Sugary Things All The Way. If You Give Me An Unlimited Supply Of Crunchies, Monster Munch And Maltesers

Essays

Here’s a (non-exhaustive) list of essays I like/find interesting/are food for thought; I’ve tried to sort them as much as possible. The starred (*) ones are those I especially love

also quick note: some of these links, especially the ones that are from books/anthologies redirect you to libgen or scihub, and if that doesn’t work for you, do message me; I’d be happy to send them across!

Literature + Writing

Godot Comes to Sarajevo - Susan Sontag

The Strangeness of Grief - V. S. Naipaul*

Memories of V. S. Naipaul - Paul Theroux*

A Rainy Day with Ruskin Bond - Mayank Austen Soofi

How Albert Camus Faced History - Adam Gopnik

Listen, Bro - Jo Livingstone

Rachel Cusk Gut-Renovates the Novel - Judith Thurman

Lost in Translation: What the First Line of “The Stranger” Should Be - Ryan Bloom

The Duke in His Domain - Truman Capote*

The Cult of Donna Tartt: Themes and Strategies in The Secret History - Ana Rita Catalão Guedes

Never Do That to a Book - Anne Fadiman*

Affecting Anger: Ideologies of Community Mobilisation in Early Hindi Novel - Rohan Chauhan*

Why I Write - George Orwell*

Rimbaud and Patti Smith: Style as Social Deviance - Carrie Jaurès Noland*

Art + Photography (+ Aesthetics)

Looking at War - Susan Sontag*

Love, sex, art, and death - Nan Goldin, David Wojnarowicz

Lyons, Szarkowski, and the Perception of Photography - Anne Wilkes Tucker

The Feminist Critique of Art History - Thalia Gouma-Peterson, Patricia Mathews

In Plato’s Cave - Susan Sontag*

On reproduction of art (Chapter 1, Ways of Seeing) - John Berger*

On nudity and women in art (Chapter 3, Ways of Seeing) - John Berger*

Kalighat Paintings  - Sharmishtha Chaudhuri

Daydreams and Fragments: On How We Retrieve Images From the Past -  Maël Renouard

Arthur Rimbaud: the Aesthetics of Intoxication - Enid Rhodes Peschel

Cities

Tragic Fable of Mumbai Mills - Gyan Prakash

Whose Bandra is it? - Dustin Silgardo*

Timur’s Registan: noblest public square in the world? - Srinath Perur

The first Starbucks coffee shop, Seattle - Colin Marshall*

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai’s iconic railway station - Srinath Perur

From London to Mumbai and Back Again: Gentrification and Public Policy in Comparative Perspective -  Andrew Harris

The Limits of “White Town” in Colonial Calcutta - Swati Chattopadhyay

The Metropolis and Mental Life - Georg Simmel

Colonial Policy and the Culture of Immigration: Citing the Social History of Varanasi - Vinod Kumar, Shiv Narayan

A Caribbean Creole Capital: Kingston, Jamaica - Coln G. Clarke (from Colonial Cities by Robert Ross, Gerard J. Telkamp

The Colonial City and the Post-Colonial World - G. A. de Bruijne

The Nowhere City - Amos Elon*

The Vertical Flâneur: Narratorial Tradecraft in the Colonial Metropolis - Paul K. Saint-Amour

Philosophy

The trolley problem problem - James Wilson

A Brief History of Death - Nir Baram

Justice as Fairness: Political not Metaphysical - John Rawls*

Should Marxists be Interested in Exploitation? - John E. Roemer

The Discomfort You’re Feeling is Grief - Scott Berinato*

The Pandemic and the Crisis of Faith - Makarand Paranjape

If God Is Dead, Your Time is Everything - James Wood

Giving Up on God - Ronald Inglehart

The Limits of Consensual Decision - Douglas Rae*

The Science of “Muddling Through” - Charles Lindblom*

History

The Gruesome History of Eating Corpses as Medicine - Maria Dolan

The History of Loneliness - Jill Lepore*

The Anti-Che - Jay Nordlinger

From Tuskegee to Togo: the Problem of Freedom in the Empire of Cotton - Sven Beckert*

Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism - E. P. Thompson*

All By Myself - Martha Bailey*

The Geographical Pivot of History - H. J. Mackinder

The sea/ocean

Rim of Life - Manu Pillai

Exploring the Indian Ocean as a rich archive of history – above and below the water line - Isabel Hofmeyr, Charne Lavery

‘Piracy’, connectivity and seaborne power in the Middle Ages - Nikolas Jaspert (from The Sea in History)*

