General Musharraf has died. How upset I was that day in 1999 when he seized power. I was in university, just a few weeks in. I remember walking through Harvard Square with one of my roommates, trying to speak the mixture of anger and fear I felt, and her lack of understanding. Then, weeks or […]
Today, outside
Today I feel I have nothing to write, as nothing much happened other than desultory work late into the night. The GF and his mother went to Rabbit Island and enjoyed their trip, I enjoyed having things to myself though would have preferred it to be without work. It’s been a breezy day, a little […]
No frogs
No frogs today, is the plague over? Though there was a small rodent in the bath. Not a rat as it barely had a tail, and it clearly hadn’t been there long. The GF’s mother arrived this evening, somewhat wobbly after her journeys but in good spirits and certainly better health than her last visit, […]
Concrete path
Today, blessedly my day off. I started by walking down to the bakery about 10 minutes away for fresh croissants. Along the way a pack of wild dogs emerged and growled but I had learned my lesson from when this happened a few days ago and had a handful of gravel. I didn’t need to […]
Four weddings and a waterfall
On New Year’s Day we went for a pleasant walk up a hill to a waterfall where the water runs over stones carved with scenes from Hindu myths. I had completely forgotten that we’d been there before, but I think I had removed it from my memory as it had been horribly crowded and filled […]
Christmas in Bangkok
In Bangkok the cafes and shops are in full Christmas mode, with carols playing over speakers, plastic Christmas trees with piles of wrapped presents, tinsel, and giant electric snow globes showering styrofoam snow which looks very out of place in semi-tropical heat. In Ambon, where we were only last week, they went in for far […]
Centenary
My father reminded me today that this year marks the centenary of my great-grandfather’s death. He was in the British Indian Army, fought in Burma, and once killed a lion with his sword. He died when my grandfather was two years old and there were no photographs of him, so all my grandfather had of […]
People
I met a rather curious person, not very likable. A shut in who sees no one and never leaves home, but very insistent about how cosmopolitan they are, and how well travelled and widely experienced and knew what was what about the world. All that travelling was while study abroad during their A’levels, over two […]
Other worlds
Sometimes, at dusk, Lahore gets this strange otherworldly glow. It’s like that right now: quite dark in this neighbourhood where there are many trees and lush greenery, but overhead the sky is like an inverted copper bowl. Dusk is a distinctive time for Punjab anyway – if you’re in the countryside there is a quietness […]
Faltering attempt
Made a faltering attempt to introduce a vegetable to my father’s diet today. Since I arrived he has eaten only parathas, roti, naan, rice, daal and red meat, plus a seemingly endless supply of crisps and nimko between meals. Today I ordered one of the few vegetables he will eat, i.e. peas, and he didn’t […]