Book Review| ‘The Menstrual Coupé’: Women’s Protest on Gender Inequality and Patriarchy
Scenes from daily life in Allepey, Kerala. | Photo Credit: Davor Lovincic/Getty Images Debates on gender equality tend to overlook lived realities. Writer and columnist Shahina K. Rafiq’s collection of short stories, The Menstrual Coupé, takes adeep dive into real life as experienced by women. It is an unabashed and
Book Review| ‘The Menstrual Coupé’: Women’s Protest on Gender Inequality and Patriarchy
Scenes from daily life in Allepey, Kerala. | Photo Credit: Davor Lovincic/Getty Images Debates on gender equality tend to overlook lived realities. Writer and columnist Shahina K. Rafiq’s collection of short stories, The Menstrual Coupé, takes adeep dive into real life as experienced by women. It is an unabashed and
Malayalam Film Industry’s Woes Reflect Kerala’s Own Hierarchical, Feudal, and Patriarchal Structure
In recent weeks, patriarchal norms and male dominance in Malayalam cinema have come under scrutiny following the release of the redacted version of the Justice Hema Committee report. This report, commissioned by the Kerala government, has highlighted the various challenges faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. The committee
Sexual Harassment in Telugu Film Industry: The Reality Behind the Glitz
The Telugu film industry, which spans Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, is as huge as its people’s obsession with cinema. It produces the largest number of movies in India: 317 out of 1,796 in 2023. It accounts for one-fifth of India’s box office revenue of Rs.12,226 crore. And these States house
Kannada and Tamil Cinema Face Their Demons; But Can They Exorcise Them?
Sujata V, 51, is a psychotherapist based in the US. In the early 1990s, she went by the screen name of Soumya, a teenager who acted in one Tamil and three Malayalam films, Poochakkaru Mani Kettum, Advaitham, and Neelakurukkan. In September 2024, 32 years after she left the industry, she
The Keeper of Desolation: A Hindi Story in Translation
This story is from a time that no longer exists. The traditional methods of thievery have given way to approaches that are more dangerous and lethal. Thieves no longer drill holes through walls to steal—only the memories of such activities remain. Pickpockets no longer need any tools; the teeming crowd
Kashmiri Shawl Weavers: Unsung Heroes of Art, Rebellion, and Cultural Heritage
In the annals of Kashmir’s tumultuous history, the Zaldagar agitation of 1865 is a watershed moment. On April 29, 1865, the community of Shawlbafs (traditional weavers of the famed Kashmiri shawl) hit the streets of Zaldagar in Srinagar in a peaceful protest against the high taxes levied upon them by
Book Excerpt | Kuvempu’s ‘Bride in the Hills’ Recounts Love Stories in a Caste-Afflicted Social Order
Set in the stately, forest-clad hills of Malnad in the Western Ghats during the late 19th century, Bride in the Hills tells the love stories of young men and women aspiring for a life of freedom, dignity, and fulfilment in marriage within a caste-ridden social order. Kuvempu’s multi-centred text, with its
Is Realism In Movies Edging Out Fantasy And Romance?
Hindi cinema seems to be facing a crisis of confidence, with theatres screening older films rather than newer ones. And these films are doing well too: Laila Majnu (2018) and Tumbbad (2018), for example, earning more at the box office now than when they were initially released. Perhaps it is nostalgia, a sense of
Book Review | Tejinder S. Randhawa’s Book Listens To the Whispers of Vernacular Indian Architecture
“If only haveli walls could talk, what fascinating stories they would tell, having witnessed many generations of children growing up and daughters getting married and leaving their familiar surroundings forever.” This is how Randhawa, using a portrait taken from his family archives, explains the extraordinary gathering of Sikh men, most