The return of the hoopoes is how I have learnt to mark the change of seasons… last fall, a little family of four would visit my lawn to pick worms. Only one lonely hoopoe has returned this spring. Lawns are fewer now, replaced with plastic turf… and yes I know grass is a water hogging colonial import
This is not just an ode to khaleeji modern architecture, or throwback nostalgia for the UAE that was. It’s an acknowledgement of the public infrastructure in Dubai that persists and serves, quietly, unseen by all the tourists and arrivistes. I am immensely grateful to the team at Latifa Hospital particularly @prof_a.wattiez who took such wonderful care of my sister @sanarazahabib who is recovering well after a complicated surgery. Witnessing surgical excellence and world class healthcare focused on women, affordably delivered with superb care, expertise, and with such modesty has truly deepened my respect for this city and the people who serve its communities.
pata pata boota boota haal hamara jane hai, jane na jane gul hi na jane bagh tau sara jane hai…. it took six years for this champa to bloom. The starry cat is chatting away, the motia just gives more the more you take. Summer flowers and Mir Taqi Mir to the tune of Sur Kedaro…
May, Dubai; June, Mombasa; July, Karachi. Chasing summertime flames in my geography… it’s Gulmohar in Urdu, and we get all literary nostalgic about it. My happy tree, she thrives wherever it’s hot and coastal.
Back at @finchhattons , with some incredibly special people. @rammar212 was the best companion, and @karembumaina , Jonathan, Peter, Matthew, Neema, Harrison and their colleagues made us feel as if we were family. Too many magical moments for one post, and between hikes, yoga and game drives I managed to find my focus and so much inspiration. Thank you, @leenaafrica , you’ve made magic here and I’ll dream about it, until the next time…
An Ellie at Kili this morning. A large male elegantly walks along with a stunning Kilimanjaro in the background.
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#elephant #africansafari #tsavowest #tsavowestnationalpark #safariphotography #safari #nikonz9 #natgeowild #wildearth #nikonwildlife #bbcearth #kilimanjaro #big5 #bigfive #wildlifephotography #elephants #shots_of_animals #wildlifephotographer #bushlife #wildlifeplanet #discoverwildlife #featured_wildlife #nikonnature #endangeredspecies #photosafari #safarilive #gamedrive #BBCWildlifePOTD #africageophoto #raw_africa_
An incredibly special week of full immersion into Swahili cultural history, architecture and archaeology along the Kenyan coast from Mombasa to Lamu with the Indian Ocean Exchanges cohort. This was the last trip of our Getty Connecting Art Histories fellowship, taking researchers from the Indian Ocean rim into each others territories, from Doha to Singapore to Mombasa. Thanks to #nancyum @pritameier and @rubayatjesmin many new connections have been forged, routes of enquiry opened, friendships built and treasured.
The inscription on the first door reads ‘indeed God is capable of all things’, a personal mantra and talisman as I sit down to write, feeling much less lonely on my PhD journey.
In memoriam of Vivan Sundaram, who we lost just shy of his 80th, which his loved ones celebrated in Kasauli yesterday. I managed to visit the display of one of his most powerful works, Memorial, at the Tanks at Tate Modern a few weeks ago and it has taken me a few days to be able to post this, because mourning is complicated across my borders. Geeta and Vivan became mentors to me while I worked on South Asia at Tate, never letting me become complacent, always showing such deep interest in the work I was doing, both sharply critical and deeply supportive. This acquisition was probably one of the most complex I worked on and it broke my heart to be in it, remembering all our conversations, standing in the charbagh, lamenting the fallen mortal. Thank you, Vivan, you are so missed. And thank you to my former Tate colleagues for all your diligence and labour and commitment to ensuring that the work went on display, in its entirety, almost in his lifetime. @francesmarymorris@nakamoriyasufumi@val_ravaglia@sadiashirazi@lats47@photoink
Starting tomorrow at 7pm, a chance to listen to these epic films carefully in a cinema setting. The Halfmoon Files is one of the most haunting accounts of colonial subjects I have come across, speaking to us across over a century. Mani Kaul’s Siddheshwari and Dhrupad are essential listening for afficionados of Hindustani music. The experimental Hawa Mahal and The Other Song chase early recordings and the arrival of radio, and the docs Altar of Fire and There is Something in the air engage with the body, ritual and sacred space in relation to voice and memory. We have responses to film pairings by leading scholars and audiophiles; full programme in the link in bio!
