11
Oct
The rhythms of life in the village were slow — revealingly, the big clock in the local post office never worked. Shops closed for long siestas during summer months. At night, the lights in the village went out as early as 9 p.m., exposing a wide, bright firmament. Occasionally, there were sightings of a leopard or two in the nearby dense forest, and I was often woken early in the morning by the screeching of monkeys…
This comes from a commentary on changes in rural life on the other side of the Himalayas from China, but that commentary has a strong link to Chinese Characters due to its author: Pankaj Mishra. An Indian writer with a strong interest in China (see, for example, his profile of novelist Yu Hua), Mishra is the latest addition to the list of CC contributors as his graceful Foreword, which will open the book, has just come in…
