Text & Photos : Manjira Manjumdar In her essay, Manjira Majumdar drives home the point that Darjeeling has much more than its beaten-to-pulp sobriquet Queen of the Hills. Beyond its ubiquitous hills endowed with its spectacular beauty, there are quaint places around that expose visitors to, among other things, mystic climes, iconic monasteries and the abode of Lamas that are steeped in colonial history. Over time, Darjeeling as the queen of the hills has been done to death. Just like any other hill station, with too much exposure and crowds trying to do the old and familiar. But to people…
Author: shubhangi
“Basu Chatterji remains a very underrated and underappreciated filmmaker” Anirudha Bhattacharjee’s first book ‘R.D. Burman: The Man, the Music’ won the National Award for Best Book on Cinema. His second book, ‘Gaata Rahe Mera Dil – 50 Classic Hindi Film Songs’ was the winner of the inaugural MAMI Book Award for Excellence in Writing on Cinema. S.D. Burman – ‘The Prince, the Musician’ came after this followed by ‘Kishore Kumar – The Ultimate Biography’. This year saw the release of his new book, ‘Basu Chatterji And Middle-of-the-Road Cinema’. This book is the first he has authored without a co-author. Also, this is his…
Attributing forced displacement as a strong trigger in climate change impact, Tuhina Banerjee avers that such migration will mount pressure on resources in urban areas and there will come a time when the capacity of countries and cities to accommodate climate migrants (refugees) would get exhausted. India is the fourth worst hit country in this dubious list. A large part of forced displacement or migration is the fallout of climate change impact. This was often less talked about earlier. However, it is set to take centre stage at climate change discussions in the next few years as more and more…
Shoma A. Chatterji pays a centenary tribute and takes a look at the phenomenon called Mrinal Sen who shunned the beaten path and did not hesitate to disturb his audience and stir them into investigation, questioning and debate. Legends like him are born but only once. Mrinal Sen represented an era that survives and reflects itself through him – the lone ranger in a track now filled with other people, other cinemas. His alacrity and his nervous energy were amazing. He spiked his answers with the right dose of barbed smiles and caustic one-liners and filled them with wonderful anecdotes.…
Population explosion coupled with clogged cities are witnessing a lopsided development. Nimisha Lakhia paints a picture of an India witnessing continuous migration to cities where some have become giant economic hubs with attendant issues/pitfalls like rising construction activity, pollution and paucity of land among many others. Result: Every aspect of swelling urban habitation is causing untold burden. The population in Indian cities is increasing with each passing day. As per some estimates, by 2030, more than 40 per cent of the country’s population will be living in urban areas. Migration from rural areas and from smaller towns and cities to…
The valiant civilian Ram Chander was born to Faqir Chand in 1921 in Kot Kishan Chand, Jalandhar, Punjab. He joined the 14 Field Company Engineers of the Madras Engineering Group in May 1947. He was a civilian in the Indian Army and a washer-man by profession. The suzerainty of UK over the Indian states lapsed after Independence. Lord Listowel, the Secretary of State for India made it clear to the princes of Indian states that they should accede to India or Pakistan. The Maharaja of Kashmir was toying with the idea of Independence. The population of Kashmir had Muslim majority…
The man who saw it all Keshub Mahindra, a pioneer of the Indian automobile industry, was India’s oldest billionaire businessman and Chairman Emeritus of the Mahindra Group. Keshub was born in present-day Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. A Wharton University of Pennsylvania, USA graduate, he was the son of Kailash Chandra Mahindra, a co-founder of the Mahindra Group (1945) and joined the group in 1947 and assumed the role of Chairman in 1963. Under his watch, over the next 48 years, the group metamorphosed from a steel trading company to a $15 billion diversified conglomerate, expanding from being just a car manufacturer…
A star and a legend! Veteran Indian actress, politician, and filmmaker Jamuna nee Jana Bai worked primarily in Telugu cinema. Her roughly 200-film resume also included Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi films. Born in Hampi, Karnataka, and raised in Duggirala, Guntur district, A.P., she completed her high school education privately. After seeing her performance in her school play Maa Bhoomi in 1952, Garikipati Raja Rao, a director of IPTA ( Indian People’s Theatre Association), offered her a role in his Telugu film Puttillu (1953). Only 16 then, she was hired for the project for Rs 500 per month. A photographer captured…
Freedom fighter and activist Freedom fighter and activist H S Doreswamy was born on the 10 April 1918 in a village named Harohalli in the erstwhile kingdom of Mysore. He lost his parents at five and was raised by his grandfather. After finishing his primary education in his village, he set forth to Bangalore to pursue his higher education at the Government Intermediate College and completed his graduation from the Central College of Bangalore earning a Bachelor of Science degree. His interest in teaching saw him seek employment as a teacher in a high school in Bangalore where he taught…
A sensitive and self-taught artist “Freedom that came too late, has come to me now. There is no age to love or to be loved. To make art you must have passion, you must fall in love and somewhere in the exuberance feel the pain of what love brings to life” – Lalita Lajmi Indian painter Lalita Lajmi whose family included her brother, the Hindi film director, producer, and actor Guru Dutt; her late filmmaker daughter Kalpana Lajmi, and her cousin Shyam Benegal, a film director, was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal. Lajmi developed interest in arts, and…