New Books on the Shelves
Scarlet Sands Udayan Mukherjee Picador Rs.450 The second instalment in the Neville Wadia Mystery series is set in Goa. The body of a British journalist washes up ashore on Anjuna beach, leading to an investigation by Neville that uncovers a corrupt nexus, a mysterious cult, and some dark truths. ___
The Disposable Woman: How Indian Cinema Uses Sexual Violence to Build Male Heroes
A girl gets raped in Baby John, the Hindi remake of the Tamil film Theri, a crime that is repeated in Bagheera, Kannada cinema’s most successful film this past year, as also in Maharaja, starring Vijay Sethupathi, another Tamil blockbuster. In the Rajinikanth-starrer Vettaiyan, again, it is a woman who is assaulted, raped, and murdered. In Pushpa
INTERVIEW | Through Paintings, I Tell Stories of Those Who Are Being Erased from the Dominant Narrative: Labani Jangi
Labani Jangi says her award came at a time when she was being questioned by many about the validity and nuances of her art. | Photo Credit: By Special Arrangement Labani Jangi was born in Dhubulia, a village about 40 km away from Plassey, in the district of Nadia in West
One and Three Quarters Book Review: A Tale of Cats, Corruption and Political Ambition
Serendipity brought One and Three Quarters by Shrikant Bojewar, translated by Vikrant Pande, to your reviewer who, over the years, has found and loved books about cats. Most are Japanese, though there are scattered gems in the West, like Edgar Allen Poe’s memorable short story, “The Black Cat”. However, even Kathryn Hughes’
M.T. Vasudevan Nair: The Chronicler of Kerala’s Inner Conflicts
He was officially M.T. Vasudevan Nair, but peers close to him and friends of the same or older generation called him Vasu; others generally used his initials “MT”. He chose the last for me when, in the 1980s, I wrote to him from Delhi to ask how I should address
Delhi’s Historical and Cultural Legacy Inaccessible due to Pricey Heritage Walks and Privatisation of Monuments
At the first interactive session on Delhi’s heritage, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), as part of its inaugural heritage walks and talks initiative held at Town Hall, Chandni Chowk, experts delved into the mystery surrounding the grave of Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and
Tribute | Zakir Hussain (1951-2024): An International Music Phenomenon Who Remained Rooted in the Classical
As tributes overflow for tabla maestro and composer Ustad Zakir Hussain, who passed away at 73, on December 15, contrarily, words seem to leave me. The only thing that occupies my mind is that an effervescent life was snatched away prematurely. How does one pay homage to this remarkable man,
TRIBUTE | Shyam Benegal was a Diverse and Inclusive Filmmaker
Shyam Benegal’s love for films started when he was a child. His appetite for them was voracious. When he couldn’t afford to watch them, he befriended the projectionist of his local cinema and watched them through his window. Sometimes he and his friend wedged the door open a crack so
Frontline At 40 | ‘Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions are the only record of old Tamil’: Interview with Iravatham Mahadevan
Iravatham Mahadevan, an epigraphist of international repute. | Photo Credit: T.A. HAFEEZ Iravatham Mahadevan was an administrator-turned-scholar who did acclaimed work on the Tamil-Brahmi and Indus scripts. His Early Tamil Epigraphy, published in 2003, was based on 40 years of labour on Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions. His earlier work Corpus of Tamil-Brahmi
The State of Indian Art: How Cultural Freedom Survives Despite Government Control
Some time ago (in September 2024), government-friendly news portals exerted a lot of energy “fact-checking” and, in the process, denied a viral social media post that claimed that the gigantic “Statue of Unity” sculpture of Vallabhbhai Patel had developed “cracks” and was in danger of collapsing. It was also reported