(On a day in November, 2022) Six AM in Panaji. Mr Savio Fonseca, punctuality embodied, was already at Vivenda Rebelo, our cosy hide, in Panaji. Mr Fonseca is an ardent birder with a good physique and smart body language - I read him at first sight. We felt we had known each other for a long time, though I was meeting him for the first time. The day was yet to break. We expected a preview of daybreak, but fog held up a curtain, hiding the signs of natural time. We were heading to the Karmali wetland. The short distance was covered quickly. Am I a bird watcher? No, but anytime I could be one. My companion, Sharmila, was and is. Mr Fonseca, whose mission we are on, is a born birdwatcher, researcher, and author. He is a hunter-turned-lover of birds. During the time we spent together, I noticed how mindfully he spots birds, photographs them, and speaks about them. With him, I felt that time was standing still. The extremity of his focused attention inspired me to ...
(Improvisation on Nizar’s offhand, loud thinking on Indian democracy) What characterises a street? An auto comes, stops, pulls to the side of the road, and the driver walks towards a tea shop. People are waiting for the bus at the bus stand. A bus arrives and stops a bit away from where people were waiting. They run after the bus. Three cars come together as if in a race, but nothing happens. One of them takes a sharp turn, allowing the other to overtake. This forms street life; this is the character of a street. Its character is characterlessness. The life of a street is the result of a plethora of quick decisions made in ephemeral, random contexts. The rich, the tricky, and the hero can manipulate street logic and capitalise on it. Indian democracy is like life on a street. Take Vijay. He manufactured his image through films and gradually became ingrained in the minds of people who lived their lives in the cinema. This shows that an image can win. Berlusconi won and...