Articles by: Abu Siddik

What We Miss at Basanta Utsab

What We Miss at Basanta Utsab

Basanta Utsav is held each year in the month of March on the Full moon day of Falgun. Spring is welcomed through music and dances. It literally means the ‘celebration of spring’. The beautiful tradition of celebrating spring festival in Bengal was first started by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, at Vishwabharati Shantiniketan, the University founded by him. Actually, Basanta Utsav[Read More…]

by 08/03/2023 Comments are Disabled India
Cow is a Potential Political and Polarising Tool for BJP

Cow is a Potential Political and Polarising Tool for BJP

The cow is held as a sacred animal by a section of Hindus. But in the cases of lynching, it becomes a political animal with which to browbeat and even murder the minorities and the Dalits.   Ziya Us Salam, Lynching Files (2019)   The cow was never used for spiritual elevation. In the 20th century everybody used the cow[Read More…]

by 14/02/2023 Comments are Disabled India
Indian Myths and the Violence Against the Non-Aryans

Indian Myths and the Violence Against the Non-Aryans

Introduction In almost all myths, the low-born non-Aryan characters, from Bali to Barbareek to Eklavya to Karna, are presented as generous to the extent that none of them cry foul at being robbed of their life. In fact they willingly give it away. What does their lack of protest say? What kind of consciousness does it reflect? The essence of[Read More…]

by 18/09/2022 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
September is the Cruelest Month,Babu

September is the Cruelest Month,Babu

September is the cruelest month, babu We are daily labourers We are kiln workers We are domestic maids We are casual agricultural hands It is a lean season, babu And we are pushed to the walls Of seasonal hunger and recurring wounds We sell pots and pans And keep our empty stomachs at bay It is the month of diarrhea[Read More…]

by 31/08/2022 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature
Prelude to a Riot

Prelude to a Riot

Set in an unnamed southern town amid lush plantations of pepper, bananas, coffee, rice, and narrated in soliloquy Annie Zaidi’s 184- page novel, Prelude to a Riot is a brilliant, bold, honest, critical commentary on contemporary India. “Abu doesn’t want to work the land. He says it’s pointless because we cannot take the land with us when we leave”. Abu,[Read More…]

by 01/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
The Musings of the Dark : A Saga of Our Violent Time

The Musings of the Dark : A Saga of Our Violent Time

Moumita Alam’s debut poetry collection The Musings of the Dark  is a powerful poetic assertion of dissent.  Dissent against what?  Against state sponsored violence against Kashmiris, violence against anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protesters at Shaheen Bagh,  violence against migrant labourers, daily labourers during Covid 19 pandemic. She also voices her dissent against structural violence of casteism, fascism, violence against women[Read More…]

by 22/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Book Review
Patriotism & Rabindranath Tagore

Patriotism & Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore was far far away from what we popularly call patriotism. Our problem is that more we have been able to erase his ideals and ideas from our everyday life; more we have been able to be ‘Rabindrik.’ It is indeed sad to recognize this bitter truth. Our understanding of Rabindranath is confined to a mere recitation of his[Read More…]

by 09/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Arts/Literature