Ideas are hard to curb even if voices are silenced. Ideas will float in the air, waft on a sunbeam till they embed themselves in more minds. Ideas will find wedges in time and ride over tides of violence, intolerance forced silences and crimes. They will invade dreams till the magic of stardust blows sandstorms of love. [Read More...]
“History has become a catechism. You are given a question; you are given the answer. You stick with that question and you stick with that answer. Don’t ask another question and don’t look for another answer”, said Historian Romila Thapar in an interview about contemporary India. I should admit that while attending an online seminar organized by the Visva Bharati[Read More...]
There is a river inside all of us, a free flow of ideas, thoughts, borne out of our active minds, everyday attempts to catch the liminal spaces we inhabit. In the souls more attuned to inner life this river bellows, tumbles wildly, splaying tendrils, tasting forbidden fruits, unabated. Yet, in fertile minds this river becomes a source: of life-force, beauty,[Read More...]
It’s time for Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) fans to get spoiled for their choice of movies after two years of pandemic-inflicted restrictions. While the 47th edition of the film festival is just a month away, the organisers have planned a wonderful line-up of events, making good of the lost festivities. TIFF 2022 will run from September 8 to 18 without any of the[Read More...]
Dir. Arvind Gaur Written by: Ashok Lal Presented by Asmita Theatre Group in Sri Ram Centre for Art and Culture on 29th July 2022 The black t-shirt wearing and exceedingly soft-spoken young volunteers we encountered outside the venue exuded such an intense awareness of the injustices of the world that I wanted to pat them on the shoulder and tell[Read More...]
As India celebrates the 75th Independence Day, it is interesting to look at those Hindi film songs which have best reflected the spirit of the freedom movement in the years following the freedom of India from colonial rule. The coverage here is restricted to about two decades following freedom. First of all, there are songs directly dealing with films made[Read More...]
The end credits to the Slumdog Children of Mumbai, a 2010 documentary made by Nick Read roll on my screen at 3:00 am. Yes, I am guilty of watching documentaries at odd hours and losing track of time. As I’m looking for more heartfelt documentaries to watch, I chance upon the trailer of the documentary, titled Right Forward, that’s based[Read More...]
In a very holy land In a very pious place One hundred thirty crore people live Sensitive, religious, courageous and non-sensuous. We get hurt And rightly so When a polymorph smokes And a strange man named Zubair Says the truth We are very decent people We kiss in private We kill in public. We worship our goddesses. We are fine[Read More...]
Debajyoti Misra does not need any introduction. He is one of the most multi-faceted, talented, a bit eccentric and trained music composer in India whose fame reaches beyond Indian borders. His music for Anik Dutta’s recreation of the making of Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali has spread like wildfire among music lovers and the media. Music and orchestral performances across the[Read More...]
I love my children. I love my grandchildren. And have deep concern for the youth of the Earth. Who and what do you love? What we value defines who we are. Who we are is shaped by what we love. My doctor and I are talking about despair, depression, hopelessness and the upset of constant stress. I say, “I am[Read More...]
