The city is cold. This is not a statement on weather here. Even on weather’s count, cold season of cities in lower latitudes is Oslo’s summer. It manages to keep an attractive and highly refined façade of affluence and lifestyle that unfurls into layers of nuances only on repeat visits. Parts of the city that … Continue reading Hate Cleaning? I love it! – Scraping through in Oslo
Tag: Oslo
Apa PantAdorable adorable writing by Apa Pant. I knew that an Indian diplomat received HH Dalai Lama when he escaped from Tibet. Didn’t knew it was Apa. Guess I’ve been thinking of Maharashtra and it’s people a little too much lately, to be coming across books and people from the state. His dedication page is … Continue reading
“I didn’t want any more war,” he explained. “I had had enough. I’d lost five years of my life.” Do we learn? Sønsteby’s pose with his cycle is the most attractive sight for me on all of Karl Johan’s avenue. Passing by is always with a pause, to see the one who chose resistance and … Continue reading
17/06/2018 Gjerdrum We read poetry and talk poets. They speak of times that I haven’t known. I speak of a time they have seen all of. Then those hands write in good wishes for a future, on first pages of a Szymborska book. Being gifted a Szymborska will be a memorable evening of life, because, … Continue reading
Arrivals at sentrum. Hustlers, gypsies, idlers, street artists, locals, businessmen, tourists…
16/06/2018Here, morning is a time, not the sun. Draw the curtains and block light away for the day, call it a night. Time the sleep, wake up and resume, calling it a new day. Rhythms in the city have taken the weather’s way.
Grey City. But Jane Jacobs on my mind. And Pessoa. And Leigh Fermor. And Agyey. And Kunwar Narayan. And Naess. They left notes. I read them in turns and look around from the perch.
All the smells and sounds of this city came back as soon as the window was pushed open. The tring-tring of the trams, rattle of pedestrian crossing signals, a guy cycling crazy ahead of them, watching a Japanese duo bowing crazy in front of each other as they bid bye, muffled sounds of students at … Continue reading
Arrive at noontime and find the city lazing in its occasional sun. None interested in going anywhere but the parks and eat houses.
Midnight Sun
13/06/2018A walk along the Opera House to the harbour is for all days and all hours. The skyline grows. Construction cranes more than the birds, sometimes. A little Mumbai-like wave hits when the DFDS ferry arrives with its cruise passengers. June in Oslo is all about daylight and warmth. Sun doesn’t set for long. Sunlight … Continue reading Midnight Sun
Contested Realities 