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...
A personal plea for generations to co-operate in saving the planet and our children’s futures
As far back as I can remember, I loved animals, plants, and trees — really anything that was outdoors and wild. Simply put, I was fascinated by the natural world. My interest was magnified when I spent a summer holiday in the Midlands with my grandparents. Even though I was only four years old, I remember so vividly the...
Lockdown Diaries: Ten-plus-year olds review animation film Sitara, make statements to stop child marriage
Sitara: Let Girls Dream, made by renowned two-time Academy and three-time Emmy Award-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, is the best film we've seen in the last weeks during the Coronavirus lockdown. It is out on Netflix. As sisters aged ten and eleven, we were quite excited when our mum showed us the trailer of the movie about two sisters in the...
Jiu-Jitsu fires a passion to win gold
In an era of cut-throat, tough competition, you might be forgiven for thinking success at a sport could only come by practising pretty much from the time you leave the womb. You might believe that a 27-year-old picking up Jiu-Jitsu might never achieve any real level of success. Going against these pre-defined notions makes Sankalita Chakraborty's swift rise to...
Cary Rajinder Sawhney continues to champion the power of cinema to help BAME/LGBTQ communities
When there are problems with the world there are those who muddle through and then there are those who feel driven to change things for the better. Cary Rajinder Sawhney MBE is currently busy with the latest editions of two unique film festivals in London this month which aim to improve life for both the BAME and LGBTQ communities. Cary is the...
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...
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...
Ethical and inclusive fashion drives London Organic’s Founder
We live in age that is thankfully becoming more aware of the need to be sustainable, ethical, and inclusive. These are all qualities that Saumen Kar, Director at London Organic, brings to his fashion, beauty, and public relations firm. London Organic strives to help those who want to break into the fashion world. We're not just talking about designers though,...
KASHISH 2023: Touching short Oas shortlisted for Ismat Chughtai Award
OAS (English Title: Dew Drops)16 mins | Narrative Short | IndiaDirector: Kartika Nainan Dubey Screening on Sunday June 11th 12.45pm at Liberty Cinema, Mumbai Oas is a short film from Kartika Nainan Dubey which intimately explores the story of two women who broke up some time back but are still in love. They explore their feelings, particularly how one of the...
