Dayabai

I was thinking if I were to leave this blog alone for a long time, the post I would want seen right on top would be about Dayabai (Mercy Mathew). Almost every day there's a moment when we think we were belittled by someone or something we read on other people's wins of some kind. Some people I've met lately have been saying they dont know what it is they want to do in life and fear they'll end up nowhere and pitied and without the pledge of a man. It should be clear that everyone has an obligation to be a very particular fanatic. Dayabai is someone about whom many herdhumans, who have seen her about her life, feel sorry for. She's about 60 now and with age comes a little immunity from unwanted impressions. But in her 30s40s they thought she was positively deranged - an unmarried woman unaligned to any ideology or political party, club, living in a village she was neither born in, brought to nor invited into. If you watch videos of her you can see how easy it is to pick her weakneses out, you could start with her voice that is almost constantly shakey with poorly managed emotion. This makes me think of a certain opposite a lot of women and men (Jat Club) like to hold up as a model for strength and women: Renuka Choudhary. Strident in everyway: large, loud and commanding. Another moment is enought to deliver up the ghost of stage thrills. Everybody likes a good show; the pity is not knowing the default is masks-off and forgetting lines and mumbling and looking disgraceful and vulnerable. Then again lets be true to ourselves about what it means to be a woman; something that's isntinctively puzzled at the ambition of boxing police officers and outshouting another gender.

This time last year, Tony Joseph stepped down as Editor of Businessworld after a couple of years in which he really made it something that poohed out some infectiously dull competition. Really, it wasn't just that, I remember thinking ever since it was launched it carried the best journalism in the country. But even after I came to see that financial journalism is simply better than pulpy mainstream because it just had to be factually competent and name the right theories in a way politcal journalism here for some reason doesn't even pretend to know, it was still clear that businessworld was combining exciting information in right-sized packets in a dimension and cover that never threw attitude, just excitement in a very new way. It would be pertty accurate to say Tony made this happen.

So when I saw last month he was no longer the editor, I could only hope Jehangir Poch wouldn't bung things up. From what I've seen so far he's playing it safe and not trying to fix a fantastic creation.

Marcel Proust: everything makes sense

The art of letting slip: the name of a famous relative & other more meaningful arts

To certain people letting slip the name of a famous relative is the only fix for their flagging self-worth; they do it very often. Others marry for that sweet privelege, acceeding to bonded copulation for a long-coveted proximity to recorded literary history. This gets me to my most famous contemporary relative who by above standards is emininetly disreputable. This would be something to boast about if he were'nt deceptive and apologetic of what it is he really does. dear cousin chroma (not real name but rhymes).
On to the more meaningful arts and news:
- I've been looking for this medieval illustration of the the mythical-seeming Land of Hermaphrodites that Marco Polo mentioned from his travels. But it's nowhere on the net this illustration.
- This morning I found myself dancing like Pan to some radio track. With shades on. Halfway in a pose, Peeping into the mirror for an inst, I was in this bachanallian Pan pose [image], one knee cocked to the level of my neck
- Sestinas make sense but still not certain what canzones are meant to obey
- In thoughtful news: Coming to the assistance of Kerala's vanilla farmers (facing falling prices) Amul has decided to switch to natural vanilla flavour in its entire range of vanilla icecreams. An Amul spokesman said the move would make Amul the first national brand to use natural vanilla extracts instead of synthetic vanilla. Farmers had contacted GCMMF and Sharad Pawar to make use of natural vanilla flavour mandatory for all ice-cream maufacturers in the country.

Aluzinc cladding house, Chile

Aluzinc cladding house in South Chile (?good in all lighting)
Architects: Pezo von Ellrichshausen Architects

I am in absolute love with my darling eldest sister who visited home yesterday in a fresh boy cut. Now in her seventh month with her second, she sat like a sweet happy bud when i saw her yesterday evening. Wearing her favorite pink T with white polkas and sportingthis new tumble boy cut that brought out her cherub blossom. What a pretty thing. And pulling off a nice surprise like that on everyone including her husband. Simply Adorable and the most precious sweet thing I have seen in ages. Exuding this general love for all things even the air blunting softly around her. Only small fulfilled independent birds have made me feel the same way. Some plants, and flowering trees too, squirrels and sparkling stars.I must get something for her this weekend. dear sweet treasure.

It's been a year since I could pick up any fiction, so what can i do but congratulate my instincts and the circumstances that led me to sound direction that got me here: Last month after tortured mulling, it was picked; nothing could change my speed and it took 3 weeks to walk through the confiding marvel of Banville's The Sea. Being so well turned at every step, I can't reconcile with the need for its smart ending. Just past midnight, you see it's been just a few minutes since I read the last words. Was Rose's identity coup really necessary? Maybe I'll come round in time?

David Yocum and Brian Bell's architecture office (Atlanta)