Havas Guruhi: When Music Crosses Borders
'No culture can thrive if it attempts to be exclusive' Poised with confidence, a young man in the spring of 2019 beautifully sang the iconic Bengali patriotic song Akla Cholo Re, penned by Rabindranath Tagore. The venue was the Embassy of Bangladesh in Tashkent. The year before, with equal ease, he presented at a Delhi concert, among other melodies, his...
Debut novel depicts the challenges of a young Asian woman expelled from Uganda
Winter was just setting in when I first saw the images of Ugandan Asians disembarking at UK airports. The weather was foul and l’ll never forget the look on the faces of the new arrivals, as they started their new, diminished lives. The year was 1972 and I was a teenager leading a comfortable life in the English countryside....
Ava’s Ark: an animal lover whose passion is her profession
If it's one thing that anyone close to me knows it is that I am an animal lover and, like with most animals, when our happy spirits meet its always love at first sight. As my passion for animals grew, the need to understand their behaviour and patterns grew as well. I decided to get a certification which would help...
Dalit organisations in the UK demand justice for Manisha Valmiki
The brutal gang rape and death of 19-year-old Manisha Valmiki, belonging to a lower caste from Hathras in the the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, and the police action thereafter has sent shock waves all over the world. This brutality committed by perpetrators from an upper caste, as caste motivated hate crimes, must be condemned in the strongest...
Open Oven: Baking it Even!
With the world witnessing a paradigm shift, food still holds fort as a constant source of relief. Entrepreneurial ventures stocking on comfort and utility food has become the need of the hour. One such immensely popular bakery in Kolkata, India is the Open Oven Bakery. Instituted by Reshma Sengupta, Open Oven has been supplying tasty and healthy baked food...
The Kashmiri Imbroglio: whose freedom, whose azaadi is it?
London 15.08.2019 After winning the elections in 2019, the BJP led government of India wasted no time to bring in the required legislative bill ‘J&K Reorganisation Act 2019”, that has provisions to reorganise the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, one to be called Jammu and Kashmir, and the other Ladakh. The introduction of the bill was...
Yoga: Towards a Healthier and Happier Life
All of us want to lead a happy and peaceful life. But concentrating on only money and fulfilment of materialistic desires cannot give uninterrupted peace and happiness. We need very good health for both body and mind to reach the goal. The point is, how can we get good health? I am happy to report that many ladies and...
Vikram Hazra and Soumya Jyoti Ghosh to rock the stage in London and Manchester
Vikram Hazra, an unparalleled name in Indi-jazz-rock-contemporary music returns to UK after nearly 14 years to mesmerise his fans in London at Bush Hall on 1 June and in Manchester at the Band on the Wall on 2 June. Vikram will be accompanied by Soumya Jyoti Ghosh in the concert, titled ‘Song of the Soul’, organised by SAJDA (South...
Dance to Nihira Joshi Deshpande’s authentic Cuban music with Hindi lyrics
Germany based Nihira Joshi Deshpande has created an independent song with Hindi lyrics set to the melody of authentic Cuban music. This song Ishq Manayein Kya? has gone viral. Nihira is an internationally acclaimed popular singer, composer, independent music producer, Spanish translator come interpreter. Nihira Joshi Deshpande has been singing for many Marathi and Hindi films, worked with Shankar...
Lockdown Diaries: My fight with coronavirus boredom
My name is Ishaan Saxena and I am a student of year 5 in an international school in Hong Kong. My school has been closed since January end amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Home learning is one job to do but once you finish it, it gets boring. So I thought I could use this time to explore my interest and do something...
