KASHISH 2023: Transgender films win big at film festival

The 14th edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival which ended recently gave away cash awards worth Rs.6.50 lacs in 11 categories to winners across the globe; to filmmakers from Brazil, India, Iran, France, Portugal, UK and USA. The highest award at the festival, the KASHISH QDrishti Film Grant 20223, went to Abu Sohel Khondekar, a trans filmmaker from...

Remembering Chiku, our squirrel child

This poem's been inspired by real events and has been written to make children understand the power of compassion towards animals. It is meant to encourage them to love them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I heard the crows scream out quite loud And ran outside to see, There lay on the grass in our Mumbai backyard Tiny balls of three! It was early hours, we were barely awake But...

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...

KASHISH 2023: special presentation of Maja Ma featuring cast and crew Q&A

Madhuri Dixit-starrer Maja Ma, directed by Anand Tiwari will be screened as a special presentation at the 14th edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, South Asia's biggest LGBTQ+ film festival which will be held June 7-11, 2023 at Liberty Cinema, and June 8 - 10, 2023 at Alliance Française de Bombay; and also online from June 16-25,...

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...

Stories of immigrants from Kentucky Refugee Ministries in Lexington

I recently had the opportunity to work with an organization based in Kentucky called Kentucky Refugee Ministries. The company works with refugees who relocate to Kentucky, trying to help them get their way around their new homes. KRM (Kentucky Refugee Ministries) works to provide them with resources like jobs, medical appointments, and homes, getting a driver’s license or learning...

Global Indian Stories – Top 10 stories so far

Global Indian Stories is back! We've moved our website onto a bigger, faster server and changed our domain to globalindianstories.org to better represent our ethos of being a non-profit organisation. Our goals are unchanged. We still aim to help increase literacy by supporting and encouraging writers, especially those who have never been published before, hopefully leading to a greater sense 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...

Gray’s Inn in London unveils the Ambedkar Room and a new portrait

Master Ali Malek QC, Master Treasurer, Gray’s Inn, unveiled the Ambedkar Room at Gray’s Inn on 30 June 2021, dedicated to Dr Ambedkar, known internationally as an extraordinary academic, writer, politician, socio-political reformer, economist, and jurist. He also inspired the Buddhist movement in India. As the chief architect of India’s Constitution, he abolished Untouchability, and secured social and fundamental legal rights and equality for its...

Women of my billion (WOMB): An unequivocal film made while walking the length of India to champion equality and end violence against women

Walking 3,800 kilometers might seem like a vast task in itself, but that was only scratching the surface of what Srishti Bakshi aimed to achieve. Her astounding story is told in a new documentary called Women of My Billion (WOMB). The film is a pragmatic, heart-warming documentary about the movement that Srishti Bakshi started. As the Founder of CrossBow...