Old friends, Coolest Tortoise

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My friend Adwaitya died in Calcutta. He was 255 and was the only living witness to the Battle of Plassey in June 1757. I met Adwaitya when I was in school. We met at the Alipore Zoo. Adwaitya, I was told, was owned by Robert Clive of the East India Company. Some say he was there with Clive in Plassey. Adwaitya, the coolest tortoise I have ever seen, was older than the zoo. I was speaking to friends from Calcutta about him and they are sad that Adwaitya, who would always look up to you (in the manner of a Zen priest) when you called out his name is dead. My another 250 plus friend though is alive and rooting. It's a banyan tree in Shibpur near Calcutta. It's the centrepiece of a garden that came up in 1786. Next time you visit Calcutta, say hi to....

Riverbend

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... I'll meet you 'round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and souls can mend... A line that defines one of the most widely read blog in the world, riverbendblog.blogspot.com. It's written by a girl in Iraq. We are Iran: The Persian Blogs is a new book from Soft Skull Press. Readers interested in this book can find more in New Yorker (November 21, 2005). Or go to amitavakumar.blogsome.com Another interesting blog is www.3quarksdaily.com ....