The immensity of certain incidents in the history of colonisation is such that there remains no room for subtlety. “Everyone is equal in America with a gun in hand”---Utpal Dutt says it loud and clear in the prologue of Rights of Man. The play reconstructs the trauma of the
“I find the Indian audience more receptive to our music, when compared to the audience at home,” says Aurora Jane, tucking into a late-afternoon snack in her room at the Park Hotel, Kolkata. This is her last day in India after a three-week tour in the country to launch her
A Clockwork Orange, directed by Stanley Kubrick, becomes a film which embodies the conflict between individual free will and state control. On the surface, it is a straightforward film about a juvenile delinquent---Alex---who is the leader of a gang consisting of four almost mystical men, who he calls his “drooges”
In an age of swashbuckling B.M.W.'s and S.U.V.'s, Dhobi Ghat is a cinematic moped. A lightweight, breezy vehicle that lets you feel the rain fall on your naked skin, and when it gets dark, it exposes you to the dingy, rat-infested bylanes
In this age of constant communication, discovering your own style of expression is not always easy. Talent is a prerequisite, true, but persistence and dedication are what makes an individual stand out from the crowd, and create an exclusive niche. And this is what Anjali Sinha has managed to do
Thirteen writers explore five common themes of relationships, love, friendship, angst, and longing in this carefully compiled anthology. Urban Shots, as the title suggests, offers snapshots of Urban India. It lets you have 28 bite-sized glimpses of life as led today in our metropolitan cities, and encompasses almost every possible
Chanakya of the Mauryan dynasty, a prime minister in his time, is said to have remarked, “A good wife is one who serves her husband in the morning like a mother, loves him in the day like a sister, and pleases him like a prostitute in the night.” It’s
Having seen and been considerably impressed by Sylvain Chomet’s previous film The Triplets of Belleville, I had great expectations from his latest offering. Its distinctive and lovingly rendered two-dimensional animation was the primary reason it caught my eye, and I’m glad to say that The Illusionist has got
An ensemble of historical writing, reflections, stories, poems, and extracts from other published work comes together to celebrate the Pearl of the Orient. The book will salvage the state’s history and complexity from its sun, sand, and surf image, but the vindication will only further reveal that there is
What do you feel when you’re an eager arts student and you land up at the Mecca of the arts in India---the India Art Summit? You’re completely awed, of course. Sheer, absolutely raw awe. The Summit featured almost one hundred of the most well-known galleries from all over