Mumbai Notebook

By Anil Dharker

Igudesman and Joo is an unlikely name for a Western Classical duo, but then they also perform A Little Nightmare Music, a playful reference to Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music).

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The Origins Of Indian Citizenship

By Abhinav Chandrachud

The recently enacted Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, carves out a special pathway to citizenship for non-Muslim immigrants from some countries. This sort of discrimination against Muslims is popularly thought…

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Mumbai Notebook

By Anil Dharker

There are 1324 black spots on Maharashtra roads, more than double the previous year`s. Actually that`s a huge underestimation: there are billions and billions of black spots in Mumbai…

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Mumbai Notebook

By Anil Dharker

National Centre for Performing Arts seemed like a rather grand name for an auditorium and a half, for that’s what it was when it all began.

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Mumbai Notebook

By Anil Dharker

Royal Opera House, not so long ago abandoned and derelict, seemed ready for the demolition squad’s hammer blows. But the Opera House`s owners, the erstwhile Maharaja and Maharani of…

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Literature Live!360@ Campus Contest Winning Entries

By Afia Ansari & Aishah Shekhani

“Hi, Dad!”
Afia Ansari & Aishah Shekhani

I had a rosy childhood. My parents loved and pampered me. All their attention was mine. My mom was caring and always did my…

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Mumbai Notebook

By Anil Dharker

They say it doesn’t rain but pours during Ganesh Chaturthi. That’s certainly so this year. The poor Met guys must get thoroughly soaked dipping their wet footrules into the…

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Mumbai Notebook

By Anil Dharker

‘Charishnu’ means ‘the desire to move’. Don’t ask me in what language because I have no clue. Perhaps Leela Samson, the Bharat Natyam dancer, coined it; perhaps it’s a…

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Mumbai Notebook

By Anil Dharker

Multi-crore cricket betting racket busted, two arrested’. That was the headline of a newspaper story half-way through the World Cup. The article talked about a police raid on a…

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On Stage

By Anil Dharker

Last month the great playwright Girish Karnad passed away. Later in June, Amitav Ghosh, one of our very best novelists, was given the Jnanpith Award. Apart from their eminence,…

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Girish Karnad

By Anil Dharker

Girish Karnad, without doubt, was one of the greatest literary figures of Indian literature. Uniquely, he also had a versatility which made him a true Renaissance man.

A quick look…

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Mumbai Notebook

By Anil Dharker

Not surprisingly, our Literature Live! Evenings launched a spate of political books in quick succession during the period of elections. There was Yashwant Sinha’s ‘India Unmade: How the Modi…

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Mumbai Notebook

By Anil Dharker

When protests against the Coastal Road project started, most people dismissed them saying, “Aha, the privileged folk with sea-side apartments are up in arms because they are affected!” It was reminiscent…

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India’s China Problem in Pakistan

By Shashi Tharoor

The deadly terrorist attack in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir last month has triggered renewed questions about China’s continued protection of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed. Will China continue to…

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A Battle for India’s Soul

By Shashi Tharoor

Every Indian general election beats its predecessor’s record to become the largest in world history. This time, Indian voters must decide whether they want an inclusive country that embodies…

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Mumbai Notebook

By Anil Dharker

Do people need to die for Swachh Bharat even if it is the Prime Chowkidar`s pet project? That, at least, was the excuse being bandied about after the foot…

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[Video] Straddling Three Spheres : A Straight Talk

By Stephen Daldry

Stephen Daldry is not a writer. But he is a storyteller, often being inspired by literary works such as in The Hours or The Reader. He uses the actor…

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On Stage

By Anil Dharker

“Does a thousand-year-old sculpture worshipped in a thriving religion belong to a foreign museum or to the temple from which it was extracted?” That`s Shashi Tharoor in his Empire-bashing…

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