Outrigger.

Thank you for visiting.

Wish you the best.

Shyam G Menon

Mumbai, India