Street in Fontainhas by Mario Miranda and Postcard from Kashmir by Agha Shahid Ali

This week in Daak:

1. Street in Fontainhas by Mario Miranda

2. Postcard from Kashmir by Agha Shahid Ali

3. Introducing our cheeky Greeting Cards

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1. Street in Fontainhas by Mario Miranda, Mario Gallery

You may be familiar with the bustling cartoons and caricatures of Mario Miranda. If you live in or have visited Mumbai, you may have also seen his murals adorning the walls of the iconic Cafe Mondegar in Colaba. However, we chanced upon this uncharacteristic sketch of a quiet encounter between two people (secret lovers?) in the charming bylanes of Goa. And yes, Fontainhas is a real street in Panjim city with old Portuguese villas that have red-tiled roofs!

2. Postcard from Kashmir by Agha Shahid Ali

Kashmir shrinks into my mailbox,
my home a neat four by six inches.

I always loved neatness. Now I hold
the half-inch Himalayas in my hand.

This is home. And this the closest
I'll ever be to home. When I return,
the colors won't be so brilliant,
the Jhelum's waters so clean,
so ultramarine. My love
so overexposed.

And my memory will be a little
out of focus, in it
a giant negative, black
and white, still undeveloped.

Every poem of Agha Shahid Ali is like a little silent stab straight through the heart. This is a poem for anyone who has moved away and dreams longingly of childhood objects, landmarks and events that have come to define them. Also, this is a poem for anyone who is trying to recreate a lost time through tokens and photographs. Shahid Ali, of course, longs for the Kashmir he left behind, but you can easily relate to his sense of loss in the way that his memories seem more vivid and beautiful than reality. And isn’t it true, that reality will never quite match up against our imagined home because it exists only in our heart?

3. Introducing our cheeky Greeting Cards

Valentine’s Day brings a whole range of emotions – for those in romantic love or single (happily or otherwise). So, we thought of creating a range of greeting cards to help you express your love and have fun while doing it. Check out our new collection that combines timeless art with the oddities of modern love and relationships!