Ovid in the Time of Covid: Vulnerability

As the Covid pandemic rages on, albeit at a lower level of transmission, we can never be sure that it will go away. In fact, there seems to be a growing acceptance around the world now that Covid-19 will be in our midst for a long time and we need to be fully vaccinated against… Continue reading Ovid in the Time of Covid: Vulnerability

Of Writing and Writing Instruments

The act of transcribing one’s thoughts on a page or any surface dates back millennia and is inextricably linked with our being human and needing to communicate. Whether expressed as ideograms or drawings, like the Lascaux cave drawings in the Dordogne region of France, this form of communication developed even before languages and scripts were… Continue reading Of Writing and Writing Instruments

Ovid in the Time of Covid: The Healing Touch

Just when we thought that vaccines had the Covid-19 pandemic under control, at least in western countries, the Delta variant threatens to derail whatever progress was made. In India too, as well as in South-East Asia, the pandemic continues to rage, with not much improvement in daily new cases. At a time like this, we… Continue reading Ovid in the Time of Covid: The Healing Touch

Ovid in the Time of Covid: Locked Down

Even as parts of the world emerge from lockdowns imposed in the wake of the second and third waves of the coronavirus, it appears that yet another variant and wave could threaten to send us scurrying back indoors. Between trying to get back to life as we knew it and severe restrictions, we are having… Continue reading Ovid in the Time of Covid: Locked Down

Impressions and Sketches of Another Age

While dusting and spring-cleaning my father’s bookshelves at home in Goa, I happened to discover a book I had never seen before in his collection. When I opened it, I was even more surprised to see his inscription: Daryaganj pavement, Delhi, 1999. He did visit me in Delhi around then and we might have wandered… Continue reading Impressions and Sketches of Another Age

Ovid in the Time of Covid: Careless Consumption

June 5, 2021, was World Environment Day and since the Covid pandemic is in many ways connected with the environment, I thought I’d base this month’s Ovid in the Time of Covid on the story of Phaeton from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Just last month, India was struck by two cyclones in the Arabian Sea as well… Continue reading Ovid in the Time of Covid: Careless Consumption