To Refaat Alareer
(In response to his poem, If I Must Die) We all must die RefaatI agree.But none should rushFrom one building to anotherOnly to be the rubbleOr the dust of flesh.No…
Arts/Literature
I am Sorry
I speak for those whose voice remains unheard;I write for those whose stories await being told;I sing for those whose melody aches to be sung;I paint for those whose canvas…
Population Reduction in Not India
Two Hundred Million Dalits Are not India Two Hundred Million Muslims Are not India One Hundred Million Adivasis Are not India One Hundred Twenty Million Farmers Are not India Secularists…
The Death Of The Heroes
"We have been made to be heroes for a while – but I know ultimately that will not change our condition.” Wakeel Hassan* We celebrate our heroesAs we possess our…
Palestine – A poem by Gorakh Pandey
The cultural hub of Delhiis located at Mandi House. I occasionally have lunch there (costing Rs. 50/-) at a popular kiosk. Progressive artists put up posters all over the place.…
The Power of Poetry to Move Us to Love in Times of Human Cruelty
San Francisco’s third poet laureate, devorah major, speaks on Palestine and how poetry can help us connect as we navigate the violence of our world. Near the end of November…
Ridley Scott’s Napoleon – A Review
Ridley Scott’s latest Napoleonic-era endeavor is based on the life of arguably the world’s most-studied King, Napoleon Bonaparte. Of course, it is titled “Napoleon”; as many autobiographies do but it’s…
Losing Touch
The President has lost his marbles!They crouch behind the pillows of his brain,Waiting, coiling for the perfect momentTo strike! Or… slink away,Fluttering in the gasping world….The Lady-in-Waiting is likewise befuddled;She…
The Killer (2023) review
David Fincher’s The Killer was one of the most anticipated releases of 2023. The favourable reviews from film festival screenings only added to the anticipation, and expectations around the film…
How Do You Sleep, Mr. President?
Do you take your Catholic upbringing to bedand rest a rosary by your head?Are you a prayerful man, Mr. President?Do you pray for peace in the Promised Landand imagine the…
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) review
Martin Scorsese’s latest film Killers of the Flower Moon is based on the Osage Indian murders - a series of brutal killings of the Native American Osage people by white…
Palestine is Rising
Malice is blooming, Truth is fadingDisbelief is growing, Trust is buryingSmoke is brewing, Darkness is glowingWar is raging, Peace is breakingBombs are falling, Babies are crushingMothers are screaming, Fathers are…
Oh the children of Gaza……………………..!
Oh the children of Gaza! You are in so much of painYou cry and your innocent blood flows down the holy laneSome among you have born only a few months…
If You Could Speak…
Little face in the rubble!If you could speakFrom your midget-coffin,If your sweet voice could carry throughYour little mouth-Cavernous and hollowed out by death,Encrusted with old blood,Stopped in its tracks between…
The blessed land of Palestine
We were the little angels hovering in the skyline.Came from that blessed land of Palestine. Watching over the trail of shooting missiles.Those shattering over the innocent lives & smiles. We…
The Lidice Ratio
One to One HundredEven more at timesBut the OneIs the Only Focus One Hundred is a statisticOne Hundred heartsMinds, SoulsThousands of lovers A Pauper concedesA Billionaire succeedsIt might be timeTo…
GAZACIDE
World’s largest concentration camp,Gaza’s two million suffering soulsall bear oppression’s brutal stamp,sad state, which Israel extols. That strip of ancient Palestinewas British Empire-occupieduntil Brit World War Two decline,when Zionism from…
Because
Hey diddle diddleThe cat and the fiddleThe cow jumped over the moonBecause; Palestine is where Zionist babiesRepopulate the olive groves stolenFrom Palestinians who once upon a timeBelieved that in a…
Jewish Diaspora – Speak Up For Palestinians
“When crime becomes authorityAnd hunts down people branding them criminalsEveryone with a voice and keeps silentBecomes criminal himself.” (Poet Varavara Rao) About time middle class JewsSpread across the worldBreak their…
A Match (Sthal) That Makes a Difference
The shock that ended with the movie, A Match (Sthal) eventually brought in the coveted NETPAC award at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) which concluded on Sep 17,…
Astonishing The Enemy –for the peace-makers
About Mr. X, we needn't be too kind.He was never one of us, but ratherOdd, the way he urged we keep an open mindAbout things we'd already made our minds…
Skyless In Gaza
Ad Astra, they sayShoot for the moonSunlight, they sayHeals all wounds What happens?When the sun isn't thereWhen the stars eludeWhen the moon hides? And what happensTo your soulWhen you discoverThat…
