Dallas textiles firm supports US medical workers by pivoting into PPE
More than 35 million (and counting) pieces of personal protection equipment (PPE) have been shipped to hospitals, school districts, and government agencies around the country through Nextt Shield, a new division of Dallas-based textiles company Nextt Affiliated, created during the pandemic. Known worldwide for its sheets, bedding, and towels, Nextt -owned by Indian-born Arun Agarwalhas - has now pivoted to...
Lockdown Diaries: Entrepreneur Mubarakka Ghadiyali maximises on the lockdown time, supports women and children in Mumbai
Coronavirus has taken the balance off the lives of millions of people. It is undoubtedly the greatest setback our generation has faced. The COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for affecting the lives of millions of people word wide in unimaginable ways. But not for Mumbai-based Mubarakka Lokhandwala Ghadiyali - an entrepreneur, pilot, and lawyer has been invited to the Prodigy Bureau's...
Lockdown Diaries: Ankit Bhuptani’s views on self-isolation and how our actions will define a generation
50 or 100 years from today we will not be able to talk about the year 2020 without talking about this COVID-19 pandemic. I wonder, will a teen of that time be able to believe that all the commercial planes of the world were grounded? Businesspersons, film-stars, industry leaders and other powerful people who hardly had time to eat a meal peacefully,...
Lockdown Diaries: Director-Producer Faraz Ansari raises funds to support transgenders and daily wage earners in the film industry
The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the worst epidemics that the world has witnessed within living memory. The lockdown imposed by governments across the world has been a huge setback for industries across the world, and for many in the busy Bollywood industry, this shutdown has spelt doom for the thousands making their living out of it. Faraz Arif...
Of poetry and lockdown diaries
As a writer, raconteur and storyteller, I like to find my material, my stories in the real world. I then imbue them with a setting, a context and characters that find a voice to cut across the real and bring to life a message in my work that needs to be repeated constantly. My most recent work which came...
Lockdown Diaries: A child’s perspective about managing adults during this period
Adults and parents are often the cause of a child’s confusion and irritation. This is a piece of writing to help children understand and manage adults (especially parents) better. Behavior Adult behavior is very peculiar, at least to children. The behaviors vary as much as teenagers. They can be happy, angry, tired, and the one I am most familiar with (and I’m...
Home and exile – a cinematic journey of hope and resilience
Homebound for months during the pandemic, I seized the first opportunity to travel beyond my dull domestic frontiers. This unique excursion was facilitated by the three day virtual Asian Women’s Film Festival organized by the International Association of Women in Radio and Television – India Chapter. Having been a student, researcher and occasional teacher of cinema, I could not...
Flowers – an environmental poem
I haven’t been able to make much music recently. Processing the news around us has been far from easy. So here’s a different kind of offering, with words and paint, this one is called — Flowers. It rained last night, From a monsoon sky, Soaked my soil, Burrowed its way Deep into my heart, Until I was swollen... Dark earth, Bubbled bright, And it hurt To be brimming with...
KASHISH 2020: Atanu Mukherjee’s short ‘Wig’ compels us to think about existence, struggle, individuality, gender
WIG http://mumbaiqueerfest.com/indian-masala-mix-ii/ 26 min / 2019 / Narrative Short / India Dir: Atanu Mukherjee Producer: Pooja Gupte (Humaramovie and Easel) KASHISH 2020 Virtual, the 11th edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer FilmFestival, South Asia's biggest LGBTQIA+ film festival will run from July 22nd - July 30th screening 157 films from 42 countries. You can register to attend the festival from anywhere in the world. Check...
Lockdown Diaries: Oli Khan’s Surma Takeaway to distribute thousands of free hot meals to frontline workers in the UK
The holy month of Ramadan 2020 will be remembered in history for coinciding with one of the worst pandemics of all time, and this has changed the way Ramadan is being observed globally this year. However this has not dampened the spirit of compassion and generosity during this sacred time. Celebrated chef Oli Khan FRSA and Surma takeaway in Stevenage have...
