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Dilruba Pe Dil Aaya
I discovered Dilruba Ahmed’s poetry in the early part of this year and it has stayed with me. The first poem I read was: “Snake Oil, Snake Bite” and it lingered over my days, making me smile at odd-moments as I remembered its tender irony. Imagine my joy when I discovered she had written a ghazal.…
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Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam
A day spent at the Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam. Such peace and tranquility in the heart of a busy city is unusual. The meditative spaces and careful corners are crafted here with such sensitivity.
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Talking to strangers
A few days back my aged taxi driver Abdullah informed me of how Hafez was far from being a purist, he was a diluter of true Persian culture, writing in an Arab form. He quoted Ferdowsi and said, “now he is the man to study for pure Persian literary gems – go read Ferdowsi and…
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The dance of Gods
The blood of Mahisasura dripping from her wrists His decapitation each year, year after year I like that story of Krishna At the back of his throat, she could see, the whole universe The sun, moon, stars, asteroids and meteors – his tonsils and uvula Did he eat them all? You offer aparajita…
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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Being a strong woman isn’t remarkable, it’s normal
“Please do not twist yourself into shapes to please. Don’t do it. If someone likes that version of you, that version of you that is false and holds back, then they actually just like that twisted shape, and not you. And the world is such a gloriously multifaceted, diverse place that there are people in…
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Light and Water: Visual Poetry
Video: central Amsterdam under water in a poetic light display. “After having us cycle along starry night bike paths, Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde has now turned his attention to the power of water. Just over one quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level and the sea is kept at bay by a…
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Miffy at 60
https://flic.kr/s/aHskaK1pD3 Pictures from our visit to the Miffy art installation at the Museumplein in Amsterdam.
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The Body by Boston Gordon
The Body by Boston Gordon – Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics. The Body By Boston Gordon March 16, 2015 There is of course the cutting of the body. Lean away from that for a minute. Stand in the middle of a shack on fabric row and browse the cardboard bricks wrapped in lace…
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The Pond by Gregory Orr
The Pond by Gregory Orr : The Poetry Foundation. Snapping turtles in the pond eat bass, sunfish, and frogs. They do us no harm when we swim. But early this spring two Canada geese lingered, then built a nest. What I’d heard of, our neighbor feared: goslings, as they paddle about, grabbed from below by…
