The 1975 drama

What Hindi cinema said about the turbulent years of the Emergency, which shook up the Indian polity 43 years ago on June 25 On 25th June, the country will hauntingly recall the 43rd year since Indira Gandhi government declared the Emergency in 1975 to negate her disqualification from electoral politics for six years — a […]

The story as magic

Dastangoi, an ancient form of storytelling now much in vogue, uses words and gestures to engage, entice and entertain the audience “Barbaad gulistan karne ko bas ek ullu kaafi thha, Har shaakh pe ullu baitha hai, anjaam-e-gulistan kya hoga…” (A garden can be ruined by a single owl, but what happens when there is an […]

Don’t stay dry

Here are five places with delightful water bodies that you can visit this summer, before the monsoon hits the northern plains Raneh Falls Imagine an exotic rocky landscape where the stars are singing a romantic song. That’s Raneh Falls, aptly called the Grand Canyon of India. Located about 20 km from Khajuraho, this is a […]

All night long

How the dancing uncle clicked and what would be his undoing (Revenge of the 80s) A 46-year old professor unknowingly dancing his way to internet fame, a bit longer than what Andy Warhol predicted as “15 minutes of fame’, may still not help the uncles and fufajis to shed their image of being seen as […]

The racism chronicle

With a short film that had its world premiere at Festival de Cannes this year, Delhi boy Akshun Abhi, now based in Los Angeles, is on a high The film that took Akshun Abhi, all of 24 years, and the team of 7 Rounds to Cannes is based on last year’s Kansas racial killing in […]

LONG LIVE CARBS!

In modern weight loss diet, carbs have never been hated this much. But is it wise? Those were much simpler and much tastier times. Breakfast would be alu paratha made in ghee with fresh butter and curds. Lunch would be a lighter dal-chawal, or if it was a weekend, then rajma-chawal. Pakodas in the evening, […]

Where the road ends

Dodging monkeys, listening to birdsong, the drive from Nainital to KunjAkharak, through the Naina Devi Himalayan Bird Conservation Reserve, is a planet lover’s delight “Come here,” says Harinder Singh Bisht, my guide and guard with the Vinayak Forest Rest House. Precariously, he stands at the edge of the mountain, pointing out the villages in the […]

The Bard of Bollywood

A young boy from Meerut had a dream of becoming a famous cricketer. Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately), when studying at Delhi University, his thumb broke just a day before an inter-university tournament. Soon after, he lost his father. These two developments made him give up his dream of playing cricket for the country. Clearly, destiny […]