Belgium chocolate supposedly is finest in the world. London has it's "Hotel Chocolate" premium brand. Treat me nice I might bring some back to Goa!
On Sat, 2 May 2020 09:01 V M, <[email protected]> wrote: > > https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/the-goa-writers-group-is-blogging-about-the-lockdown/article31487186.ece > > The nationwide lockdown has changed how we live our lives, with > anxiety and uncertainty often taking over as we stay confined within > four walls. In Goa, 50-odd people are making this an opportunity to do > something creative and, hopefully, inspire others. The Goa Writers > Group — with members scattered across India, USA, the UK, Canada and > Australia and veteran writers and poets like Damodar Mauzo, Victor > Rangel-Ribeiro and Salil Chaturvedi are in its ranks — has started a > blog. The Lockdown Journal (thelockdownjournals.wordpress.com), a > month-old venture, has already shared 50 posts, including articles, > essays, poems and photographs. > > “This is an extraordinary moment when people all over the world — > billions of us — are all experiencing variations of the same thing: > curfew, lockdown, isolation, solitude,” says writer Vivek Menezes, who > took forward the idea pitched by fellow member, humour columnist > Sheela Jaywant, of recording experiences of these unprecedented times. > “We derive great comfort from fellowship with others by sharing what’s > on our minds, how we’re coping.” > > Some of the more popular posts revolve around topics like food and > health. Jaywant addresses scarcity of food that she has faced > throughout her life — be it because of riots, drought or political > unrest — in her article, A Festival of Scraps and Leftovers. Her > experiences, she admits, has led to her learning the trick to cook > creatively. > > Meanwhile, Menezes’ article, Lockdown 1556, looks to history, at poet > Luís Vaz de Camões (1524-1580) who spent 15 years in exile in Goa, > which, many believe, made him the great poet he is. “What Camões > achieved under lockdown is extraordinarily important. It made him to > the Portuguese what Dante is to modern Italian or Shakespeare to > English.” > > Writer Aniruddha Sen Gupta’s piece, Things We Don’t Talk about When We > Talk about the Virus, details his wife’s medical condition, Covid-19 > and his anxiety about who will look after their two dogs if they are > shifted to hospital quarantine. The post was widely shared on social > media. Another popular one: designer Bina Nayak’s To my husband, whose > body was ‘locked down’ by his brain. It speaks about their harrowing > experience after her husband was diagnosed with Cerebral > Meningo-Encphylitis, just before the lockdown. “A bright spot was, > after 38 days, when I hired a hospital bed and wheel chair for my > husband’s discharge, the owner asked me if I wanted anything else. I > said I missed eating chocolate. He sent me KitKats! I was very > touched,” she says. > > Poems on nature, solitude and the mass migration of daily wage earners > also pepper the blog. Salil Chaturvedi’s Lockdown: The Long Walk Home > gives an account of the latter. “Writing, especially poetry, is a > thing of ‘measure’ for me — one measures the self and the world > through it.” > > For others, the lockdown has given them a chance to re-define what is > home and belonging. Management consultant Rachana Patni’s longing > speaks about her hometown Imphal, where she has experienced lockdowns, > bunds and strikes while growing up. Comparing lockdown with curfew in > her hometown she says, “In my hometown, when lockdowns and curfews > happened, we knew we were to stay indoors, but there was no fear that > those we are with might be harmed by us or vice versa. This added > element makes for a completely different experience psychologically > and practically. Worrying about children and the elderly, about being > asymptomatic, creates an undercurrent of anxiety in interactions. It > will leave a lasting impact on all of us.” Once lockdown lifts, she > hopes to travel again. “I will go to my home in Manipur from my home > in Goa; I will grow wings if I need to. Love can do these things,” she > says. > > With the lockdown extended, expect artwork to be added to the blog, too. >
