Books

Mali: Bad Ass Librarians of Timbuktu

Who here knew that in the medieval period Mali, especially Timbuktu was a centre of trade and learning? There was also a bustling trade in manuscripts during the era. Numerous such manuscripts were collected by households and were passed down in families. They conserved these as best as they could during all the subsequent turbulentContinue reading “Mali: Bad Ass Librarians of Timbuktu”

Belize: How to Cook a Tapir

I’m back with #booxploringtheworld Belize, which we read for November.✌️ “I suddenly grasped what Aaron had been trying to tell me about not treating the Maya the way I would treat my neighbours in Verona. What had just happened was, to me, a terrifying, once-in-a-lifetime experience. To Maxiana it was commonplace. So was the bite of aContinue reading “Belize: How to Cook a Tapir”

Canada: The Tin Flute

“He was no longer asking, Why am I going? but, Why are we all going? We’re leaving together, it should be for the same reason. It was no longer enough for him to know his own motive. He had to know the truth that was guiding them all, the principle which had guided the soldiersContinue reading “Canada: The Tin Flute”

Korea & Japan: Pachinko

“because she would not believe that she was no different than her parents, that seeing him as only Korean—good or bad—was the same as seeing him only as a bad Korean. She could not see his humanity, and Noah realized that this was what he wanted most of all: to be seen as human.” “PatriotismContinue reading “Korea & Japan: Pachinko”

Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos: The Dragon Apparent

It’s 1951. Most of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (together called Indo-China) is under French colonial influence and the rest under Communist supported Viet Minh rule. There’s a full blown war going on between the French and the Viet-Minh. Three more years till France officially quits Indochina and four more years till the 19 year longContinue reading “Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos: The Dragon Apparent”

Nigeria: Half of a Yellow Sun

“There are two answers to the things they will teach you about our land: the real answer and the answer you give in school to pass. You must read books and learn both answers”.I’m halfway through ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ and loving it as well as feeling a little frightened, because it showcases communalContinue reading “Nigeria: Half of a Yellow Sun”

If We Last

“Our life is a chronology of upshots influencing us till our last breath or beyond that. And all our perceptions, thoughts, ideas and assumptions get stirred up whenever the causes of those effects are outside the tangible circle of our limited knowledge about our life and the universe of half known mysteries. Sometimes life showsContinue reading “If We Last”