I think it was this one. It definitely looks like the camera brought from the Soviet Union for me in the mid-1970s by my Ma. She had a stint as a teacher […]
The Hidden Camera and the Khyber Pass
Tongues of Our Mothers
Today is Bishwa Matri Bhasha Dibosh, International Mother Language Day. For Bengalis it’s especially significant, because ours is the language that started it all. On this day, 72 years ago, our fellow […]
Reflections
How do beings communicate with the world? First and foremost through reflection. Reflection is the mechanism for broadcasting and perceiving the fact that one thing (or being) has, in some way, registered […]
Old Years’ Eve
The “New Year” thing is so old, isn’t it? Starting from the banal (resolutions to do what you wanted to do last year) to the quietly sublime (not being able to help […]
Once Upon A River
There’s an old saying: no person can dip his toe in the same river twice. It’s never the same river. Nor the same person. There is a profound truth in this. I […]
Petals and Potshots in the “Pandemic Peace”
Anuj Sood was a bright student. He was brought home wrapped in the Indian national flag, a fallen soldier. He was cremated on Tuesday. His soldier-father, a retired Brigadier General of the […]
Bay of Bengal: View from Rakhine, Myanmar
Dark clouds gathered in the horizon and over the vast stretch of sea along Myanmar’s western coast of Arakan or “Rakhine” as the locals call it. A storm brewed. High winds swept […]
Unlikely Escape
The word “escape” makes me think of an exit. Usually an exit from a small enclosure onto a wide open environment. But I wonder if the more common practice isn’t to enter […]
Excavation Site, Ancient Rome, View from Palatine Hill
Two views of an ancient street, with storefronts (and maybe homes?) stunningly well preserved. A place where regular people lived and worked long ago.
The Goddess of Arts and Sciences
We often think of faith and rationality — or art and science — as dichotomous and mutually exclusive. But human cognitive powers are way richer than that…. This last weekend, it was […]
Editorial Independence vs. Financial Realism: When the hand that feeds extracts a pound of flesh …
In this era of free content, subscription fees can’t keep publications afloat. So, advertisement, more than ever, is the lifeblood of professional journalism. But, in order to survive, is journalism becoming nothing […]
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