The media is constantly bombarding us with images: billboards, commercials, films, sitcoms- all of which have a huge impact on the way we think, feel and talk about society. Among the millions of messages the mainstream media sends us every day- a particularly damaging one is of the representation of gender roles. Regressive, damaging stereotypes […]
The anxiety within oneself involved in the process of searching truth begins to settle when real Sadhana begins. Sadhana means an endeavour persistently undertaken especially to search truth. It is one pointed movement towards the desired goal. Desire when driven inwards becomes sadhana and when projected outwards, it is ambition. Ambition is the achievement of material gains. Sadhana is the […]
A click, a tap, at best a double tap! That’s all it takes to “like” someone else – their picture, their thoughts, their activities, their moments. So easy. Just click, tap, liked! Ever tried that for yourself? Okay now, I don’t mean upload a pic and like it yourself. That is kind of weird I’ll […]
“Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” If you’ve ever been in a car or on a bike, owned one, rented one, seen one and most importantly noticed one, you know where to find those words! On the rear-view mirror or side-view mirror of course! It’s that mirror, which helps you gauge which […]
For some afternoons now, I have been listening to the Azaan. Its hauntingly beautiful melody floats over the houses, slips through the lanes to reach me. I don’t really know where it comes from; it doesn’t sound very near. But sound has a way of getting through. The muezzin seems to put all the power of his meditation into […]
From Aatish Taseer to George Calombaris to late Charles Correa, we had the privilege of initiating some of the best conversations of 2015 with purveyors of change in cinema, theatre, food, music, urban planning and so many different walks of life. Here are a few interviews we enjoyed doing this year. Cinema Rajat Kapoor: A Sudden Shower It is the […]
You saw her first as Sonia. Clad in no-nonsense rolled up trousers, a tucked in shirt with hair pulled back in a stern pony tail and a pair of glasses perched on her nose. She lingered over a book in the lawn of a sprawling Simla bungalow, looking on wistfully as life passed her by. […]
Actor and producer Sanjay Suri is a quiet, enduring presence in an industry that thrives on noise. As the producer on the cusp of the release of his new projects including the internationally acclaimed Chauranga, he looks back at the years when he was still discovering what it means to be a part of the […]
Vicky Kaushal in Masaan was unflinching and brave without any of the manufactured bravado we associate with a Hindi film debut. He was just part of a narrative, a face in a rich and teeming ensemble cast but then you started to notice a shy smile, a gaze that lingered when he sparred over the spice […]
Soon after the completion of this year’s sleeper hit Masaan, actor Richa Chaddha told Vicky Kaushal and Shweta Tripathi, “Say bye bye to anonymity.” Prophetic words in retrospect and Shweta relearns their truth everytime she wants to retreat to anonymity. She smiles, “This is an industry where appearance matters and there is no denying that. It’s […]
”There was never anything wrong with keeping up a little optimism over the flood.” That line from Eudora Welty’s The Optimist’s Daughter arrested my attention when I was reading the book by candlelight a week ago. It was a dark week in many senses. My beloved city was flooded, making thousands of people homeless. […]
The rain had stopped being furious. But, the motorists were murderous with their grumbling vehicles and grumpy faces. On any other day, I would have joined their never-ending serpentine queue. But that day, with a sinister smile on my face, I dodged the gridlocks, and reached home without complaining. Because, the bicycle is one of […]