In 1979, Basu Chatterjee made Baaton Baaton Mein and unobtrusively brought to us the dating and courtship rituals of a community that was till then either caricatured or just overlooked in Hindi cinema. Nancy Perreira and Tony Braganza…
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Matriarchal manipulation in a patriarchal world is depicted unsparingly in Usha Priyamwada’s Pachpan Khambe Laal Deewarein (Now playing on Prasar Bharti). The mother resentful of her lecturer daughter’s comfortable life in her college residence because the younger daughters…
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“Start with hope..always start with hope. We went from being a shitty team to become one of the biggest dynasties in the sport and all it needed was one match to light this fire,” says Michael Jordan at…
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In 1947, my grandparents brought three children and the remains of an uprooted life from Pakistan to India in a train. One of those children was my mother. I grew up hearing a lot of stories about the…
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Three documentaries streaming right now show the ultimate culmination of the Bois Locker Room culture. And what happens when one gender is taught to mistrust its instincts of self-preservation and the other does not even learn something as…
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In Sudip Sharma’s Paatal Lok (Now streaming on Amazon. Co written by Sharma, Sagar Haveli, Hardik Mehta and Gunjit Chopra. Directed by Avinash Arun and Prosit Roy), India’s disowned inhabit the headlines we turn away from. A young…
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Pic: A tailoring boutique shop in one of the Old Town alleyways Hoi An is a historic port town and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The old building façades in the heritage area are in a state of protected disrepair, i.e. they’re left to their crumbling nature as a homage to the history of the […]
Trekking can be a wonderfully rewarding activity. When undertaken in a UNESCO designated World Heritage site like the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP), the experience becomes even more exceptional. Situated in Himachal Pradesh, GHNP is home to a variety of flora and fauna. The entry point to the GHNP is a hamlet called Gusheini, about […]
The country is suffering, while the elite are engaged in Facebook wars. Nothing is going to change till each of us makes up his or her mind to fight patriarchy, caste, communalism and injustice. The working class continues to exist on a pittance, and the politicians continue to roll in rivers of money. I was […]
“… cutting up women is a sport older than cricket but just as popular and equally full of obscure rituals and intricate rules that everyone seems to know…” ~ Mohammed Hanif, Our Lady of Alice Bhatti I’m reading Our Lady of Alice Bhatti as I travel trip my way across India, meeting women for the newest campaign of our NGO- an […]
I am sitting by Lake Shore Drive on my last day in Chicago. A woman is sitting by the shore, sketching the long skyline of Chicago. A gay couple kiss each other. A group of girls celebrate their friend’s birthday party. And a naughty Baltimore Oriole chases me. I sit there for hours with my […]
I hadn’t expected the bus to arrive in the city so early in the morning. I had hoped for signs of a city waking up— a tea shop to sit at, a street to people-watch on, while I waited. But it was ten minutes past five, dark. A thin film of fog wrapped up the early winter chill. […]
What you seek, is seeking you. – Rumi Ever since I started traveling, I have been waiting for this big trip that will change my life and I will come back this whole new person. While every new journey has been a completely unique and exciting adventure, I always find myself coming back and easily […]
The ethereal kashmir has been a bone of contention between two very unhappy neighbours. But its lush green meadows, snow filled valleys, warm kangris, hospitable people and delicious cuisine keep drawing travellers despite the tension. I did this trip independently with a friend without a tour package, guide or private taxi. Here are some useful […]
“Agar Firdaus bar rōy-e zamin ast, hamin ast-o hamin ast-o hamin ast.” If there is paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.That’s what Persian poet Amir Khusrau, said of Kashmir in 13th Century.Fast-forward to now and this is what I heard from friends and acquaintances: “There’s a constant sense of […]
I have been weathering a storm since last year. So, I have been blogging about how unfair, ruthless, and hard life is. Although the storm hasn’t abated yet, I am seeing a bright, bright ray of sunshine now. I am insanely happy today. A few months ago, when it dawned on me that my relationship had really gone down the drain, I had […]
“Katrina and her cousin went on a short trek nearby, and by the end there were 60 or 70 leeches on her. Poor thing, she is a city girl, didn’t know what to do! When she came back we removed all the leeches, then I had to sweep the blood off the floor with a […]
I am a tad upset. I have just read about a hotel chain which is soon launching women-only hotels. I know I should be kicked about it, as I often travel solo, but I am not. Traditionally, our streets, roadside restaurants, public parks, pan- cigarette tapris have been a male bastion. While women remained housebound, men traversed […]