yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Sarnath on an early morning  Some places take special form at select times, this campus (managed by the  ASI ) is a different world altogether during the mornings ~ Did the Daniells –  Thomas and William  - paint during this time of the day? Is this why  Diana L Eck  calls Banaras – City of light? Neem flowers on the morning grass, fun it is to lay alongside these and watch the Stupa ~ There are nooks and corners that hold surprises, once in a while one comes across changes as well ~ There is something special about this, have little idea about it, but the experience of standing in front of it and look at it was good ~ Just outside stand new installations, whether these were needed is debatable, but now that they are there can one take time out to experience, figure these ~ Previous post on Sarnath  here Other monuments in Banaras Dufferin Bridge Sanskrit University Laat Bhairav

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop Author: Satoshi Yagisawa Translated by: Eric Ozawa Pages: 169 First Published: 2023 Publisher: MANILA PRESS A book after a while A book which I savoured during a train journey A book which celebrates books, bookstores, bondings A book which caught my attention at the Delhi Book Fair A book which reminded me of  Harmony ,  Jaipur Journals , and of course Murakami A book which underscored how the Japanese authors have mastered the art of simplicity Thank you Navjeevan Singh Few glimpses "No matter where you go, or how many books you read, you still know nothing, you haven't seen anything. And that's life. We live our lives trying to find our way." "It's only in secondhand books that you can savour encounters like this, connections that transcend time." It is important to stand still sometimes. Think of it as a little rest in the long journey of your life. This is your harbour. And your boat is just dropping anchor here for a l

These images, unlike the previous post on the topic , are from the lanes,  to be precise one lane  (with respects to Thomson and Thompson ) Aging with grace? Fading away? Or hanging by a thread?  Varying brick sizes and shapes? Or a tree taking over? Or dark lines on the horizon?  A balcony with waves?  Its neighbours are being repurposed as hotels.  Does it eagerly await its turn? Or does it dread the loss of peace?  How does HE see the changes?  Is the window partially open to allow only partial changes?  The lane's width ensures that one is either on two feet or on two wheels! Should we have trips for children to obverse where their elders lived? To see h omes that are disappearing from our midst!

About the children, for the children Nimesh Ved and Anshumalika Rai  This is a part of Teacher Plus, April 2024 issue Thank you: Colleagues at APS and Teacher Plus   For this set of books from Pratham we have tried a fresh approach. We received the books in English and also read them in Hindi, online . We read the books individually and then together. It was an experience to read these books aloud together, in multiple languages, and to discuss, agree, and disagree.   During the past few years that we have had Pratham books at our book room , the quality of translation has only gone up. A Song in Space, for example, has terms like naayaab, roohani, parhej, and dastoor which succinctly capture the essence of the original English text. Similarly, What the Dark Sounds Like has ‘ bahon me bhar lein’ for hugging. The translation here is simple, and like a lot which is simple, it works. Images had us engrossed. Some of them appeared all the more captivating when viewed on the

Some spots are special The other day, I was left wondering all of a sudden Why isn't this the logo for our school Peepal, Ganga, Dufferin Bridge, walk-path, the hour of cowdust And Yogesh's classic from Anand   कहीं दूर जब दिन ढल जाये  सांज की दुल्हन बदन चुराए  चुपके से आये  As carpets and locations go, this will have few parallels Leaves move towards the river, the river moves towards the sea,  Does it also want to meet the sky?  Indivar's lyrics from Anokhi Raat  come to the fore ओह रे ताल मिले नदी के जल में नदी मिले सागर में सागर मिले कौन से जल में कोई जाने ना The branches dance with grace, happiness and abandon They remind of Shailendra's classic from Madhumati ये गोरी नदियों का  चलना  उछलकर की जैसे अल्हड चले पि से मिल कर More about the spot and the tree in another season 

There is something about Banyans  The place I grew up at was named after Banyans - Vadodara - Vad being Gujarati for the Banyan Banaras too has some stunning ones  And, of course, I am not the only one enamoured by these This awe inspiring one at the gate of the CIHTS at Sarnath "जैसे मुझे जानता हो बरसों से देखो, उस दढ़ियल बरगद को देखो मुझे देखा तो कैसे लपका चला आ रहा है मेरी तरफ़" Kedar Nath Singh These at the BHU campus  This a grand presence  This one sneaking up amidst the bricks along with a Peepal , both towered by a Mango  "बरगद के नीचे चबूतरे पर  रेंगता कीड़ा सर उठाकर  देखता है : एक पत्ता और गिरा।"   Ashok Vajpeyi These at the KFI campus at Rajghat  An elephant herd?  A raptor's talons? "मेरे रास्ते में एक मोड़ था और उस मोड़ पर पेड़ था एक बरगद का  ऊंचा घना जिस के साये में  मेरा  बहुत वक़्त बीता है लेकिन हमेशा यही मैं ने सोचा  कि रस्ते में यह मोड़ ही इस लिए है  कि यह पेड़ है" Javed Akhtar The final one at the Sri Lankan Temple at Sarnath   O you sh

Teachers we never meet There is something very poetic about this image ~ Is it about two people mature with age and experience? Or, the warmth that eyes carry when poetry flourishes? Or, about that child that a few adults carry within ~  Were they trying to delicately fit a word in a line? Or, appreciating a word? a line? a word in a line? Or, talking about their unfinished poems? Or, smiling at what they are leaving behind for us?  Harivansh Rai Bachchhan wrote on seeing Gurudev Tagore That he got to know how graceful and stunning old age could be This image perhaps is equally poignant, in a slightly different way though ~ What Ashok Vajpeyi said on Kedar Nath Singh tells u s about both, “He was a poet of both presence and absence, of love and loss .. of anxieties and questions . . And he achieved in his poetic craft that which can be only called Kedar rhythm, a verbal construct uniquely his own but simultaneously communicative" Or, is it just two amazing poets?  Poets who have t

In love with the mountains Some books take you to the mountains as you flip pages Some books remind you of the time you have invested in the mountains Some books make want to go the mountains Some books touch you gently Some books hit you hard  This book does each of these  Ruskin Bond and Namita Gokhale - a big thank you for coming out with the book For allowing me to stand on the shoulders of giants as they shared of their time in the mountains. The cover by Roerich stands tall. Authors include Rahul Sankrityayan, Rabindranath Tagore, Mark Twain, Dom Moraes and Manjushree Thapa.  This is what Namita Gokhale's website refers to the book as, " This anthology attempts to capture some of its complexity and vastness, traveling through time, place, and attitude. Beauty and melancholy, courage and defeat, philosophy and poetry surprise and illuminate us in these pages " Mountains, many a time, make us go silent So does this book Few other books on the mountains  Between Heaven

Our journey with Pratham books Anshumalika Rai and Nimesh Ved Published at Teacher Plus.  Thanks to colleagues at Teacher Plus, Pratham books and Richa.  We received a bunch of recently published books from Pratham publications for review. These books had us revisit our journey, of a few years, with Pratham books. So, rather than only review the fresh books, we take a step back to talk about our experiences with books we already had in our book room. The experience so far Pratham books have been a part of our book room since we rejigged the entire collection of books . Then we had reset not just the furniture but also the ethos of the room. We were keen to create a space that the children would enjoy being at and get the books they would like. During this restructuring phase we visited the book fair in Delhi . Here we got Pratham books. It did not take us long to figure that these were the kind of books we were in need of. Books that were colourful, diverse, and attracti