Yes, she confirms, we did read stories of the Princesses of Andalusia. And true to herself, she texts us, her nieces—now in our sixties—to say she still thinks of us as princesses. It’s a gesture that makes us smile.
‘Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly.’ from Their Eyes Were Watching God
Once inside, I splash my face with water from a plastic bottle. My eyes are red and my lungs still hurt. I look around for my husband. He is helping an old lady get up off the road. The police continue with their lathi-charge. Their batons are being used indiscriminately. I move away quickly – out of their range.
If you are reading this, you are familiar with the magical world one enters when a storyteller carries the reader to a place where arbitrary time and place intersect seamlessly.… Read more Discovering the magical worlds of words: Learning to read →
Urdu Bazaar A labyrinth of narrow winding streets just outside the old walled city of Lahore. Horns blaring, cars squeeze past donkey and camel carts loaded with printed material. Books… Read more Charming Booksellers in the Chaotic Urdu Bazaar of Lahore →
“Like the crane, the koonj, the women in the center, lift both arms, twisting their hands at the wrists flagging the tempo of the circle around them.”