The Vikings and their age - Nils Blomkvist (from The Sea in History)*

Mercantile Networks, Port Cities, and “Pirate” States - Roxani Eleni Margariti

Phantom Peril in the Arctic - Robert David English, Morgan Grant Gardner*

Assorted ones on India

A departure from history: Kashmiri Pandits, 1990-2001 - Alexander Evans *

Writing Post-Orientalist Histories of the Third World - Gyan Prakash

Empire: How Colonial India Made Modern Britain - Aditya Mukherjee

Feminism and Nationalism in India, 1917-1947 - Aparna Basu

The Epic Riddle of Dating Ramayana, Mahabharata - Sunaina Kumar*

Caste and Politics: Identity Over System - Dipankar Gupta

Our worldview is Delhi based*

Sports (you’ll have to excuse the fact that it’s only cricket but what can i say, i’m indian)

‘Massa Day Done:’ Cricket as a Catalyst for West Indian Independence: 1950-1962 - John Newman*

Playing for power? rugby, Afrikaner nationalism and masculinity in South Africa, c.1900–70 - Albert Grundlingh

When Cricket Was a Symbol, Not Just a Sport - Baz Dreisinger

Cricket, caste, community, colonialism: the politics of a great game - Ramachandra Guha*

Cricket and Politics in Colonial India - Ramchandra Guha

MS Dhoni: A quiet radical who did it his way*

Music

Brega: Music and Conflict in Urban Brazil - Samuel M. Araújo

Color, Music and Conflict: A Study of Aggression in Trinidad with Reference to the Role of Traditional Music - J. D. Elder

The 1975 - ‘Notes On a Conditional Form’ review - Dan Stubbs*

Life Without Live - Rob Sheffield*

How Britney Spears Changed Pop - Rob Sheffield

Concert for Bangladesh

From “Help!” to “Helping out a Friend”: Imagining South Asia through the Beatles and the Concert for Bangladesh - Samantha Christiansen 

Gender

Clothing Behaviour as Non-verbal Resistance - Diana Crane

The Normalisation of Queer Theory - David M. Halperin

Menstruation and the Holocaust - Jo-Ann Owusu*

Women’s Suffrage the Democratic Peace - Allan Dafoe

Pink and Blue: Coloring Inside the Lines of Gender - Catherine Zuckerman*

Women’s health concerns are dismissed more, studied less - Zoanne Clack

Food

How Food-Obsessed Millennials Shape the Future of Food - Rachel A. Becker (as a non-food obsessed somewhat-millennial, this was interesting)

Colonialism’s effect on how and what we eat - Coral Lee

Tracing Europe’s influence on India’s culinary heritage - Ruth Dsouza Prabhu

Chicken Kiev: the world’s most contested ready-meal*

From Russia with mayo: the story of a Soviet super-salad*

The Politics of Pancakes - Taylor Aucoin*

How Doughnuts Fuelled the American Dream*

Pav from the Nau

A Short History of the Vada Pav - Saira Menezes

Fantasy (mostly just harry potter and lord of the rings)

Purebloods and Mudbloods: Race, Species, and Power (from The Politics of Harry Potter)

Azkaban: Discipline, Punishment, and Human Rights (from The Politics of Harry Potter)*

Good and Evil in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lengendarium - Jyrki Korpua

The Fairy Story: J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis - Colin Duriez (from Tree of Tales)*

Tolkien’s Augustinian Understanding of Good and Evil: Why The Lord of the Rings Is Not Manichean - Ralph Wood (from Tree of Tales)*

Travel

The Hidden Cost of Wildlife Tourism

Chronicles of a Writer’s 1950s Road Trip Across France - Kathleen Phelan

On the Early Women Pioneers of Trail Hiking - Gwenyth Loose

On the Mythologies of the Himalaya Mountains - Ed Douglas*

More random assorted ones

The cosmos from the wheelchair (The Economist obituaries)*

In El Salvador - Joan Didion

Scientists are unravelling the mystery of pain - Yudhijit Banerjee

Notes on Nationalism - George Orwell

Politics and the English Language - George Orwell*

What Do the Humanities Do in a Crisis? - Agnes Callard*

The Politics of Joker - Kyle Smith

Sushant Singh Rajput: The outsider - Uday Bhatia*

Credibility and Mystery - John Berger

happy reading :)

Vale dreams of that day. Sometimes it’s all that keeps him going.

