By Aroup Chatterjee
It is known that Princess Diana desperately wanted to meet Mother Teresa in Calcutta; nine times her office tried to bring the two together in Calcutta but nine times it failed because the nun was rarely there.
By Roshni Sengupta
The turn of the millennium made the filmic landscape more varied, more experimental and definitely more stimulating. As the discursive space became increasingly narrow with competing religious fundamentalisms dotting the political mindscape, the Hindi film song would turn into an offshoot of the main narrative, often being presented at the end of the film as the credits rolled.
By Roshni Sengupta
Although a number of films had been produced in the 1960s in colour, the 1970s could be described as the first decade of the colour medium in Hindi cinema. Accompanying the dawn of colour, however, was an embryonic sense of general despondency in politics – the Nehruvian era had come to an end and with it the raucous positivity and enthusiasm for nation-building.
By Roshni Sengupta
The Hindi film song has continuously been the launch vehicle for the film as such, particularly so for the historical genre. Consider the heartbreakingly beautiful “Jo Wada Kiya” (Taj Mahal, 1963) or the extraordinary “Jab Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya” (Mughal-e-Azam, 1960).
By Sameer Khan
There were a few boys, who were throwing red gulal (vermillion) on the mosque walls in a provocative manner. The crowd surged as we tried to move forward jostling amidst the many faces, laced with gulal. In the melee, someone hit me on the back and screamed, “Pakistan Murdabad” (Death to Pakistan).
By Sameer Khan
Wiping his face with his handkerchief, he looked to me and said, “The letter that I want to be written in Urdu is for my brother, Maqbool, in Pakistan.
By Mary Ann Chacko
At that time women’s issues were not taken seriously as political issues. For instance, the political parties barely mentioned women’s issues in one paragraph and newspapers or magazines would have a ladies’ page. There were magazines like Femina and Eve’s Weekly but they were mostly about, you know, home-making, some about working women, too, but mostly romantic fiction, fashion and things like that.
By Namrata Pathak
Boundary-breaking is all about eating a pomegranate.
It is a juicy rebellion after all. In a portfolio of
succulent half-truths, circular, the end being the beginning,
she becomes her own food.
By Muhammed Aslam
The intellectual and philosophical traditions of India have been recorded in a number of Arabic texts, which depict the cultural legacy and heritage of the Indians. Brahmagupta’s pioneering Sanskrit treatise on astronomy, which had first been translated into Arabic in the 8th century, also demonstrates this legacy of intercultural exchange.
By Tanushree Ghosh
But why then her eyes were always searching
For an approval
Why she tried so hard – to make the rotis round?
By Zaboor Ahmad
There has been considerable literature on the issue, but Abubakar Siddique’s The Pashtuns: The Unresolved Key to the Future of Pakistan and Afghanistan is detailed as he reflects on the issues from an insider’s perspective. The fascinating aspect of the book is that it not only fixes spotlight on cultural values of Afghanistan but also dilates on the political affairs of Pashtuns on both sides of the Durand line.
By Mosarrap Hossain Khan
If one were to believe the judgment in the Hashimpura massacre case that “the evidence required to connect the accused persons with the crime is actually missing”, the question persists: who killed these 42 Muslims on the night of 22 May twenty-nine years ago?
Cafe Dissensus Everyday 