Remembering Shanta Shelke on Her Birthday – 12th October 1922
Shanta Janardan Shelke, the well known Marathi Poetess and one of the most talented creative Female Literati from Maharashtra has over a 100 Books to her credit including poetry collections,…
14 October 2023 – A Poem
In the city I live, no one drops any bombs.Fighter jets don’t deafen; sirens don’t wail.Houses, with people, don’t turn into rubble in an instant.Bewildered souls of the newly exploded…
Lok Laya Festivals Bring Some Hope and Joy to Struggling Folk Artists of Bundelkhand
Lok Laya is an annual festival of folk arts, music and dance of Bundelkhand organized in Chitrakut district by Samaj Seva Sansthaan , along with the involvement and support of…
The inspiring life of Safdar Hashmi and a play on inequality in Mumbai
This robust play depicts the dizzy growth of luxury towers displacing slums in Mumbai and much more. It does this with so much energy, satire, and imagination and theatricality. It…
Pellet Song
We want water We want water We want land We want oxygen We want food We want peace We want justice, Father! (All the children of the world) Boom! Boom!…
In Jawan, Shah Rukh Khan makes us an offer we can refuse
Cast of Jawan Shah Rukh Khan: Hindi-speaking North Indian Rajput army-man Vikram Rathore and his son, the ‘casteless’ policeman Azad Nayanthara: Hindi-speaking upper caste (Bhumihar, Brahmin or probably Rajput given…
Breadcrumb
For millennia Truth was the supreme task Beauty was mere consequence But what if the first is impossible? Should we, therefore, discard the second? Beauty is felt not proven It…
Three Indian Movies win TIFF 2023 Awards
As the breeze of September ushers in the season of change, Toronto City's 'festival of festivals' in the form of the international film festival came to a close yesterday. In…
Tolstoy’s Dilemma
Art It is the tiny pink rose Behind the ear of God I place mine there Not because I rage against death I a short interval between the not yet…
Toronto International Film Festival Starts on 7th
There's a whiff of winter wind all over Canada. And it's the time the school year begins. The most sought-after summer starts moving into the rearview mirror of the year.…
Remember Lahaina
Those with holes instead of eyes do not see. They are blind. Those with holes instead of ears do not hear. They are deaf. Emotionally numb devoid…
When Marlon Brando Refused Oscar award
Fifty years ago Marlon Brando refused to accept the Oscar protesting against the portrayal of native Americans in Hollywood. He sent a native American female actor Sacheen Littlefeather to make…
Oppenheimer film reviews did not notice its injustice to victims of the bombing and the test
Shamefully much of the writing on the film Oppenheimer fails to grasp the film’s blatant failure to show the suffering of the people in Japan or of those living on…
Oppenheimer (2023) review: A transcendental cinematic experience
Wars change the course of human history - not only the present and the future, but also the past. The consequences of the two major world wars of the twentieth…
My Yellowed Loves
Yellowed loves Come The punctured gutters of God Open The veins of silent gold In the lazy mouths of mocking youth Fountains overflowing with first sun A flock of oaths…
Barbie Pathologies: It’s All About a Doll
As the ancient Greeks reminded us, bone cold definitions as starting points are essential in any discussion. One current discussion, insignificant to posterity but amusing for advertisers and the presently…
Theatre performance reminding us of Manipur situation
The current events in the troubled state of Manipur remind me of a very powerful Manipuri play Draupadi I saw at Prithvi theatre in Mumbai more thana twenty years ago.…
An Oppenheimer Review Through the Lens of an Anti-War Activist
The ground-breaking movie Oppenheimer, despite its unsympathetic protagonist, packs a powerful anti-nuclear punch that makes it hard, if not impossible, to sleep after watching the film. For this reason alone,…
Barbie (2023): Ken, Men and Patriarchy
Every film has a target audience. Even the films that are “for everyone” are produced with a primary audience in mind. It can be said that the primary target audience…
Pain
Pain contracts to a Nation when they stripshow somebody's daughter, wife and mother walk them down the streets and go home to meet their women in their eyes and shut…
Warrior’s Choice
Within discipline to become: an eco-person within an eco-person soul within soul humility within humility courage within courage empathy within empathy fire within fire dignity within the prayer of dignity…
Lullaby
Lullaby- A song by Akhu Chingangbam. Akhu Chingangbam is a famous musician from #Manipur. He has shared this song about the crisis in his state.
