Life Beneath the Shadow of Walls
The Israel-Palestine conflict is often narrated through the lens of politics, terrorism, and armed aggression. But there are stories that unfold far from the echo chambers of diplomacy and warfare—stories…
Arts/Literature
Meanwhile in Gaza
From Tehran to Tel AvivTel Aviv to Tehran,the world’s worried gaze follows--the flying trajectory ofunsparing projectiles,the unsettling light showsin the night’s nonchalant sky,the pawned population’spanicky search for shelters,the ineffaceable images…
A Mosque in Gaza
The mosque is now a mass grave:those who came to prayhave been buried under the rubblecovered in the shroud ofblood, dust, and splinters. They were just some regular folks,unflinching in…
The Hood;A Review
The Hood is a new novel by celebrated author, columnist and translator from Kashmir, Mushtaque B Barq. Barq has introduced a new phenomenon in the story line where Hoods of…
The Light of “Heart Lamp”: Amplifying the Voices of Muslim and Dalit Women on the Global Stage
Indian writer, lawyer, and social activist Banu Mushtaq has been awarded the International Booker Prize for 2025. She received this prestigious recognition for her Kannada short story collection "Heart Lamp".…
What Bhool Chuk Maaf Gets Right About Sarkari Jobs and Lost Time
Some films entertain. A few surprise. And once in a while, one quietly holds up a mirror—not to fantasy, but to the waiting room we call life. Bhool Chuk Maaf…
The Poetic Legacy of Sindh: Voices Beyond Borders and Time
The land of Sindh is not only significant for its geography or history; it is a wellspring of the Indian subcontinent’s cultural and spiritual consciousness. Sindh’s poetic heritage—especially its Sufi…
GANDHI’S Spiritual Great GRANDDAUGHTER
She is of the fireShe is of the lightShe looks to the leftShe looks to the rightFire and lightLight and fire FireOf heart and soulLight of the sunAnd the “woke”…
Echoes from the Valley: A Journey Through the Lives and Works of Famous Kashmiri Poets
The Kashmir Valley, often celebrated for its breathtaking landscapes and rich cultural tapestry, has long been a fertile ground for poetic expression. Over centuries, Kashmiri poets have used verse to…
Echoes of Resistance and Mysticism: Celebrated Poets of Pashto Literature
Pashto poetry is not just a literary tradition—it is a living memory of the Pashtun soul. From oral verses recited around tribal fires to refined modern ghazals published in literary…
A Marvel Film About The Struggle Within
Introduction Marvel films have given us gods, kings, and soldiers who save the world by conquering enemies. But Thunderbolts quietly tells us something no superhero film has dared to say:…
Gram Chikitsalay Holds a Mirror to Mental Health in Rural India
Some stories do not demand attention; they quietly wait to be noticed. Gram Chikitsalay, the understated web series from TVF and Amazon Prime Video, tells one such story. Set in…
The Heart of Motherhood
For you, Amma,Whatever you gave, you did for us-With endless love, without a fuss.Your hands held dreams, your heart gave light,A guiding star through every night. My mother gave me…
Consequences
Small farmers survive on acre-sized plotsand landless labourers work on rich farmers’ lots.They plough and they dig, work hard and savewhile scientists learned rant and ravethat such methods are backward,…
Why Mrs. Feels Different to Our Mothers and Grandmothers
Introduction Watching Mrs. with my family was an experience I had not quite anticipated. As the credits rolled, I was left with many thoughts, but none of them were about…
Tagore Song Translation: Mone Robe Kina Robe Aamare – I do not recall if you will quite remember me or not
Composer Rabindranath Tagore Singer: Hemanta Mukherjee Notes: Rabindra Jayanti 2025: As we celebrate Rabindranath Tagore on Rabindra Jayanti (the anniversary of his birth) as a poet, song writer, novelist, and…
Ammi, I Owe You Much
To you I owe my resilience,The gift to light a quiet fire that may quiver but will not be dimmedYou showed me how to stand tallWhen all I knew was…
War
Terrorists kill tourists We blame our neighbor They ask for evidence We say there's evidence We go bomb that country They come bomb our country We claim we hit terrorists…
Gatsby Meets Nietzsche on the Train to Town
“Time present and time pastAre both perhaps present in time futureAnd time future contained in time past.What might have been and what has beenPoint to one end, which is always…
