Exploring Love Across Divides: The Complex Lives of Hindu-Muslim Couples in India
What is it like to be a Hindu married to a Muslim or a Muslim married to a Hindu in a country like India where families are deeply involved not only in wedding ceremonies but also in the everyday life of the newlywed couple? Why do they choose to marry
How Private Archives are Making Indian History More Accessible and Inclusive
It was research for my historical novel, Wanderers, All, that led me to the police headquarters in Mumbai. My enquiry about the Bombay Police Gazette from 1911, among other information, was met with a blank stare. A helpful constable then led me to the in-house library that comprised a large
Short Story | ‘No one like Appa’: A Tamil story in translation
Translated from Tamil by Prabha Sridevan. An eccentric father mentors his family, ignoring societal norms. Appa was a strange person. My thatha, my grandfather, said that his strangeness was due to the fact he had left home when he was sixteen and wandered around before returning. But that was not the only
Abu Abraham (1924–2002), the political cartoonist who bore witness
In the world of journalism, there is enough scholarship on the role of reporting as bearing witness, investigative journalism, design elements, editorial judgment, and the balance between the public interest component and another powerful component called “what the public is interested in”. If this scholarship has to be more effective,
Obituary | Surjit Patar, the poet who explored Punjab’s collective consciousness
The celebrated poet, who passed away at 79, explored the region’s cultural richness and pluralism, giving voice to its struggles and aspirations. As I think of Surjit Patar, this following verse, which I had first heard on radio during my college days, reverberates in my mind: Je ayi pathjhar taa
Nobel Prize-winning author Alice Munro dies aged 92
One of the most esteemed contemporary writers, Canadian author Alice Munro, has passed away at the age of 92 in her home in Ontario, a spokesperson for her publisher confirmed on Tuesday. A titan of short-story writing, Munro revolutionised the architecture of short stories and demonstrated that the format was worthy of the Nobel Prize.
International Booker Prize 2024 | In ‘Kairos’, Jenny Erpenbeck offers an East German perspective
Ask your average German about Jenny Erpenbeck, and they may very well respond, “Jenny who?” Yet the contemporary German author has made a name for herself beyond Germany’s borders; she’s showered with prizes and has even been predicted to one day win the Nobel Prize in literature. Her books have
Sergej Tschachotin: Anti-fascist scientist who fought for humanity’s upliftment
At a time when science and scientists are increasingly being yoked to the services of the state and the capital for their aggrandisement, it was illuminating to learn about a scientist who came out openly against fascist powers and devoted his life for the upliftment of humanity. On April 29,
Venice Biennale 2024 aims to deconstruct the Eurocentric gaze
With its storied history dating back to 1895 and a scenic setting for the thought-provoking art it showcases (although La Serenissima has been overrun by selfie-seekers lately), the Venice Biennale is a gift that keeps giving. This year’s landmark 60th edition, titled “Stranieri Ovunque—Foreigners Everywhere” (April 20-November 24, 2024), curated
Interview with Amal Allana on the biography of her father, theatre director Ebrahim Alkazi
The March 22 launch in New Delhi of the theatre director and art gallery owner Amal Allana’s biography of her father, the multifaceted Ebrahim Alkazi (1925-2020), was unusual in many ways. Allana organised a reading of passages from the biography (titled Ebrahim Alkazi: Holding Time Captive) in a kind of partial