Chasing The Embers Of Desire

From breathless memories of Istanbul to an Isfahan mired in textures of blue, longing came to be a faithful companion in author SIDDHARTH DASGUPTA’S travel suitcase.

The Cihangir neighbourhood bristles beneath the weight of the evening and its anticipations, sensual little creatures as they are. Filled with the cumulative buzz of bookstores frayed at the edges, tiny cafés seemingly crafted for conversation, and hip art galleries where postmodern meets post-Depression, the address lies dappled with the kiss of dusk and the hushed whispers of an intoxicated, intoxicating Istanbul. In a cordoned-off alleyway where vine leaves droop from wrought-iron balconies like lovers wrapped in sad memories of the past, draped in the throes of a brief, tumultuous affair, I know that everything I see, everything I touch, and everything I taste, will, one day, end up in a book.