Many Lives in a Life: Ambedkar and legacy of ideas

People and their ideas take on different meanings as time passes. This process (of changing meanings) has struck me as crucial to understanding ideas and individuals. A person’s work and intellectual legacy takes on a new journey when they are no more and when the work is continued by others. There onward begins interpretation and …

Apa Pant – 5

Apa Pant the Ambassador comes up. Love how candid he is, in his memoir -  Panditji however could charm anyone, any time, with hardly any effort. He was then at the height of his power. When Raosaheb asked him if he had forgotten me, he said, “No, I was just thinking of him just the …

Apa Pant – 4

He writes -  By the end of 1947, Nalini and I left Aundh. That last day in Aundh is still vivid in my memory. I could not believe that I was leaving Aundh for good. All the pots and pans, beds and cupboards and chairs were loaded on to a state-red number plate truck. Baba, …

Apa Pant – 3

Apa Saheb in Africa, with Kenyatta and Oneko on his sides. He served as Indian Ambassador to Norway (1964-66), among others. And so the Oslo reference in his dedication.  What else for admiration, that he named one of his children Avalokita! Handsome man! Should age this way.  Photo credit: Wikimedia

Apa Pant – 2

In this pic from Sikkim, where Apa Saheb was a political officer, I see him (second from right) wearing a pair of Oxford style black leather shoes. That’s a smart choice! Apa got taste. Grew up on Bata’s Oxfords and still swear by them if a man got to dress up for an occasion.  Photo …

Death of a library

Two registers lay open on the front desk with a blunt tipped pencil tucked in one of them. Visitors are required to enter their names in it. Many walk by without a second look. Two women manned the baggage counter, deciding in a seemingly random fashion, bags that must be tagged with a number and …

Brahmagiri: An account

  This is a guest post by my friend Srikara. He explores history of places with a particular interest in Vijayanagara Empire. In this post, he speaks of his visit to Brahmagiri Hills near Bellary, Karnataka.  From this visit he writes, "The sheer scale of devotion, prescience and benevolence that seemed to have gone into …

Social History and the City: A guided tour of Avenue Road

Heterodox is flavour of the season. This encourages me to make transgression into history, a discipline where I can only be described as a consumer of texts and accounts of places and events. Hobsbawm's collection of essays Uncommon People and his endearing essay on jazz music remains a favourite reading in history. I have enjoyed …

Luang Prabang: 25 years since Benedict Anderson’s visit

Tucked deep along the popular and wildly promising backpacker routes of South East Asia lies Luang Prabang. This tiny capital of a former princely state which merged with two other little kingdoms to form Laos opens itself unconditionally to the backpacker, the tourist and the fantasy seeker, all alike. No questions asked, beyond the necessary …

Road to Hampi

Time is slipping by way too fast lately. Between school, university and work travel has suffered. While I am still processing my earlier experience, another ride is being considered. Sitting on a bench at a tea stall in the bazaar area of Hampi I tried making sense of the cluster of shacks, huts and small …