The pre-1947 Indo-British interaction generally was, to say the least, highly uneven, much more so in the sphere of filmography. Quite unsurprisingly, before independence, the imperial shadow was overarching and Hollywood, on which British cinema has always been over-dependent for access to wider audiences, skewed it further by ruling out any portrayal of or participation…
Madhav Sharma was enthralled by Shakespeare from a young age and decided to become an actor on the English stage. It was a distant dream which few could imagine would ever come true. But sheer perseverance and some fortuitous breaks brought the lad from Bharat to Blighty where he performed in the Bard of Avon’s immortal…
[SI_section_desc description=”“For how long are we going to continue with the arbitrary division and sub-division of society, each with prescribed boundaries of lifestyle supported by the concepts of ‘pure and impure’..?”” text_color=”#393939″] My first contribution to Confluence was a review of Katherine Boo’s remarkable book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers in the October 2012 issue.…
[SI_section_header title=”There is no storm in their cup of tea!” text_color=”#393939″] In politics, a year is a very long time. About a year ago Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was then Chief Minister of Gujarat did not even have a visa to enter USA. This year for the first timein India’s history an American President, Barack…
[SI_section_desc description=”Lord Navnit Dholakia initiates important debate on the recent elections in India (House of Lords debate on 23 October 2014)” text_color=”#393939″] To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the outcome of the 2014 general election in India. Lord Dholakia: My Lords, I take this opportunity to wish all colleagues in…
[SI_section_desc description=”‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.’” —Albert Einstein” text_color=”#393939″] Madhukar Maithani’s artistic figures emerge from the depth of his imagination to tell us about their journey and their…
[SI_section_desc description=”Divya Mathur talks to Chaand Chazelle about her debut feature film, Throw of a Dice.” text_color=”#393939″] Divya: Congratulations, your film, Throw of a Dice, was awarded the Audience Award by the Tongues on Fire Festival. You also won the Best Film Award in the Black International Film Festival held in Birmingham. Having won those…
[SI_section_desc description=”‘In a global environment, young college kids seem to prefer McDonald hamburgers to idly sambar. Are the burgers better?’” text_color=”#393939″] This year, the monsoons played truant at first, and then came in full swing. For an agricultural economy like India, the rains are an absolute necessity—inflation is presently at an all-time high. Now, the…
[SI_section_desc description=”New research reveals that internet-savvy students increasingly make university choices online” text_color=”#393939″] A new report compiled by QS has revealed how prospective students digitally research universities and the factors that affect their final decision Indisputable today is the widespread use of digital resources in all aspects of life, which is only ever increasing…
[SI_section_desc description=”The haiku requires much discipline and practise. What was essential was the juxtaposition of two images with a kireji (‘cutting word’) between them…” text_color=”#393939″] The haiku form and style of writing verse was invented in Japan and was much influenced by Zen thinking. Traditionally it was a short poem consisting of three lines.The first…