Tag: history
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They hand you a box
They hand you a boxFour neat lines joined at supremely perfect right anglesYour body, rounded at the edges, pliable, more flesh than muscleSqueezing yourself into shape you triumph, look you say, I fitSkin compacted into nothingnessCells harnessed to behave One day, unexpectedly you spill outOver the edges, across the linesMass dictating it’s ruleslook they say,…
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Bohemian Ifs and Classical Butts at the Hermitage
I had mentioned in my previous post of how we had spent a day at the Hermitage Museum and I wanted to share the pictures with you. It was a day of contrasts: the classical beauties in the museum alongside the rusted beauties on the canals. Each unique in their own way. I was hesitant to…
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Teaching the Ghazal in Class
Last week I was subbing at the Vrije Universteit for the Genre, Literature and Analysis class for the Bachelor First Year course. I was teaching the villanelle and ghazal, which involved aspects of the forms as well as close reading. I found myself in a room full of bright, intelligent, engaged, and wise students. They…
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Lisbon day 5: Let’s Go to Alfama
Apoorva said the streets of Alfama reminded him of Ajmer back in the day. I could see this, the curling narrow roads akin to gullies, windows that face each other making room for glances or chats, blinking cats that seemed to be in a languid trance, and Tram 28 meandering through like a boa who…
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Rijksmuseum visit – Summer 2017
The Rijksmuseum was in renovation mode for the longest time and when it opened its main doors to the public a few years back there was such awe and mystery surrounding the building. I have visited the museum several times, when it was not in the current building but off-location, as a tourist, as a…
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Is my uneasiness nurtured or organic?
The past few weeks I have been toying with the idea of getting an e-reader. Many of the books I need for my research and some of the books I want to read are located in and sold from places where shipping and handling charges are way over the price of the books themselves. I…
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My ardas to the ghazal
The ghazal At the university they said, “Oh you should study the ghazal” Perfectly plucked you will understand the nuances of the ghazal My grandfather told me stories that spread beyond words Murdered during partition, the border bled the ghazal I work in corporate communications – I sat with a grant for academics I don’t…
Diligent Candy 