More from my trip to Little India. I saw these installations of elephants in a street off the main Serangoon Road and I was fascinated! I love elephants and am always drawn to these gentle giants. There were many people around, probably removing some chairs as there was an event there earlier, so the pictures may not be the best as I tried to keep them out of the frame as much as possible.
A Deconstructed Heart – Shaheen Ashraf-Ahmed
Mirza is a middle-aged Indian college professor whose wife has left him. He moves out of his house into a tent in his back garden, where he sets up an outdoor classroom and serves tea to his kind but bewildered neighbors. He is visited by the irritable spirit of his long-dead teacher, Khan Sahib, who is befuddled by the dysfunctions of modern life.
In the north of England, Mirza’s niece, Amal, is finishing up her last year of college before she is expected to join her parents in their new home in India. Asked by her father to talk her uncle back to his senses, she moves into Mirza’s house, and they soon are connected by their shared loneliness.
She meets Rehan, Mirza’s student, and is intrigued by the path of certainty he has built over his own loss and loneliness – a certainty that is threatened by his growing feelings for her. When Rehan disappears, Amal’s suffering forces Mirza to face the world once more.
Together, Mirza and Amal must come to a new understanding of what it means to be an immigrant family when the old traditions have unraveled.
Usually, when I prepare vermicelli for dinner, it’s always both this lemon vermicelli and the coconut vermicelli I shared a couple of weeks back. So this was made the same time we made the coconut vermicelli. This is also super easy to make and will appeal to those who like a sharp tangy taste!
Lemon Semiya or Vermicelli
Ingredients:
Method:
Notes:
The Hell Screen – I.J. Parker
Eleventh-century Japan: After a difficult but successful assignment as provisional governor of Eichigo, Akitada Sugawara is finally allowed to return to Heian Kyo. But instead of a triumphant homecoming accompanied by his beautiful wife and young son, Akitada must ride ahead of his entourage to the sickbed of his dying mother. Fading light and a steady downpour interrupt his journey, forcing him to take refuge in a temple where a brilliantly illustrated hell screen and a piercing cry disturb his restless sleep.
Upon his arrival, Akitada finds his mother, sick and bitter, cursing his return, while his youngest sister, Yoshiko, forsakes her own happiness to serve as the old woman’s nurse and maid. Only his sister Akiko seems fortunate – married to a wealthy nobleman, Toshikage, and expecting their first child. But appearances prove to be deceptive, for it is not long before Akitada is asked to help clear his brother-in-law’s name. In the course of his investigation, Akitada learns that his night at the temple was disturbed by more than a terrible scream. A woman has been murdered, and because of his reputation for detective work, Akitada must solve another mystery. Personal and professional interests begin to merge as Akitada becomes ensnared in a tangled web of deceit and malevolence that will, in the end, strike very close to home.
Another boring week but with Diwali sandwiched in the middle, the monotony of the week was lessened.
I have been wallowing in self pity for a while now and have decided this is it – I want to stop doing that and start a new routine, one which is a more productive one!
Have a productive week folks!
Memories and Such 