Protected: Springtime Reading During the Pandemic

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Writings on The Wall #17: The Countryside

The Covid-19 pandemic is perhaps the perfect time to rediscover the joys of nature in the countryside. Many people in the US and elsewhere are said to have left the big city, its crowds and congestion behind and made their homes out in the country, if only for a while. In my post on the… Continue reading Writings on The Wall #17: The Countryside

Ovid in the Time of Covid: Staying Away

The second of my Ovid in the Time of Covid pieces, this one is called Staying Away and is inspired by the story of Actaeon in The Metamorphoses that some of you might be familiar with. Actaeon, while on a hunting trip with his friends, takes a break and goes to a stream near a… Continue reading Ovid in the Time of Covid: Staying Away

Protected: Stepping Into 2021, in Books and Music

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Gandhi in India and Beyond

The last book I read in 2020 was Ram Guha’s Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World and I don’t think I could have ended what was a tumultuous year with a better read. In a year that was arguably the most chaotic that India has seen since Independence and the Partition, and that has… Continue reading Gandhi in India and Beyond

Writings on The Wall #16: New Year Wishes

The few of us fortunate enough to have seen 2020 through can hopefully look forward to a better 2021. As always, this is the time for new year resolutions, and perhaps most people will long to be out once again, meeting their friends, relations and colleagues. Many will also be hoping to travel freely once… Continue reading Writings on The Wall #16: New Year Wishes

Ovid in the Time of Covid: Chaos

As we begin 2021, I thought of sharing a new monthly piece in place of Owl About Words, in which I shared Ivor Brown’s views of various English words, their origins, usage, etc. from his book, Just Another Word. As TS Eliot wrote in Four Quartets: “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language… Continue reading Ovid in the Time of Covid: Chaos

Writings on The Wall #15: New Year Gift

Hello readers. Hope you are all enjoying a safe festive season in 2020. While the coronavirus pandemic rages around the world, there is hope in the new vaccines that are being produced. And perhaps those of us lucky enough to make it through 2020 can look forward to a better new year. The festive season… Continue reading Writings on The Wall #15: New Year Gift

History of Burma, But Which One?

I am back to reading non-fiction now, as you can tell. My father bought The Hidden History of Burma early this year and I thought it’s time I read it. Thant Myint-U, the author, being the grandson of U Thant, former UN Secretary General, was an important draw, of course. It’s a country I first… Continue reading History of Burma, But Which One?