Even as the world finds itself in the grip of a coronavirus pandemic, and travel has all but come to a standstill, I thought I'd share my thoughts on what makes cities unique, in their own distinctive way. Architecture. It's one of the dimensions of a city that we admire as visitors. Not just the… Continue reading Writings on the Wall #7: Architecture
Category: The Whistle Library
Protected: Stay-Home April Was Meant For This
Owl About Words: Clog and Dog
Hi. I am starting a new series of blog posts Owl About Words, in place of authors' quotes on books and reading that I have been sharing every month until now. It was prompted by my finding a delightful, old book at my parents' place, called Just Another Word. Written by a British journalist, Ivor… Continue reading Owl About Words: Clog and Dog
The Anarchy: A Cautionary Tale of Capitalism
I have never understood the recent trend (a decade or more) of subtitling book titles, and I suspect it’s the publishers’ tactic of trying to boost book sales. But in the case of William Dalrymple’s recent tome, The Anarchy, the subtitle actually does more justice to the subject: The East India Company, Corporate Violence and… Continue reading The Anarchy: A Cautionary Tale of Capitalism
Writings On the Wall #6: Solidarity
With the threat of Covid-19 spreading to many more countries and cities, it is only to be expected that many places are under lockdown and people are being quarantined. Travel will be severely restricted. I had written in my post on Covid-19 that while the world takes precautionary measures and imposes restrictions, it is better… Continue reading Writings On the Wall #6: Solidarity
Protected: Spring Cleaning For The Mind
Italo Calvino on Reading
Writings on the Wall #5: A Tribute to the Dead
Having just written a post about Olga Tokarczuk's book, Flights, I thought I must share my thoughts on travel as a way of visiting the past and paying a tribute to the great souls who made their cities and countries great. It isn't only about visiting crypts in cathedrals or cemeteries, many a time it… Continue reading Writings on the Wall #5: A Tribute to the Dead
Travel, In Ways You Never Imagined
As someone who loves travel, I must say that Olga Tokarczuk’s book, Flights, opened up new vistas in my mind about how to think about it. Part travelogue, part meditation on time and journeys, part historical storytelling, it is hard to even call it a novel, which is what it is. The genre-defying Flights is… Continue reading Travel, In Ways You Never Imagined










