Category: Culture
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Recently, A. R. Rahman’s song ‘Hosanna‘ made news. A gentleman representing a Christian organisation, said that the song hurts the sentiments of the ‘Christians and Jews around the world’. I wonder who authorized him to speak on their behalf? Christians and Jews might use the word Hosanna in a devotional context, but the word has become part…
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Chapter 1: The blinding cocktail The Union Carbide plant of Bhopal leaked a cloud of 42 tons of toxic cocktail into the air of the densely populated city. None of the six safety systems of the plant were functional and the machines were rusted. Union Carbide’s own documents say that the company designed the plant…
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When Kurosawa, aged 84, wanted to make a film on his dreams, people knew it was going to be a masterpiece. The prospect of sitting and being two hours’ worth of a person’s dreams is, on the face of it, not a very pleasing one. One’s dreams properly interest only oneself. Making it worthy is indeed…
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Other than the uprising, 1857 also marked a lesser known revolution in India. It was the year, the Calcutta, Bombay and Madras universities were established. ‘Revolution’ may be equated with violent and rapid change, but this was ‘the revolution‘ that was proactive, the changes which they unleashed were slow and incremental, but forward-looking.
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If is often said that Tagore was anti-Gandhi and non-patriotic. Who hasn’t received spam mails on the Jana Gana Mana controversy? Well, if Tagore was non-patriotic, he would have never returned his knighthood. Let’s understand how and where, Tagore differed from Gandhi.