An ode to embodied resistance
She sits by the river bearing the scars of a lifetime, Each scar reminding her of a struggle that she now embodies. She knew she has intuition and empathy that…
Placing the Ambani Cultural Centre In context
Rohini Hattangady, Mukta Barve , the entire all woman cast of the acclaimed feminist Marathi play Char Choughi recently vociferously praised the municipal drama theatre in Vashi in Navi Mumbai…
Taika Waititi’s ‘Next Goal Wins’ to Premiere at TIFF 2023
New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi's latest comedy 'Next Goal Wins' is the first film selected for this year's Toronto International Film Festival. For the first time, the organizers have announced…
Dependence Day
July 4th, we call “Independence Day.” Each day, in fact, is our dependence day. We need the other creatures of the Earth, beginning with the first day of our birth.…
Resistance
It is in this way that the rebel…says yes and no simultaneously. Albert Camus, The Rebel No nukes and no thermobaric weapons no unregulated AI no child pornography no…
Why we think that the ‘problems’ in Adipurush are deliberate choices
The past few months have been a topsy turvy ride for the Hindi cinema with several films falling like nine pins and at the same time few films taking everyone…
Naseem 1995 in India 2023
PM Modi said in a press conference that the religious minorities in India do not face any discrimination and that India’s democracy remains faultless during his infamous visit to the…
Akram Khan, modern dancer, draws in a big way from traditional dances
Akram Khan is an internationally renowned dancer who performed at the opening ceremony of London Olympics. Listening to him at G5 A theatre last evening one realised he is such…
Teaser of Film on Savarkar: Lies Galore
Currently as the rightwing wing ideology is gaining ground many a films have already come to promote divisiveness, to glorify the icons of communal nationalism or to demonize the particular…
And We Are Much More Than Our Uterus. (In Solidarity With the protesting wrestlers)
Don't cry. Pity this nation which knows about your medals not your pains and wounds. They clip your wings and celebrate your blood spilled journey with sugar-coated smiles. Words are…
Now I Am Ravana’s Head
My first reaction to the book that Rajiv Malhotra, from America, published on Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, Shashi Tharoor, Ramachandra Guha, Sheldon Pollock, Wendy Doniger, Devdutt Pattanaik, Kancha Ilaiah, Audrey…
Why Phalke Award Has Eluded Classic Hindi Cinema Heroines
The 20 years after independence constituted the most creative phase of Hindi cinema when some of the best films were made. The leading actors of this era had an enduring…
‘The Kerala Story’ – A flawed narrative by an uninformed filmmaker
Sudipto Sen, Director of ‘The Kerala Story”, in his unrestricted arrogance and egotism, claims that his film has “awakened civilization”. This claim is erroneous to its very core! How can…
Nita Ambani Cultural centre is opulent but not professional
The website of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre claims that the Grand Theatre is technologically most advanced in India, is magical and meticulously designed. But what is the reality?…
The Day Arrived
The day (once more) when the world as we know it stopped the Doomsday Clock, barely in the nick of time, stood still the power of political death over individual…
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