Letter from India

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Thursday, February 5, 2009

In sickness and in health

Imagine my surprise when my friend Supriya (who lives in Australia) called me, as I was riding with my sister. Where are you, I asked? In Delhi she said, I got in this morning. It turned out that her uncle had died a few days ago. She was very attached to him and whenever she was in Delhi she stayed... Sign in to see full entry.

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Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Afghan Rhapsody

I have been going through my photos of Afghanistan as I was writing an article for a book being put together by people who have lived and worked in Afghanistan. The article got done and I got to go through all the photographs I had taken while I was there. I came across these photos - of a trip we... Sign in to see full entry.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Sixty at Sixty

I am going to be 60 this year. And my goal is to be 60 kgs by then. I have 11 months to do it and started 10 days ago. My diet plan is designed by Dr.Shikha Sharma, who I was superivsed by 8 years ago. I lost 12 kgs in 6 months. I like the food plan - its made up of things I like to eat. They fill... Sign in to see full entry.

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Traditional Architecture and Flowers

Where was I all these days? Up in the mountains, ofcourse. As you may now, I was there barely three weeks ago. However, when the opportunity presented itself to go up for a long weekend, I jumped at it. Mahesh was also supposed to come, but didn't as his sister came in from Canada and needed a... Sign in to see full entry.

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Art of Power - Diligence

The second kind of power is diligence. There are four aspects of diligence, says Thay. "The first is when negative emotions haven't manifested in your mind, you don't give them a chance to manifest. In Buddhist psychology the consciousness is described in two layers or levels - the lower layer is... Sign in to see full entry.

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The Art of Power - Faith

The first source of energy, according to Thich Nhat Hanh, is faith. He says, "In the Bible, Jesus said that people with faith could move mountains. But, the word faith is better translated as 'confidence' and 'trust', because it is something inside of us and not directed towards something external.... Sign in to see full entry.

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Monday, January 19, 2009

The Art of Power

I am reading The Art of Power, by Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist Zen master, poet, scholar and peace activist. And, someone I admire and follow. My husband gave me this for my birthday, in December. The back jacket of the book paraphrases the book: "Our society is founded on a very limited... Sign in to see full entry.

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Friday, January 16, 2009

Celebration versus toleration

"Spend time with people who celebrate with you, not tolerate you". I have this quote in my book of quotes which sits on my desk, where I write and work. I opened the page to this today, so I wanted to share with you what the quote says to me. It says, first and foremost, that I need to think about... Sign in to see full entry.

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Lohri - it's about bonfires, peanuts and songs

Yesterday was Lohri, a festival in North India, signifying the end of the harvest season. Last evening, I set out to the Indian Habitat Centre to witness the Lohri celebrations, which are held every year. Yesterday, the open air space at the Habitat was all set for the evening. Chairs and tables as... Sign in to see full entry.

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Wasted Vigil - Pure Poetry

Another beautiful book about Afghanistan. I looked at Nadeem Aslam's latest book several times in the bookstore. The cover picture - five delicious pomegranates (two cut in half) invite the browser. I picked it up and put it down several times, on several visits to different bookstores. Then, on my... Sign in to see full entry.

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About this Blog

I started this blog in mid-March 2006 when I moved to Kabul, Afghanistan, for a four-month assignment. In mid-July I moved back to India, and am continuing the blog.

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