Creativity unlocked: an inspiring story from India in the times of the pandemic
While the pandemic has been challenging for us in different ways, Pulkit Datta shows us how he used the lockdown to unlock his dormant creativity “When an admirer offered to pay for one of my sketches, my 10-year-old daughter, standing beside me, literally jumped in joy. I clenched my fists instead. The moment had arrived,” says Pulkit Datta, a mechanical engineer by trade, and an...
Teacher turns author to keep Gujarati alive for future generations
Growing up in a multicultural, multiethnic, and multilingual London has been a key factor in shaping my identity. I am British – born and bred. A true Londoner. And I am as Indian as they come. My childhood was an Indian one, from the food, the language, the weekend activities, to the way I interact with people; my experiences have...
Satyavad – a framework for a new future based on Indian principles
Samajwad (socialism) has had a chequered past in India. Back in the early 1870s, a group in Calcutta contacted Karl Marx with the purpose of organizing an Indian section of the First International! Marxism made quite an impact in Indian media at the time of the Russian Revolution. Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal were amongst the prominent...
An ode to coronavirus
Hey there! I'm Corona Well, Corona means 'a crown' I'm now crowned king of social media And have become talk of the town. In less than a month I shot to fame And haunted every dream And managed to go from person to person Faster than a viral meme But I'm not as scary as it seems My mortality rate is low But one simple sneeze could infect 10...
Uttorsori: The Generation Next Festival celebrated virtually over eight hours
The 7th season of Essex Indians UK's flagship event 'Uttorsori: Generation Next Festival' went virtual this year on the 21 June. Started in 2014 to encourage children and young adults to become a part of the cultural heritage and focus on project related to global causes, the event has grown from strength to strength over the past years. The one-of its...
Bending it like Sid Mallya
This interview was originally published at bollywoodjournalist.com in 2016, a few days ahead of the London Indian Film Festival. Naman Ramachandran, a personal friend had written his first film Naman Brahman and Sid Mallya was one of the lead cast. When I started interacting with the PR handling the project, it was really difficult to try to convince them for...
A successful Trilateral Global Summit hosted by Rt Hon Baroness Verma of Leicester
The inaugural Trilateral Global Summit convened by world humanitarian drive (WHD) in partnership with Universal Peace Federation (UPF), was held on June 19th and 20th in London with participants from over 25 countries including politicians from UK, Portugal, Morocco, Bahrain. Other notable keynote addresses from CEO of Doha Bank Dr Raghavan Seetharaman former Managing Director of World Bank Group Dr...
An ode to SSR – terra firma amidst the constant churning
The world as we have known over the last few decades is rapidly sublimating into a concoction vigorously churned in a mystic cauldron composed of natural, super-natural and possibly artificial entities fighting for reason in this battle for eternal survival. Such is the feisty nature of this perpetuity, that the age-old practices and procedures have given way to the...
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...
Iranian feature “The Another Self” gets two nominations at Wales Film Festival
Passionate filmmaker Amir Tavakoli tackles a social topic in Iran The challenges faced by transgender communities across the world are similar, but can get extreme in conservative patriarchal societies like Iran and India. A film that has been doing the festival rounds and bravely brings out the nuances of this bold subject in Iran is a feature called The Another Self,...
