Street Food in Dakar & Suburbs (4): The Construction

On every street corner, too, various street food outlets compete for customers with other types of businesses. These places are either "canteens" or garages of houses transformed into catering spaces with a large table and wooden benches around for customers, or metal or wooden kiosks glued to a wall or by the roadside.

The materials used are numerous: stainless steel or plastic or glass containers, spoons, dishes, a gas bottle or coal furnace, plastic basins for laundry, a few 20-litre oil cans recycled into water reserves and a stack of newspaper used as packaging.

Renga between Past and Present Selves

Clad in polka dots,

Eyes glitter despite wet toes,

Exchanging this love.

After days of rain, the sunlight

shimmers – dappled shadows dance.

Living tradition,

Colors bleed transformation,

An elsewhere awaits.

What do our bodies know that

text cannot articulate?

Shuttling asleep,

Lines collapse past and future.

Who holds the power?

Resisting capture, its wings

flutter, fighting off the pin.

Mata Ni Pachedi: Understanding the ‘mobile temple’ of the Vaghari people

The art form of Mata Ni Pachedi is something that I had not come across before; it was awe-inspiring not only for its complex design, meticulous patterns and precision of practice, but the story of the community of makers and users.

Shweshwe - The long journey from 'Blaudruk' to South African national textile

While browsing through the items at the shop at the textile research center, a pile of indigo-dyed silk pocket squares caught my eye. The print was familiar, resembling what I have seen often in textile shops and worn by the women in South Africa, a fabric best known as Shweshwe.

Share & Tell: seeking through the culture / the place

[ _ a note ]
This time, the trip to the Netherlands reminds me of my life in Palestine.

La Fête d'Aïd-el-Kébir

La fête d'Aïd-el-Kébir ou la tabaski ou encore la fête des moutons est un événement très spécial au Mali.

Spécifiquement au Nord du Mali où les moutons sont égorgés, grillés et toute une bonne ambiance autour de la viande.

Unique à son genre.

Cela ressert les liens sacrés du voisinage, de sang et de parenté ou de confession. C'est le moment le plus heureux de l'année où la modération se cherche.

Making Life Sustainable During Covid-19 (2)

When we bought the plants, we met Mbaye, who has a real garden where he grows vegetables and fruit trees. I was impressed by his knowledge, his courage, and his ability to maintain by irrigation this very beautiful and green garden, in an arid area where it only rains for three months.

Making Life Sustainable During Covid-19 (1)

After more than two months of self-confinement, we went out on 10 May 2020 with the younger ones to buy plants. We went out with a purpose. We decided to set up a small garden in the courtyard of our house. The next few days were very exciting as we collected and transformed many objects that were lying around the house and used them to decorate our plants (tires, empty bottles, etc).

Souvenirs from U Pein Bridge

There are many souvenir shops near the U Pein Bridge. In the west side of U Pein Bridge, we found souvenir shops selling hats, bags and cotton clothes and there are many shops, visitors and restaurants than the east side.

Warding off the virus with Corona Drishti in Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Floor drawings, especially those made by variously connecting a grid of dots using white rice flour powder or paste, are often seen at the entrance of people's homes in Tamil Nadu. Known as the kolam, these designs are typically executed by women as part of early morning household chores and renewed daily as a recurring motif of everyday life. This kolam depicts the coronavirus as the evil eye that will protect, but equally harm, if not heeded.

Humanities across Borders

A Humanist Model of Collaborative Higher Education

Place-making