L2: Empuraan and the Fall of the Superhuman
Can the failure of the much-hyped commercial film L2: Empuraan at the box office also be indicative of the rejection by the audiences of superhero self-perceptions of superstars and their…
Celluloid Conflicts and Cross-Border Dreams: Bollywood’s Long Gaze at the India-Pakistan Rivalry
Since the Partition of 1947, the relationship between India and Pakistan has been fraught with hostility, mistrust, and fleeting attempts at diplomacy. This tension has not only played out in…
Jewish Settler-Colonialists
The straightforward responses in the documentary The Settlers by Louis Theroux will not surprise anyone who has kept abreast of the long-running Zionist plan to create facts-on-the-ground in Palestine. What…
Karl Marx’s life brought alive in sparking drama
Karl Marx is presented with a correct perspective in this sparkling , moving Marathi theatre production Marx in Soho. Staged last evening, it ended in a gentle dance in which…
Tagore Song: “Anek Kotha Jao’je Boley/ Kono Kotha Na Boli”
You say endless things / Without saying anything at all Translation by Zeenat Khan Singer: Chinmoy Chatterjee Parjaay: Prem (147) Upa-parjaay: Prem-Boichitra Taal: Dadra Raag: Bhairavi Written on: 1926 (4/4/1926)…
A selfless note!
I am not thunder, not a blaze.Not made for crowds or heavy praise.I am the breeze at break of day,Soft-spoken strength that leads the way. I move in silence, soft…
تَوْحِيد Tawhid
1 And how could you live out the Oneness of God without the Body? 2 God the Sea Life the Ship 3 Life is the True Sword of God 4…
Musing on Gibran’s ‘A Poet’s Death is His Life’ and ‘Peter on the Neighbour’ in Trying Times
“Come, oh sweet Death, and deliver me from my neighbours who looked upon me as a stranger because I interpret to them the language of the angels. Hurry, oh peaceful…
Earth Day
Todayis my day of renouncement.Today I renouncethings and thingnessof the It World.And the dehumanizing powerof things touse and rule over me: the carthe cellphonethe computerthe clockthe television artificial intelligenceand the…
Adolescence: The pressure to look perfect online
Aayushi Rana is a postgraduate in History from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), and a Senior Researcher at Digitial Forensics Research Analytics Centre (DFRAC), a Delhi-based fact-checking organization. She is also a…
The Grandeur of Kindness
Alone, down and dull, lost in my thoughts, at a chaotic airport I stood in a queueA raspy voice said, “after you”, my heart warmed, my eyes tearedIn a toxic…
Who Gets Remembered? Censoring ‘Phule’ and Bahujan Erasure in Hindi Cinema
Cinema has long stood as one of India's foremost socio-cultural conduits, both mirroring societal realities and collective imagination. However, when the bodies (CBFC) tasked with overseeing films become tools for…
Strongly Condemn the Delay of Phule Film
I saw this news on 10th April morning that this great film Phule, which was meant to be released on 11 April (today), has been stopped by the CBFC. The…
Inside the Mind of the Modern Incel: Understanding Teenage Boys in the Age of ‘Adolescence’
Netflix’s latest sensation 'Adolescence' may appear to be a gripping murder mystery on the surface, but beneath it lies a deep psychological exploration into the minds of today’s teenage boys.…
“To Love Somebody”: An Iconic Bee Gees Song about Unrequited Love
The heart itself has its own reason the reason itself cannot understand – Blaise Pascal There's a lightA certain kind of lightThat never shone on meI want my life to…
Caste in the Courtroom: A Review of Court
The 2025 movie “Court - State vs. A Nobody” is a Telugu courtroom drama centering around the misuse of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO)-2012 as a…
Children Of A Lesser God
More than a century ago, in 1918 to be precise, 400 Adivasis from Chotanagpur were taken as indentured laborers to the Andaman and Nicobar islands. For the most part, they…
Happening
Out of a seed in the groundcomes a flower. Miracle!Out on the branch of a treecome blossoms in spring.Out from the blossoms fruit growsdelighting senses.And an offering of food. Out…
Mama Miti
1 I made Sisters out of branch and leaf 2 I met the Earth and called it brother 3 The only prison is the denial of the Sun 4 I…
Why the movie L2: Empuraan needs to be watched?
