travel, books, art, stories, mumbai, music & more
The Egyptian galleries in the British Museum in London, perhaps, receive the maximum number of visitors every day. These galleries are full of mummies, figurines of gods and shabtis, sculptures of boats, doors, beetles, the Rosetta Stone, busts of various pharaohs, etc. Amidst all these objects and artifacts from Egypt, is the towering stone of Rameses II.
Continue reading “Museum Treasure: Bust of Rameses II”
The Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London is a favourite of mine. I love their collections, but more than that I love the fact that they allow visitors to photograph their treasures. One of my favourite exhibits from there is a ceramic fireplace from Turkey.
Continue reading “Museum Treasure: The blue fireplace from Turkey”
One morning, on an exceptionally clear October day of 2008, I was walking in Regent’s Park in London. It was along a path that I had not taken before and I was busy taking in all the new sights. Suddenly, an intriguing glint of gold in the distance caught my eye, and I walked in that direction to further explore the source.
As I stood there clicking photographs, a family passed me by wishing me “Eid Mubarak”, and then another family and then some more. It was then that I realised that it was Eid-ul-Fitr or Ramadan Id that day.
Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated in the Indian sub-continent on August 31 (the rest of the world will celebrate it a day early), and I take this occasion to wish all my readers Eid Mubarak 🙂
The English pubs, inns and bars are an institution in themselves, and the local people are very proud of them. Their history, their quirky names, the drinks they serve, as well as the err… food has loyal followers. During my year-long stay in London, I visited quite a few of them and, in the process, developed a love-hate relationship with them.
I love their exteriors (bright electric blue, red, yellow, black), their quirky names (how about The Slug and the Lettuce), and the history that many of them have, but don’t really care much for what they serve. That’s because I hate the smell of beer, ale, etc. and don’t eat non-vegetarian good. And the less said about the vegetarian food served in such places, the better. The worst meal that I can ever remember having was at an inn in Kent—a pumpkin risotto (kaddu ka khichdi for you and me) garnished with blue cheese and pine nuts. Aargh !!!! However, the soups served in such places are hearty and to die for. Not surprisingly, one of my best meals has also been at an inn (The Waffles Inn at St. Albans) where I had mixed vegetable soup with bread and lots of butter. Mmmm…
So presenting the side of pubs, inns and bars that I like. While I remember where most of them are located, my apologies for those that I don’t.
Continue reading “Pubs, inns, bars”
Harry Potter may have started off as a creation of literary imagination, but over the years has become very real to many people. Thanks to the success of the books and the films (not to mention the excellent marketing), Harry Potter has entered into our collective imagination and achieved cult status. And in a few years time, the books will probably be hailed as a classic. Already, there are talks of including the books as part of the syllabus and I saw quite a few blog posts recently on “management lessons learnt from Harry Potter”.
So it is no surprise that Harry Potter is also an attraction for tourists to the UK who try to visit places from the books as well as places where they were filmed. There are guided tours which undertake Harry Potter tours for the besotted tourist/fan. For example, London Walks (which conducts guided walks in and around London), has three different Harry Potter walking tours (you can read more about them here).
Now, while I am a big fan of the Harry Potter books, I am not a great fan of the Harry Potter films. So while I did not join any of the guided Harry Potter tours, it didn’t stop me getting all excited whenever I chanced upon a location during the course of my travels.
Continue reading “Harry Potter for the tourist”
This post won an IndiSurprize at the HP Take Flight with Colour Contest
Imagination is such a wonderful thing isn’t it? We all use it in our own unique ways. I use most of mine to give colour, form and shape to characters, places, and scenes described in books.
I was very fortunate to be smothered surrounded by all sorts of books growing up (and I still am—that is, both growing up and surrounded by books ;-)), which gave ample scope for my imagination. Even today, whenever I read something—even something as dry as a research paper that I am copy-editing—the B&W words on the paper immediately transform into an image matching the description, but shaped my imagination. This whole process is so instinctive and automatic that all I have to do is to pick up something and start reading for the B&W words to coalesce in my mind to form 3D images in full colour. This image could be static or moving; as I continue reading, the images flicker, change, or transform keeping pace with the narrative.
I find it easier to conjure up images of some words and narratives than others. Predictably, familiar contexts and settings, particularly those that I have experienced, are easy to imagine and visualise, but unfamiliar ones present a challenge. But, hey, that’s what a colourful imagination is for, right?
Continue reading “From B&W to 3D colour”
My Favourite Things 