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Book Review: On Philosophising, Philosophers, Philosophy and New Vistas in Applied Philosophy, by Dr. Sharmila Jayant Virkar

A little bit of context before you begin reading this book review. I have recently enrolled for an MA in Philosophy at the University of Mumbai. Philosophy is something I have been getting interested in, over the past few years, as those of you who have been reading my blogs and Instagram posts would know. During the pandemic, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do next, and this is what I eventually came up with. It has been a challenge, getting back into academics as a student at this age, especially in a subject I have no academic background in. However, it has also been very exciting, especially thanks to my wonderful classmates (who, surprisingly, are of all age-groups, including some quite near my own) and my teachers, who have been very supportive and understanding. How well I will do is something that remains to be seen, but so far, I am enjoying this new journey and look forward to where it leads. Now that you know the background , you probably get an idea of how
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Some Memorable Sights during my trip - And No temples this time.....

I have been writing pages and pages about my trip to Thanjavur and surrounding places, mostly temples. Here is something different. To finish off my series of blogs about my Diwali trip, let me invite you to join me in a different kind of tour – a tour through the eyes, or rather the lens of my camera. These are photographs taken over a period of 15 days, at various places. Let me assure you that there is not a single temple among them. These are purely of the sights I saw during my trip, something I will remember all my life, and would like to share with all of you.

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
the sun set during our return trip from Rameswaram

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
A lotus in a pond near Thirukkarugavur

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
The road covered with husks near Nagapattinam

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
A hermit crab leaving its shell at Kodikkarai

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
scenes near Vedaranyam

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
A canal covered with flowers


From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip

Butterflies perch on flowers at the Hotel Sadabhishekam nea Vaitheeswaran Kovil

From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip


From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
A sparrow


From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip
A Kngfisher at Chaayavanam

With this, I come to an end to my blogs about the temples around Thanjavur. Hope to start another such series soon......
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Location: Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India

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