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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I woke up with an unfamiliar feeling that gnawed at me. I slowly recognised it as resentment. Unfamiliar because I, consciously or unconsciously, I have practised not to look back unless the memories are happy ones, or not to look too far ahead for a future that is uncertain, even imaginary. This has helped […]
The shorter days and longer nights make me thankful for the warmth of the sun and the long lazy days of summer that never ended. Pumpkins, squash and sweet potatoes in abundance remind me that Mother Earth will provide for us even when the cold winter winds blow. A roof over our heads and family […]
In the midst of the recent dark days of my soul, a dear friend called me. She was doing this exercise in gratitude every day where she would write and give thanks for something that she wanted but was yet to manifest in her life. It was something that I had told her to do […]
This is not my regular Thanksgiving post where I give thanks for all my blessings. The brainwave for this post came about when I was washing dishes – anyone who knows me knows how much I hate doing dishes. As I sunk my fingers into the dishwashing detergent (because the dish rag was dirty), my […]
As you turn a young 82, am writing this, dear Amma, to celebrate eight decades of your life and to wish you many more years of good health, happiness and peace. To acknowledge the rich experience and wisdom that you have gained from the joys and sorrows, laughter and tears, successes and failures that came your way and […]
I had the good fortune of knowing three very generous ladies. Two of them were my grandmothers and one was my ‘adopted’ grandmother. My Dadima (dad’s mom) was a businesswoman and she did really well selling cooking gas to households and hotels. Ganga (my adopted grandmother) lived with her and took care of the home, […]
When life gives you a hard time, just chill. It’s true. Papa said so. Like when he gave me a card which read “When life gives you a thunderstorm… Find a puddle to play in”. Inside was a little handmade picture of a little boy jumping in a huge puddle. The catharsis that comes […]
When I came to Chennai to join a newspaper as the chief sub-editor, I did not know this city. I had no friends here. I could not speak the language. There was just one thing I was absolutely clear about — this city was too hot, too crowded ( I was coming from Mangalore, […]
I have stayed positive, written in my gratitude journal, prayed every day and tried to be one with your flow. And nothing! Zilch! I know you hate it when I live in the past but I can’t help it. Just look at last year – 2012. It was nothing short of magical. You got me […]
Time’s overreaching as life murmurs to a close, A dialogue left incomplete before the season’s changed, Forced shut before the year drew out. Stripped of age and run dry of an era, An element of emptiness dripping down On those left behind. And the firmament sends waves like whispers up To fill your open […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” How aptly they defined in a few words, the importance of a better ‘you’ as far as health is concerned but I have a question here, “who is the real […]
For knowing that I needed to be left alone instead of being comforted For traveling miles to see me when you were the only one who could brighten up my day For knowing I could accomplish anything, instead of just congratulating me when I did For telling me that I needed to improve, instead of […]