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A print of this painting by the Dutchman Jan Vermeer hangs opposite my desk in the office.

I generally don’t write on memes, but this one’s interesting. Firstly, it’s about books. Secondly it was sent to me by a blogger who I’ve read once in a while, but never thought that he read me!
Total Number of Books I Own: Never counted. Close to 1,000. I lugged nine cartons of books when I […]

During my chat with Jai Arjun last week, we spoke about how many books we read. I generally manage around two per week. He was surprised that my reading rate, as a non-lit person, was the same as his. Well, there are caveats. First, I count work related books in my reading list. Second, I […]

I expected to see Yazad featured in this photo exhibition on Contemporary Parsi life. :-)
Click on the gallery and then on each pic.

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast”
From A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
For me, Marine Drive in Bombay is a moveable feast. Wherever I’ve gone, Marine Drive has […]

I love it when an author makes a snarky side comment in a novel. Here’s one from Focault’s Pendulum. (pg 154)
“Historical materialism?” Agliè smiled. “Oh yes, I believe I’ve heard of it. An apocalyptic cult that came out of the Trier region. Am I right?”

I scoured through various bookstores to find Richard Dawkins’ The Blind Watchmaker — and could find it nowhere. I was surprised, because it’s a bestseller. It was on the catalogues of most stores, but not in stock. I was told by both Crossword and Strand that it is out of print in India. […]

Two books caught my eye recently. Yesterday at Crossword it was Sukutu Mehta’s Maximum City : Bombay Lost and Found and today at Strand Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything.
I spent 10-15 minutes browsing through each book and liked what I read. I’m wondering if I should buy them as I […]

A movie I’d want to catch as I like both the book and Ms. Witherspoon.

Book reviews of libertarian science fiction novels - I
“The probability broach”

I went for a quick browse trip to the National Gallery of Modern Art in Bombay this afternoon. NGMA’s permanent collection was on display (they’re most probably in-betwen exhibitions). Most of the stuff was ordinary, with some kitsch thrown in for good measure.
On the first floor, I saw a still life by K H […]

This is for the football fanatics.
On Tuesday, Britain’s National Portrait Gallery was unveiling a “portrait” of the Real Madrid midfielder, comprising a one hour and seven minute-long video film of him asleep - alone - in a bed.
The film shows a close-up Beckham, naked from the waist up, snoozing directly in front of the camera, […]

A female colleague has put up a copy of the poem If… by Rudyard Kipling in her cubicle. But she has changed the last line to “And which is more, you will be grown up my child”
Such violence to my favourite poem hit close to my heart, but I could see that she […]

Van Gogh’s Café at Arles

One of my favourite van Goghs.

A print of this painting by the Dutchman Jan Vermeer hangs opposite my desk in the office. The intensity and concentarion of the geographer inspires me to stop wandering and get back to the work at hand!

Update: Forgotten Delights has an interesting description of the painting.
Vermeer, who is exceptionally skilled at portraying details, has shown […]

Gerogia O’Keefe’s paintings fill up my senses. Her flowers, mountains, skulls and the sparse landscape she painted are so much larger than life. I can feel myself entering those huge petals and losing myself, strangely comforted by their largeness.
There’s a famous O’Keefe called “Pelvis with Pedernal,” I love that pic but can’t seem to […]

Etymology or the study of the origins of words gives me hours of fun. And sometimes the strangest of words have pedigrees that seem rather unlikely. The word fuck is more than 500 years old and it’s first recorded sighting was in a poem, “Flen flyys.”
Read more here.

Rob’s Amazing Poem Generator spews out poetry on demand! (link from Shanti).
Comes nowhere near the real thing. For a great classic, click here. For some fresh contemporary flavours, this blog’s a nice place.

a little language
goes a very long way
the heart understands
an old handkerchief
it still smells of her
personality
photographs - old and new
bring a freshness to my day
frozen images alive!