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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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Rufous Treepie

Here is another bird we have seen before, but never managed a decent shot - the Rufous Treepie.



It is quite a conspicuous bird, with its distinctive colour and tail. It was rather a surprise to learn that it belongs to the crow family!


We saw this bird at Chittorgarh.I was busy photographing the monuments, when a sudden movement caught my eye. I turned, and having the camera in my hand, started clicking away. This seemed to surprise our driver, because he called out to me, "Madam, aap kahan photo nikal rahe ho? Tower toh wahan pe hai!" (Madam, what are you photographing? the tower is there!) The sound was enough to scare the bird away, but thankfully I had enough shots to keep me happy!




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