Silver: one day, I'm going to say "fight me" and someone really is just going to fucking deck me

Vale: believe me, that day is closer than you think

Yeah, when Silver approves, that’s pretty much a guarantee you’ve got something wrong. 😂

And constantly only a minute away from being murdered. There’s the small issues of the thieving, the mercenaries, the scheming but yeah, no major bad points.

Silver: we’ve all got our weaknesses

Silver: i, personally, am tragically funny and good-looking

I’m really enjoying learning about your ocs, they’re super cool! That last line is so great, I love it!

Evangeline’s London

The street was slick from the rain that had awoken her in the early hours of the morning. Filthy puddles collected at the edge of the road, the surface streaked rainbow from the oil dripping off the cabs as they splashed through them.

The smog swirled around her as she walked along, it never really faded, except for maybe in the summer, when the sun managed to break through the clouds and warm the city. But in the dead of winter, most days were dark, and they stayed dark all throughout the day, even at noon when the sun should have been shining through.

She brushed past people, the people were as gloomy as the city was, all dressed in heavy coats of dark colours, all greys and browns and blacks. Her dark green coat was the only colour as she cut through them. Other than the whispers between people and the squeaking wheels of the cabs, there was no sound on the streets. There wasn’t open conversation, people did not talk to each other as they walked, they murmured apologies if they bumped into people, and then continued on, heads down.

Most of the people wore something to cover their mouths, no one wanted to breathe in the foul-smelling smog, it made people cough and wheeze. Evangeline had wound her scarf around her face, over her mouth and nose, and she wasn’t the only one to do that, a lot of the other people did it too. When it got too hot for her to wear a scarf then she’d wear a veil, the scarf did a better job of filtering out the smell and taste of the air, but it was uncomfortable.

It wasn’t a short walk to work, nearly an hour, weaving through the people and hurrying across the busy roads, everyone always seemed to have a place to be, somewhere that they were going to, and not all of them had regard for others, and Evangeline found herself jostled, she was stronger than she looked though and she didn’t stumble as she simply carried on walking, knocking them out of her way.

She didn’t like the trains, didn’t like the heaving crowds that poured in and out of the underground stations. And besides, she didn’t mind walking to work, she could stop off for breakfast and coffee at the small café not too far from the office, ducking in for a quick cup of black coffee and whatever pastries that they had available for the day.

London didn’t stop. It didn’t ever stop. There was always something being done, and there was always a job to do. There were always crimes for her to investigate and solve, criminals to chase down and to stop. London was a city that was full of life, teeming with it. It was like there was a wheel, turning, pushing London on and on, no matter what horrific story was splashed on the front page of the newspaper: ‘Man murdered in Covent Garden, police searching for masked man’, according to the man selling them on the corner of the street at least.

It was a dark and dreary city, all greys and browns and blacks, and it was so alive.

Go Ethiopia!

Source: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/2019/08/02/ethiopia-tree-planting/

Yes, and this was fabulous fluff!

"How is the little mignonne?" Ao Shun asked and Li Ming smiled as he looked up from Celeste.

"She sleeps." He replied. "Miss Winters and Prince Kai seem to have accidentally taken a nap." Ao Shun arched a brow before peering around the doorway. He chuckled.

"They must be shattered." He said. "Ophelia is..."

"Quite happy to quietly play by herself for the time being. She'll probably get a little antsy soon." Ao Shun nodded. "It makes me think."

"You want another?"

"Goodness no. One is enough to last me the rest of my life time. No. That maybe we put too much pressure on one person to raise their child, always just the father or their mother, and not everyone has the support of their families." Li Ming frowned. "Miss Winters needs help now, and maybe she wouldn't have done if the Prince hadn't been called away for two months. Imagine what it's like to be alone the entire time."

"She is a human."

"Is she? Tell me, when was the last time you saw a human like her? She may physically be a human, but it could be her binding to the Library, or her bond to the Prince and their children, but no, I wouldn't call her a human."

"Metaphysics isn't my area of study."

"No, neither is it mine. But she's different. She's strong, but she has still needed a lot of help, from myself, from the Prince, and now a psychologist."

"I'll look into the support networks in place." Ao Shun said slowly. "See if there are places that we need to improve on, if you feel so passionately about this then I trust your judgement." Li Ming softly smiled.

"Thank you. Miss Winters may be 'only' human to a good many people. But she's a lot more than that now."

"You're fond of them." Li Ming looked to Celeste.

"Miss Winters asked if I would be Celeste's god father, and I said yes. They asked if it would be okay for her to call me uncle, and for Ophelia to do so as well. Miss Winters only has her parents, no other family members. I said yes, my ties to them will not impede my duties to you, but I would like to be able to... Help whenever I can."

