I Can’t Breathe
At a time of global pandemic, it is telling to see the large gatherings of protestors across America. Personal safety has been thrown aside in a quest for justice. The deep upset and anger caused by the death of George Floyd has been felt far and wide, and it's certainly not just African Americans that can sympathise with the systemic...
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....
Why everybody should read the Harry Potter series at least once in their livesÂ
The Harry Potter series is renowned across the world for its good writing and fantasy world. But it also teaches us a lot of life lessons and helps us understand the importance and the power of love and friendship. Here are some lessons which the Harry Potter series taught us. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes: This is an underlying...
Lockdown Diaries: Baithak UK brings artists virtually together for music video celebrating togetherness
Despite the logistical issues posed by COVID-19, Baithak UK has managed to bring together artists virtually in order to make a music video which celebrates togetherness. "Those were the days" celebrates the power of music and memory, beautifully melding the globally popular folk song by Robert Burns "Auld Lang Syne", its Bengali adaptation by Rabindranath Tagore, and the recent translation (written exclusively...
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...
KASHISH 2020 announces Rs 2,00,000 grant for outstanding LGBTQ+ theme films
Call for submissions open to KASHISH QDrishti Film Grant 2020 KASHISH, Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, South Asia’s biggest and India’s most mainstream LGBTQ film festival has launched a submission call for the KASHISH QDrishti Film Grant 2020 that offers Rs.2,00,000 to emerging Indian filmmaker to make a LGBTQIA+ short film between 10-15 mins. The grant is supported by Lotus...
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...
Netflix releases first Pakistani animated film S Obaid-Chinoy’s “Sitara: Let girls dream”
Netflix, the world's leading Internet entertainment service, has released Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s SITARA: LET GIRLS DREAM, which is available in over 190 countries. SITARA marks the first Pakistani Animated Film to be released and distributed by NETFLIX USA. Written and directed by two-time Academy and three-time Emmy Award-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, SITARA: LET GIRLS DREAM takes the audience on a journey through the old city of Lahore, where,...
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...
A tribute to legendary Maharashtrian artistes Madgulkar, Deshpande and Phadke
Indians in the UK like like couple Santosh and Supriya Deshpande, Founder of a socio cultural organisation GaMaBhaNaare are passionately engaged in promoting India’s rich cultural diversity and heritage. Their aim is to promote the Marathi language among British Indian and showcase the literary richness of Marathi through various performing arts. Santosh and Supriya and GaMaBhaNa along with lovers of...
