As we think of the relevance of ashram ideals in the thought of both Tagore and Gandhi, we realise that they were ecologically inspired. Gandhi Jayanti 2023 may help us consider the importance of an education engaging with our natural environment.
Homage to an Iconic Ray Film Whose Popularity Spans Generations and Cultures
The result was a phenomenal script with a stellar cast and a music which not only took the storyline ahead but also paused to reflect upon each moment. Satyajit’s rendition of the story has several of his beliefs reflected, including his anti-war stance, his love for performative arts, including various forms of classical dance, his love for history and regional history, amidst others, his stance against caste and class discrimination and oppression of the poor and the tyranny and subjugation of the ruling class
How a Russian-Jewish Bride Internalised Santiniketan: Arc of a Family History Book-Ended by the Russian Revolution and Indian Independence Across Three Generations and Three Continents
It is a neat division and the first part of 70 pages is the Kotia-Ketaki memoir. In the second section, Chandana picks up the narrative and weaves the micro family history of the Jonas family with the macro events of the late 19th century and her grandmother's journey that brought her to Santiniketan in the 20th century.
The ‘Pinny’ and the Past: A Bengali Summer Dress That Carries History in Its Threads
Today, the tape-jama survives on the margins of a rapidly changing marketplace. It is still found in local bazaars, though no longer a default festive purchase for children. Yet its significance lies beyond its material presence. The garment endures as a symbol of memory—of simpler times, of long summer afternoons, and of a cultural ethos shaped by resourcefulness and tradition. Its soft cotton folds carry stories of Bengal’s textile heritage, its artisanal practices, and its ability to absorb and reinterpret external influences. In doing so, the pinny becomes more than a childhood dress—it is a living archive of history and identity.
When a Language Dies: The Struggle for Cultural Survival of Bangladesh’s Lushai Community
According to the latest (2024) survey by the International Mother Language Institute, 45 languages have been identified as existing now in Bangladesh out of which there are 11 indigenous languages including Lushai (Mizo)—that have become critically endangered. Based on UNESCO data, a handful of languages which have made it to the endangered list in Bangladesh are in such a forlorn state that only 5-12 older folks from respective communities can still converse in them.
More on ART AND CULTURE
King Khan opens up a bold new space for Bollywood
The industry prefers a winning formula to creative exploration, particularly in big-budget films populated by rocking stars with fancy fees. Will that change from hereon with the success of ‘Jawan’? We have on offer a new path for Bollywood, a path that can use its huge and unrivalled soft power to drive home some significant messages of the kind and in a way it has rarely attempted in a big-budget extravaganza.
When the music died: Afghanistan’s performing arts fall silent under Taliban rule
The famed Afghanistan National Institute of Music, the country’s only music school, had to shut down its campus in Kabul after the Taliban's crackdown. It has temporarily relocated to Lisbon, Portugal, where 273 students, faculty members and staff have been granted asylum.
Audacity to play: The remarkable story of women’s cricket in Pakistan
That the writer is Indian and male makes this book all the more remarkable. Puthran has captured not just the state of the sport in Pakistan but also the social, political, religious and administrative challenges women cricketers here face at every step.
Empowering youth for carbon neutrality: Making campuses living laboratories for Net Zero
India's pledge to attain Net-Zero carbon emissions by 2070, articulated by PM Modi at COP26 in Glasgow, UK underscores the nation's determination to combat climate change. In this context, higher education institutions take center stage for moulding future-ready policymakers.
A Bollywood film and a tragic tale: Poor road safety awareness remains region's blight
In India alone, some 150,000 people lose their lives to road crashes every year, with more than five times that number injured or maimed for life. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka have equally dismal or worse statistics in the matter of road safety.
Mantra of happiness: Live in the moment
Too much planning brings misery because we cannot predict the forces of the future and hence have no control over them. This obviously leads us to worry about the outcome. We should therefore follow the American maxim; “We will cross the bridge when we come to it”.
“Oppenheimer” and the Bhagavad Gita: How the Hindu scripture became the American physicist's moral compass
There was something profoundly moving to note that a deep philosophical insight given by Krishna Dvaipayana better known as Ved-Vyasa, the creator of the Gita and the Mahabharat, many millennia ago, should come to underpin the most defining event of the 20th century and beyond.
When folk culture gets commercialised, the visual language of nature gets lost
What we see in the problematic use of folk culture in Modern Indian art is the way the celebration of nature has been privatised and turned into a consumer item that becomes a part of the art industry.
Partition stories and intertwined histories: Beyond religious hatred and political rivalries
The nation-states of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh categorise their citizens by nationality alone, with no room for emotion or relationship. People are separated from each other through violent narratives and intractable borders.
Why India's federal system holds over Pakistan's
The elite in Pakistan was not committed to pre-independence reorganization, and the lack of this linguistic federal adjustment created tensions that India survived.
Was Oppenheimer's Gita quote accurate?
In Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32) Lord Krishna says that “I am the "Kal" (Mighty Time) – destroyer of the world”. Oppenheimer said “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”, and this is extensively quoted.
Is reading your mind now going to be a reality? Breakthrough device by Indian American student
The creation of the device has opened exciting possibilities in the field of brain-computer interface technology.
Cinema that defies norms and transcends borders in South Asia
The discussion highlighted how Pakistani movie and theatregoers lament the banning of Indian films in Pakistan and Indian audiences clamour for Pakistani dramas. Commonalities of language, music and culture developed over thousands of years cannot be erased, as elements in both countries are trying to do, rewriting history and marginalising ‘the other’.
Nine South Asian languages are now on Google’s AI chatbot Bard
The languages are Bengali (spoken in Bangladesh and India), Gujarati, Hindi (spoken in India and Nepal), Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil (spoken in India and Sri Lanka), Telugu and Urdu (spoken in India and Pakistan).
