The Sufi Storyteller

Sufi, Spirit and Resistance: A Layered Work Grounded in South Asian Storytelling Traditions

The Sufi Storyteller speaks to a wider South Asian moment, where Sufi traditions are increasingly invoked as counterpoints to narrowing religious and cultural orthodoxies. By foregrounding storytelling as both a spiritual and political act, Mansab gestures toward the enduring power of narrative to sustain pluralism, recover marginalized voices, and imagine more expansive forms of belonging.

From Death to Immortality: The Mahabharata is Worth Reading - And Questioning

A young woman reading Draupadi's story today and feeling angry about it is not being irreverent. She is doing exactly what you are supposed to do with a text this old and this serious, which is to feel it in your own body and think hard about what it means for where you actually are. We do not honour the Mahabharata by protecting it from that. We honour it by continuing to argue with it

AI and Children: Proper Teaching of AI in Schools a Must to Fire Creativity

Recent evidence also suggests that AI chatbots are being used by teens to plan violence and other harmful activities. Like all technologies, AI is a double-edged sword. It can either be used for very creative work or destructive activities. Thus, there is a tremendous responsibility for teachers to teach the children and youngsters about the positive aspects of AI.

Unity Without Uniformity: Why Diversity Is the Foundation of Peace

If diversity and unity are to guide the future, education must change.Most schools and universities today serve industrial monoculture and economic growth. They train the intellect — the “left brain” — to produce administrators and managers. Rational analysis is important, but it is only half of human potential. We also have a “right brain”: intuitive, holistic, relational. An education that neglects creativity, empathy and ecological awareness produces imbalance. It strengthens uniformity and weakens diversity.

More on Medley

Indian singer Ajoy Chakrabarty dedicates 'raag' to celebrate Bangabandhu's birth centenary

Popular Indian singer Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty has composed a 'raag; (a melodic framework) on the occasion of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth centenary and to mark India-Bangladesh friendship. The new raag is named "Maitree"

Bhutanese businessman finds new passion in restoring neglected stupas

A 47-year-old Bhutanese businessman has found a new passion for cleaning and whitewashing stupas and then carving shlokas on them

India confers Gandhi Peace Prize on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

The Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2020 is being conferred on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of modern Bangladesh

Gavari: A 40-day mystical theatre celebration of the goddess among Rajasthan’s Bhil tribe

Each year a bhopa (priest) from the villages dominated by the Bhil tribe in Rajasthan invokes the goddess Gauri/Gavari/Ambavi mata ahead of the Hindu month of Shravan (around September)

New-age Indian actors vie with world's best for top awards

Think new-age actors you would count among the best of Bollywood, and you are rightly thinking Ayushmann Khurrana, Nawazuddin Siddiqui or Rajkummar Rao

Khadi Mujib jackets to add sheen to celebrations during PM Modi’s visit to Bangladesh

Khadi, the heritage fabric of India, is all set to catch eyeballs during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Bangladesh on March 26-27

Centuries-old Nepal’s stupas restored, attract locals back

Dating back to centuries, some of Nepal’s stupas were in a worn-out state, covered in layers of dust and grime, and slowly cracking

Banned Pakistani film wins big at Asian World Film Festival

Banned and censored back home, Pakistani film Zindagi Tamasha, which has bagged several international awards, bagged Best Film and Best Actor awards at the prestigious Asian World Film Festival

COVID, bear attacks take a toll on Bhutan's yak herders

Hundreds of yak herders in the remote mountains of Bhutan are facing a tough time due to COVID-19

Sri Lanka to provide insurance cover for stage artists, performers

In a salutary move that sets an example for South Asia, the Sri Lankan government has decided to provide insurance cover for stage artists and performers, according to a report in Colombopage. The move is a significant step in underlining the importance of art and culture in the country

Bhutanese movie industry face financial crisis as theatres still closed

With movie theatres in Bhutan shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and yet to open up even after a year, the film industry is facing an acute financial crisis

British Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed makes history, nominated for Oscar

British Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed made history as the first Muslim nominated for the Oscar for the lead actor role

Chess and camaraderie at a Kolkata traffic junction

It was around mid-1980s when a few men would be seen huddling together over chess boards every evening after office in between Gariahat and Golpark of then south Calcutta, much before the Gariahat flyover in South Kolkata came up

How Shakespeare became entrenched in 19th-century Bengal

If the works of the poet Virgil could be said to have introduced the flavour of classical literature into medieval Europe, Shakespearean drama performed the same functions in familiarising the new western-educated intelligentsia of nineteenth-century India to the rich literary world of early modern Europe, finds Sahapedia

Where Kolkata's walls breathe art

Indian cities are not known for the walls of buildings transformed into art galleries as in many parts of the world