Can see thestrals now :(

Saw someone die in a freak road accident last night.

One minute the poor fellow was riding pillion on a speeding bike, and the next minute he was on the road - head bashed, bleeding profusely, dead.

While it isn't the first time I've seen a dead body, it's the first time I saw a living being turn into one. With such rapidity at that.

It feels like a coming-of-age of a particularly macabre sort - one that anyone can really do without.

Re-re-awakening...

...this here dead blog.

So turns out the last post I wrote here was over 3 years ago.

A lot happened to contribute to the hiatus, including 3 moves, and one marriage (mine).

That said (not-so-)newlywed busy schedules are no excuse for laziness+procrastination.

So here's an(other) attempt at re-starting.

Fingers crossed!

11th September

M sent me this link to Vivekananda's 'Brothers and sisters of america..." speech on Youtube.

It is an impressive speech. A passionate call for secularism and world peace.

Vivekananda ends with "... I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal."

One can't help but note that these words were uttered on the 11th of September, 1893. Unfortunate coincidence then, that the date stands for the quasi-triumph of fanaticism, and not its death.

This is Earth. You know that, right?

It's bad enough if you tell me that you know of nothing else to see in Paris except the Eiffel.

Then you go on to insult years of education you received at the hands of, hopefully, competent teachers by claiming to have never heard of the French revolution, or Marie Antoinette.

You haven't heard of the Louvre. The lesser said of Orsay or Georges Pompidou or Orangerie, the better.

And need I even mention the Renaissance to you, if you have the gall to ask 'Florence means what?' in that ridiculous accent?

You, who have dared enter this charming town without having let the hallowed name of Galileo enter your sphere of existence.

May I ask you just one thing?

What well were you hiding in, for however long you claim to have existed?

The countdown is on...

Ticket's been booked.

Leaving for India early next month, and will stay for quite a bit.

Now I get to repeat last September's experience. Too much to do here too... too much that needs to be experienced... or experienced again... Rome once more, perhaps?.... Cram in some more travelling?.... Pizza at Andrea's.... Finish all the food in the house.... Shop (for gifts, this time round, luckily)... give up the house... instruct the bank... pack, pack , pack.... all of this while you're already on the other side of the earth mentally, and can't wait to get there physically.

You can't be in two places at once, but I'm damned if I'll ever stop wanting to be.

When you find yourself...

... dreaming of people you last saw a decade ago.
... forgetting the name of the Bandra pizza place you used to order from everyday.
... looking at buildings in Valletta and being reminded of Baroda.

Its time to go home.

Malta

I loved the island.

Despite the fact that my wallet got lost/stolen there.

It is 19 miles by 6, has shops with boards that belong to another century perhaps (oh the joy of seeing haberdashers, ironmongers and greengrocers, in this age of Carrefour and Walmart). Plenty of sunshine (In november, mind you), lovely sea, and very friendly people.

It even has temples that look like Stonehenge, but are older.

Basically, imagine England with perpetual sunshine, siestas, and a lower cost of living, and you have Malta. I was half expecting the famous five to walk out of a tea room or a confectioner's or something (Yes, they have confectioners. And tea rooms.) after having bought food for their next picnic.

What's not to like about such a place?

:)