Pataal Lok: Despair and disparity
His parents have given him the unfortunate moniker — Hathi Ram, which means an elephant. Jaideep Ahlawat, who plays Hathi Ram Chaudhary, a middle-aged cop with the Delhi Police, does remind you of an elephant. He is…
Seeking acceptance outside
I’m listening to an interview by eminent Pakistani educationist, Dr Arfa Sayeda Zehra. Her Urdu is lilting and I am not able to decipher some difficult words that she uses. But I get the gist of her…
Names and addresses
In the Mira Nair film, The Namesake, there is a scene where Gogol Ganguly, a second generation immigrant to the United States of America, brings his American girlfriend to meet his Bengali parents. She tries to do…
Watermelon Rind Recipes
Summers are here and watermelons are being consumed in plenty. While we chomp down huge quantities of the red centre, I just thought I could make use of the white part of the watermelon, the rind. The…
The Apu Trilogy: Satyajit Ray’s labour of love
There is a distinct disadvantage of seeing works of art very early in life. I saw Satyajit Ray’s black and white films somewhere in the late eighties, when I was in high school. I was aware that…
Coping and hoping
I wake up early. The acid in my belly feels like it will burn a hole through my innards. I douse it with some ice cold water from the refrigerator, and find that sleep is no longer…
Wallowing in webinars
It is time to sleep and I have just changed into my night gown, when the phone rings. It is a Whatsapp call from a family member. You never know who needs what help in these corona…
The first meal
April 1999. I was shifting bag and baggage to Sevagram. My husband worked there. Although we had been married for a year, I had a job in Nagpur and he worked in Sevagram. We met during weekends…
Murder and meditation
They say it is a good time to catch up with movies you have missed earlier. So I begin watching Raman Raghav 2.0. Nawaz is menacing in the matter-of-factness with which he murders people. But after five…
My Saree Stories: Part 13
Now, I have wanted to do this for a long time. Today’s blog post is dedicated to the gorgeous weaves of Odisha. It has been enriching discovering and learning so much about the textile heritage of this…
