Bengal Biennale Breaks Art World’s Cloistered Walls
The recently concluded Bengal Biennale has been remarkably successful in its very first edition. Organised in tandem in Santiniketan and Kolkata, it ran from November 29 to December 22, 2024, in Santiniketan, and from December 6, 2024, to January 5, 2025, in Kolkata. Since the required infrastructure for holding such
TRIBUTE | P. Jayachandran (1944-2025): Soulful Voice of Indian Playback Music, Passes Away
Jayachandran recorded over 16,000 songs in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi, was widely recognised for his contribution to Indian music, having won several awards for best playback singer. | Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA Renowned playback singer P. Jayachandran, popular across South India and affectionately called “Bhava Gayakan” for his
How Jules Verne’s Visionary Works Inspired Modern Technology and Innovation
When French author Jules Verne died in 1905, powered air flight, which he put at the centre of his 1886 book Robur the Conqueror, had moved from fiction to reality. Just two years earlier, the Wright brothers had achieved the first manned air flight in human history. Yet more of
T.M. Krishna: Standing Ovation for the Sangita Kalanidhi’s Concert a Turning Point in Carnatic Music History
When T.M. Krishna received a standing ovation from an overflowing audience at the Music Academy on a bright Christmas morning this year, it marked a momentous point in his musical journey and, indeed, in the history of Carnatic music and the cultural history of South India. Here was a venerable
TRIBUTE | M.T. Vasudevan Nair (1933-2024): Legacy of the Prolific Malayalam Writer, Scenarist, and Filmmaker
How does one describe M.T. Vasudevan Nair? Respectfully called “MT”, he was primarily a writer who was widely admired across generations, and his works have remained bestsellers for more than half a century. In the industry and among cineastes, he commanded the respect of both serious auteurs and commercial filmmakers.
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 | M.T. Vasudevan Nair (1933-2024): Noted Malayalam Writer and Director Dies at 91
Noted writer and Jnanpith Award winner M.T. Vasudevan Nair, who had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kozhikode, Kerala, following heart failure, has died, hospital sources said on December 25. He was 91. “M.T. has died,” a hospital source told PTI without elaborating. He had been under the
The Show Must Go On: How Cinema Refuses to Fade to Black in India
Indian cinema began contemplating its own mortality exactly four decades ago, prompted into self-reflection by the seismic effects of the television and video revolution across the country. In 1984, just two years had passed since the Asian Games were held in Delhi, an event that was responsible for the mass-scale
Best of 2024: Frontline’s Top 12 Stories on Books and Culture
Cultural performances at the INS Khukri Memorial Amphitheatre in Diu on November 14, 2024. | Photo Credit: President of India-X/ANI In his essay in Frontline’s 40th anniversary special, the artist and curator Shuddhabrata Dasgupta writes: “In any society, the health of culture depends on the willingness of practitioners to set
Zakir Hussain: Legacy of a Global Music Revolutionary
A musical titan bowed out too early. For six decades he mesmerised the world with his rhythms and melodies, defying close-minded orthodoxy of traditions, breaking musical barriers, creating new genres, and trying to heal a fractured world the way only a supreme musician can. And what is particularly tragic is