"I love you." Ao Guang said. "Yes, just let me know when you'll be with them in case I need your assistance."

"You don't have to say yes because you love me."

"I want you to be happy." Ao Shun touched his cheek. "If you are happy, then I am happy. And if this makes you happy, then I will not complain. I'll arrange for you to speak with my brother, he has his people watching them, I'm sure that we can reach an understanding with him again."

"Just to give them some extra help when they need it. Heavens knows that neither would ever ask."

"No, they'll just fall asleep in my sitting room." Ao Shun said, shaking his head. "Let's leave them a little bit longer."

I'm calling this ship FrostStorm and no one can stop me

Ooh, tension! Ao guang ships it. Thanks for writing this, it was very fun.

Hiya, can I get may I have this dance for whoever you fancy writing it for, please?

"May I have this dance?" Ao Guang asked Irene, offering her a gloved hand, black silk she decided as she carefully lay her hand atop of his, conscious of Kai watching her. She could feel the power through the gloves, there was no shielding the strength of a dragon, even in human skin.

"I'd love to, though I confess to not being much of a dancer." She said letting him lead her toward the other swirling dancers. "I will try my hardest not to tread on your toes." He had similar laugh to Kai's, very soft and low, like the gentle rumble of a vintage car.

"Well, I hope that I do not tread on yours, I usually watch these things, but I wanted the opportunity to talk to you without arranging a formal meeting. Those things are so much effort and take up so much time."

"Oh, I am beginning to realise that too." Fear gripped her despite the forced lightness in her voice. "I... What is it that you wished to discuss? If it's something serious, than maybe a meeting is necessary."

"No, I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me? For what?"

"A good many things I believe. Shall we start with Venice?" He swept her in a turn and straight onto the dance floor. He caught her with the poise and grace of a professional dancer and she wished that she could claim to have the same set of skill. She'd attended plenty of dance classes in her youth, but she'd never enjoyed being on show in such a manner.

"You really don't need to thank me for that." She said, following his lead in the steps of the waltz, trying not to count the music beats aloud, rather than just in the back of her head to keep in time.

"You saved my son from a fate that many consider to be worth than death, as my brother tells me, at great risk to your own safety, and at the risk of your position in the Library."

"Kai is, was, my responsibility." She said. "It was through my own action that his kidnapping was able to take place. I do not deserve gratitude."

"I will have to disagree. From all accounts, you risked your life for my son, for that, I will be eternally grateful and in your debt. For your assistance in Paris, and your discretion, I also thank you, we would have been unable to get a treaty without your presence." She blushed a little bit. "Truly Irene. Or, do you prefer miss Winters?"

"Irene is just fine." She said, smiling. She caught a glimpse of Kai. "Your son is important to me, I was always going to go after him, I do regret asking him to meet me in Paris somewhat, he was kidnapped and injured due to the... Events, but I would not have succeeded without him."

"He said you were humble." Ao Guang's eyes flashed happily, sparking like stars in midnight skies. "He also speaks very highly of you, he has a great deal of faith and trust in you, I am glad that he's finally got someone as loyal as he is. You're a good match." Was there more implied there? They certainly were a good match, but Irene had no desire to made it a publicly known relationship. What had Kai said to his father?

The music swelled before slowly ebbing away. Ao Guang kissed the back of Irene's hand before she dipped into a curtsey and he bowed.

"I believe that my son wishes to be your next partner." He said as Kai made his way over to them. "Thank you for the dance, Irene, and thank you for all that you have done for my family, I am indebted to you."

"I hope I am not interrupting?" Kai said.

"Not at all." Ao Guang said. "Thank you for the dance, Irene, I hope that you enjoy the rest of your time here."

"Thank you, your majesty." Irene smiled as Kai offered her his hand. They waited for Ao Guang to walk away before turning back to the dancers.

"So, are you enjoying yourself?"

"I am, yes. Though I have to say," His hand was warm on her back. "Your father is a better dancer than you are."

Kai being a mood once more!

Kai: Ew, who would want that as their last meal?

Kai: Personally, my last meal [pulls out a handful of pancakes from her pocket] would be pancakes!

Irene: You just.... keep that in your pocket?

Kai: We face death every day. This time I’m gonna go out on my own terms.

Oh my god they’re so cute! Yeah, it must be difficult to get the word out especially since the craft fairs and everything aren’t operating. I wish you luck.

Oh look, back at it again with giving an OC my own issues because therapy is expensive