Ever since the Malayalam film L2: Empuraan was released, it has been in the news. While it has been appreciated for its bold depiction of 2002 Gujarat riots and portrayal…
Empuraan: A reminder of preserving ravaged memories
The Malayalam film Empuraan has been embroiled in controversy due to its perceived depiction of the 2002 Gujarat riots and the Godhra train burning incident. The movie's portrayal of these…
‘Empuraan’: More than a film -A Political Reality Check
March 27th was one of the most anticipated days for movie buffs in Kerala, as it marked the release of Empuraan across India—the second part of Lucifer, which was released…
Losing Katie: How ‘Adolescence’ Erases the Victim While Examining the Incel Mind
As a mother of an eight-year-old, prepubescent daughter watching Adolescence was not easy. This Netflix 4 hour long, limited series has been praised for its impeccable acting, realistic shooting technique,…
Review of ‘Adolescence’: It matters to all!
While watching Adolescence, a four-part OTT series at Netflix, it could easily be related what nearly everyone in this world has gone through. Adolescence the pre-young age, which every man…
The Way of Community
1 There is only one border: Destiny 2 There is only one community: The Living 3 There is only one homeland: The Earth 4 A child is born: it is…
The Way of Doubt
1 What is greater a brother or a sister of the flesh or of the soul? 2 Put out a fire with another fire 3 Strength is the deepest knowledge…
The Parable of Food
There once was a little fish that swam happily in the sea. One day the little fish met a bigger fish. And the Big Fish said to the Little Fish:…
“Here Comes the Sun”
For glad spring has began,And to the ardent sunThe earth, long time so bleak,Turns a frost bitten cheek. – Celia Thaxter, American poet (1835-94) From Frank Sinatra to the Beatles,…
The Way of Eternity
1 It is speaking to you; ever speaking 2 Dip your hands inside the Waters: it is You. Breath in the Air: it is You. Eat: it is You. Love:…
Understanding Urdu poetry
Urdu poetry often has a literal, direct, superficial meaning, and an indirect, deeper, real meaning, which the poet conveys through metaphors, hints, suggestions, allegories and indications. So often one has…
Anora Film Review: Cinderella’s Flip Flop with No Prince Charming
The film Anora, as it opens, takes viewers for an unbridled voyeurism as a striptease bar is open where topless girls split their legs on silhouettes. Topless girls now are…
Kichhui To Holo Na – Nothing came of it
Composer: Rabindranath Tagore Singer: Vikram Singh Translation by Zeenat Khan Rabindranath Tagore Parjaay: Natya-geeti (14) Taal: Ara-Theka Raag: Mishra Jhinjhat Written on: 1881 Collection: Robichhaya Swarabitan: 35 Notation by:…
The Way of Art
1 Listen to the wind and dream 2 When creating always keep one eye on the Creation 3 Always ask: does my work serve Life? And if not, explain your…
No Other Land
Many years ago, there was a popular American song which one gustily sang at camps, picnics and other get-togethers. Thanks to its very catchy tune, it was always a hit.…
Gaza by the Sea
My wife and I have never been gamblers (with the exception of childhood card games) and never looked for the easy way out. We worked hard all our lives and…
Film on a rebel professor who faces State terror
Thanks, Rinki Roy Bhattacharya. It was such a rare cinematic experience, the film "A Knock on the Door", directed by Ranjan Palit, shown last evening. As the title suggests, it…
Painter spurned money in his lifetime, now his paintings fetch crores of rupees
There was such a fine ambience on the lawns of the CVSM museum, formerly Prince of Wales museum in Colaba last week for the release of a book on India’s…
‘Conclave’: Slick Drama Of An Untold Truth
How a Pope is to be elected, is all its essence, in today’s world marred by anti-religion movements, agnosticism, atheism and what not, has been mainstreamed in the film 'Conclave',…
Justice with Urdu
Knowledge of literature is of great utility to a judge ( which I had been for 20 years in India) in writing judgments, as it embellishes a judgment, and makes…
The Way of Prayer
1 You have hands. The Universe has hands. Put them together 2 Flowers open. You open. Endless opening 3 Water flows. You flow. Endless flowing 4 The sun gives. You…
The Song of the Stormy Petrel
' The Song of the Stormy Petrel ' ( see online ) was a poem written in March 1901 by the great Russian writer Maxim Gorky, and became known as…
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