India has stepped into its 71st year of Independence today, but the literary and artistic worlds have been preparing for this milestone for long
Partition memories with Gulzar
India has stepped into its 71st year of Independence today, but the literary and artistic worlds have been preparing for this milestone for long. This explains the many engaging projects and exhibitions on view in the city currently as well as a host of books that have recently launched on the themes of Independence and Partition. Literary historian, critic and prolific writer Rakhshanda Jalil's latest works explore the latter in new light.
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While Looking Back: The 1947 Partition of India 70 Years On (Orient Black Swan; co-edited by Tarun K Saint and Debjani Sengupta) is an anthology of fresh reflections on the continuing relevance of 1947, Footprints on Zero Line (HarperCollins) is Jalil's translation of Gulzar's poems and prose on his first hand experience of partition. The translated work will be released by Punjab CM Captain Amrinder Singh at the Partition Museum in Amritsar on August 17 followed by Jalil's Q and A with the eminent lyricist.
Even Davar was floored by their moves!
Come rain or shine, they spend their days driving across the length and breadth of the city, seldom taking a day off. So, Sunday brought some refreshing change for members of Mumbai's auto rickshaw and taximen union when they were invited to participate in a dance workshop.
Conducted by well-known choreographer Shiamak Davar's instructors as part of Independence Day celebrations, the session saw the men grooving to the beats of the peppy Marathi number, Zingaat.
"The most important form of freedom is having the ability to follow your dreams and share your passion with others. In our country, dance is an expression of celebration... To see the joy on their faces as they danced was truly inspiring !" Davar told this diarist.
Will Sisak shine at Iris?
In August 2016, this newspaper had featured India's first silent LGBTQ love story, Sisak, and how it had to be partly crowd-funded when almost all production houses turned their back on it. A year later, Sisak has made it to the top 10 films for the Iris Prize, also known as the Oscars of LGBT Cinema.
The film was chosen from entries from across the world. The Iris Prize, which will be held at Cardiff, Wales, from October 10 to 15, is the only short film prize that allows the winner to make a new film with an award of £30,000 by the Michael Bishop Foundation. Directed by Faraz Arif Ansari, the film will also close the Pride week in Sweden later this month.
Eunice gets a London tribute
The world of literature is still coming to terms with the void she left behind, but, like the works of all celebrated writers, Eunice de Souza's words have lived on — and transcended borders.
This picture, taken in the London Underground, was sent to us yesterday. As part of the Indian Poets on the Underground initiative, it features de Souza's poem, Pilgrim, which surreally ends with, 'Where does the heart find rest?' While the joy of spotting the work of a much-loved Mumbai professor abroad is special, we are waiting for the day when our civic babus decide to adopt similar innovations to celebrate our literary icons in public transport systems.
An Indo-Pak jugalbandi for peace
"When we open our borders to art, peace comes along," is how the Peace Anthem, the latest social media hit, starts. Uploaded on Voice of Ram, a pro-peace Facebook page, the video features artistes from India and Pakistan singing the national anthems of both nations.
With Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Nikhil Dsouza, Meher Mistry from India and Zeesha Ali, Natasha Baig, Alycia Dias among others from Pakistan, the video has enjoyed close to five lakh views and received heart-warming comments. On August 11, the page had featured another video of an Indian a capella group, Voxchord, singing Pakistan's national anthem. The real sound of peace, this is.
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