1.
Earlier this month the woods still wore shades of winter. Brown dominated the view, and in all the dryness there were few visible signs of plant life. The sun shone generously, and light reached parts inaccessible in other seasons. Parrots screeched above. Every so often, the deep rattle of a woodpecker echoed through the woods. Below, at the foot of some trees, moss clung to all sides and rose up along the north.
This morning, for no particular reason, I decide to go on a walk. It’s cold outside, close to zero degrees celcius, but it is a clear day and the anticipation of a sun-filled afternoon makes this morning feel less cold. Behind the low fences surrounding little gardens facing the main street I spot the first buds on bare branches. Spring is beginning to emerge from the shadow of Winter (UNDER CONSTRUCTION, as Dave says), but if you looked at the landscape from a distance, you wouldn’t know.
Continue reading “A Morning Walk”
1.
Snow arrived today.
1. The exhibition
On a rainy Saturday afternoon in September, during a weekend in Lausanne, I spot a notice for an Edward Hopper exhibition running at a local museum. I have never seen a Hopper original, and I soon start towards Fondation de l’Hermitage – a 19th century residence that houses temporary exhibitions, – looking forward to a quiet afternoon in the company of paintings I love.
Continue reading “Edward Hopper and the eternal moment”
On a Saturday morning in Brussels not too long ago, we set out, wife and I, towards Avenue Louise, for a breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien.
The other day I saw a sketch that showed a girl walking in the woods. Above the trees, tracing the outlines of the highest branches, were three words: WAITING FOR SPRING.
I’ve been waiting for spring for a while now. If one was to believe the radio, everyone in this region has been waiting for spring for a while now. Two months ago when I returned from India, I assumed, based on the experience of nine winters, that I had escaped the most severe part. But Nature mocks our confident notions of having understood her, overturns what we take for granted: I soon learned I had landed in the middle of a harsh and extended winter. Eight weeks hence there are traces of snow on the sidewalks, the car windscreens need to scraped free of ice each morning, and the grey countryside feels like a frame from a science fiction movie portraying an apocalyptic landscape.
The Indian Drifter: A common feature of the urban Indian landscape, the Drifter is someone who is simply hanging around, doing nothing apart from wandering idly from one place to the next. Predominantly male, the Indian Drifter is easy to spot: standing listlessly on the street-side, squatting in front of a shop, installed next to a street peddler, snoozing in a park – you get the idea. The Indian Drifter is not to be confused with the homeless: he does not carry with him all his belongings, and gives the impression of someone ready to move on, quite unlike the homeless we see lodged permanently on the footpaths and subways in the West. Continue reading “Indians at work”
Parmanu 