Celebrating excellence of Bengal across the world in the UK

20 July, 2022 will mark the third year of the Bengal Pride Awards at the House of Commons, London, dedicated to celebrating the achievements of the Bengali ethnic community from India and Bangladesh. The Bengali community has been, for decades, contributing to growth not just across South Asia but right across the globe. This is nowhere more evident than in...

How to successfully build personal and business networks

When it comes to networking, it’s not just about making a great first impression — it’s about making a lasting one. After all, networking is all about building meaningful relationships. Although this article talks about business relationships, some of the advice can be applied in your personal networks too. For instance, body language is always something to be aware of...

Short story honours Indian girl allegedly murdered for wearing jeans

Author and human rights campaigner Saurav Dutt has written a short story focused on the murder case of Neha Paswan as part of his new collection of short stories entitled 'By the Shadows and the Sunlight'. The book shines a spotlight on reports of girls and young women being brutally assaulted by family members in India. 'By the Shadows and...

Edinburgh’s community spirit is back with a bang for Dusherra 2021

Social distancing, wearing masks, sanitizing hands seemed to be a distant past as Edinburgh residents prepared for the Dusherra event this weekend - 17th Oct 2021. Although, I don’t mean literally. Track and Trace was very much evident at the venue and the sides of the marquee were kept open for more than 50% so that enough ventilation was...

Sajda Fest UK presents vocalist Pt Jayateerth Mevundi to pay homage to Pt Bhimsen Joshi

Sajda Season 3 will have its last free, online concert in homage to Bharat Ratna Shri Bhimsen Joshi as part of his birth centenary celebrations. The evening will consist of a performance of Abhangs, Bhajans, classical compositions and light classical pieces. Pt Mevundi will mesmerise the global audience by drawing on his repertoire of bhajans in a few different languages...

Shalmali and Sandip Soparrkar to perform at the KASHISH 2021 Closing & Award Ceremony

As the 12th edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, South Asia’s biggest LGBTQIA+ film festival, comes to a close on September 5th, get ready to witness a grand spectacle at the KASHISH 2021 Closing & Award ceremony on September 5th 6.00pm on the festival’s social media handles @kashishfilmfest The evening features performances by Shalmali, Sandip Soparrkar, Aneri Chaudhary,...

KASHISH 2021: Swingin’ celebrates coming of age in the glow of Taiwan legalising same-sex marriage

SWINGIN' Dir: Shang-Sing Guo 23 min | 2020 | Taiwan | Chinese Screening on September 5 - Program 1 in the Short Film Package - SMILES AND SUNSHINE Swingin' is the first dramedy/music film of its kind since Taiwan became the first and the only country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. So when sixth-grader boy Qiu is bullied in school for having gay...

KASHISH 2021: Halwa breaks stereotypes empowering older women

HALWA Dirs: Gayatri Bajpai, Nirav Bhakta 15 min |2019 | USA | Hindi, English Screening on Friday, September 3, Program 4 in the Short Film Package, Halwa is a vital short film that strives to break the cliches around older Indian women. The story concerns an elderly, docile housewife, Sujata Chopra, stuck in a lonely marriage overseas with a controlling husband. On the eve of...

Same-Sex Marriage Rights a hot topic at KASHISH 2021

KASHISH 2021 panels discuss histories, religion & marriage equality for LGBTQIA+ community The 12th edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, South Asia’s biggest LGBTQIA+ film festival, is underway from August 19th to September 5th 2021 screening 221 films from 53 countries over 3 weekends. During the weekdays the festival is programming several interesting panel discussions and filmmaker Q&As. On...

Bengali film Brihonnola garners great response at KASHISH 2021

BRIHONNOLA Dir: Dibyadoot Roy Chowdhury 117 min | 2018 | India | Bengali, Hindi | Narrative Feature Screened on Friday Aug 20th at KASHISH 2021 Inspired by true events, a Bengali feature based on people of different sexual orientation "Brihonnola, one body; two souls,” was one of the three Indian feature films screened at KASHISH this year. The film received good response for its hard-hitting...