Celebrating India’s Constitution Day
India celebrated its seventieth constitution day on 26 November, in different High Commissions and Consulates across the globe, with the Indian High Commission in London being one of them. India's constitution provides us equality, freedom of speech, right to education and human dignity. Here is a short speech by Dr Prerna Tambay, who spoke in the Indian High Commission in...
Swarnavel Eswaran’s first feature film Kattumaram (Catamaran) gets a standing ovation at BFI during LIFF 2019
Kattumaram (Catamaran), the coming-of-age tale of Tsunami-survivors in a small village where a conservative maternal uncle supports his orphaned niece and nephew while they struggle with their simple but complicated lives, has been very well received by London film-lovers. As a part of the London Indian Film Festival, LIFF 2019, Kattumaram had its European Premiere at the iconic BFI...
KASHISH 2023 announces new Ismat Chughtai Award for best Indian woman filmmaker
The 14th KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, South Asia’s biggest LGBTQ+ film festival, announced institution of a new award from this year - the Ismat Chughtai Award for Best Indian Woman Filmmaker, instituted in memory of eminent Indian Urdu novelist, short story writer, liberal humanist and filmmaker Ismat Chughtai, by her grandson and filmmaker Ashish Sawhny. “I am delighted...
Proud of the Rainbow Pride
The Mumbai Pride March 2020 (#mumbaipride2020) organised by the collective called the Queer Azaadi Mumbai (QAM) and Humsafar Trust was held on February 1, 2020. Traditionally, since the last ten odd years, this march by the LGBTQIA+ has been held from the August Kranti Maidan, the same iconic park from where Mahatma Gandhi started the QUIT INDIA movement in...
LIFF 2021: Satyajit Ray Short Film Competition
This year sees the London Indian Film Festival adopt a hybrid format, fuelled by having to go online under last year's COVID lockdown. What this means is that the Satyajit Ray Short Film Competition is available to watch at home, for free, right now. Go here to sign up and “buy” your free tickets: LoveLIFFatHome You can watch the films...
The first Diwali at Scottish Parliament symbolises camaraderie of communities
The first Diwali hosted in the Scottish Parliament was celebrated this year on the Hindu auspicious day of Vijaya Dashami and the 20th Anniversary of the Scottish Parliament on 8th October. The coinciding celebrations of important festivals and events with significant community leaders was a deliberate plan to symbolise the camaraderie between the communities. The five-day-long Hindu festival of lights, representing...
Lockdown Diaries: My extended vacation and a beautiful entrapment in Holland
It was in November last year, when we decided to visit Europe. We wanted to cover about seven European nations. As our journey date was approaching, an unprecedented global crisis was unfolding fast. Covid-19 or Coronavirus, has taken the world by surprise. The unpreparedness of countries to deal with this virus has been exposed at various stages. We were also quite...
Lockdown Diaries: Festival Director Jitin Hingorani revamps South Asian Film Festivals, donates proceeds to charity
The Corona Virus is not just a pandemic, it is fast shaping the global economy and with it the fortunes of countless businesses and cultural events. Finding something frustrating and seeing an opportunity to make it better is what entrepreneurship is all about, says Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group, a British business magnate, investor, author and philanthropist. This...
Lockdown Diaries: Mira Kaushik OBE spearheads an online platform to celebrate dance through UK’s performing artists
During lockdown, one of the things we art audiences are missing the most is being able to watch live performances. In the generosity of the universe, many top artists have been performing online for free. However, for London-based producer director and performing arts consultant Mira Kaushik, there was still something missing. “While the desire for viewing performances was being satisfied...
World Mental Health Day 2020: a tribute to the selfless Sumitra Tevani
In recent months, everyone has been talking about getting used to a new ‘normal’ in a COVID-19 world. In reality, my new normal is learning to live life to the fullest without my beautiful Mummy sending me WhatsApp messages, calling me a gazillion times a day, video calling me but then putting the phone up to her ear, sharing the...
