/maybe I can fly April 9, 2024 For many centuries, humans have tried to fly just like the birds. Wings made of feathers or lightweight wood have been attached to arms to test their ability to fly. The results were often disastrous as the muscles of the human arms are not like birds and can not move with the strength of a bird. Remember Daedalus? An engineer who was imprisoned by King Minos. With his son, Icarus, he made wings […]
/of falling and flying April 7, 2024 You have been at it for so long. Incessantly cruising. Stopping for a quick glass of perspective and soda and then back again. There are times when you have been stressed almost beyond the breaking point. And then there are times when it feels as if your heart has been placed onto a pile of soft down feathers. Some of your stories have had happy endings. Some haven’t. Some were meant to be. […]
/commonplace April 5, 2024 A broken streetlight. A ladder into water and void. A bridge to cross. What are these objects in our daily lives? Uneventful, uninteresting, insipid, ordinary… commonplace. Yet they have so much character. More than the fancy chandeliers bathing the inside of Moulin Rouge with shimmering that transports you into a realm of theatrical opulence. The ordinary lamp post on the street has seen more changes in seasons, witnessed heartbreaks, and proposals, taken the beating of hail […]
/the city of light? love? April 3, 2024 Why is Paris called the City of Light? Two reasons. First, it was among the first European cities to use gas street lamps back in the 1860s, making it literally a City of Light. But also because earlier, in the 18th century, Paris was essentially a hub during the Age of Enlightenment. So metaphorically light; with enlightened minds. Why is it called the City of Love? While most people seem to agree […]
/the blend April 1, 2024 I have spoken about the architecture in Paris in my previous two posts at length. And going by this one, I believe it warrants the mentions. Be it the Gothic cathedral built on the ruins of two earlier churches, which were themselves predated by a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter; and it was sadly recovering from an almost ruining incident itself. Or be it the Arc de Triomphe that sits in a circular plaza from […]
/negentropy March 28, 2024 If a city could be the quintessential objectification of the concept of negentropy, this would be it. The buildings—perfectly aligned. The buildings next to the perfectly aligned buildings—straight like the arrow of Cupid. The street—impeccably arranged. The locality next to the impeccably arranged street—perfectly geometric. It’s like someone took Earth-sized geometrical instruments and chiseled the city. Be it the historical Egyptian obelisk, the Grand Mosque of Paris, the 18th-century metal frame called the Eiffel Tower, or […]
/streets of Paris March 26, 2024 Put on a summer coat, slip into your broken-in shoes, queue the classic rock playlist, grip that camera tight, and take the #9 metro line. Route Citymapper to lead you down the street, turn the internet off, and take a walk, a photo walk. Look at the intricacies of the Haussmann architecture—a network of wide, stately boulevards. Observe the cavalcade of enchanting apartments and their uniform facades that transformed the streetscape in the 19th […]
/finding the ordinary March 24, 2024 You are walking by that tall building on your way to work that you always do. The same alley you have run through for years and years. Cross the same place of worship you have given the nod of respect every day for as long as you can remember. They have always been there. Relegated to the background just like the extras filling the scene in a spy movie. You have never thought about […]
/summer state of mind March 23, 2024 It was supposed to be autumn. The light was supposed to be dimmer. The sky bleaker, the foliage yellower, orange, redder, browner, the daylight shorter, the temperature cooler, and animals, birds, and humans alike, preparing for the long, cold months ahead. It was supposed to drape the whole world in varying shades of black and gold. But instead, it was pleasantly warm. The sky was colored in pastel blue. It was anything but […]
