Culture News - India Together

INTERVIEW
Feminism is about leading a non-degraded life

Dr C S Lakshmi, the eminent Tamil feminist writer, who writes under the pen name Ambai, has been a researcher in women’s studies for the last several decades, and is also the Founder Trustee of Sound & Picture Archives for Research on Women (SPARROW), that has undertaken several oral history projects. She speaks to Pratibha Umashankar about issues concerning women.

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MATRILINEAL TRIBES

Lessons from tribals on surviving and thriving

An ancient matrilineal tribe of northeast India has a thriving culture and an increasing population, while a similarly ancient Dravidian matrilineal tribe is in danger of vanishing. Linda Chhakchhuak reports on what the Dravidian tribe can learn from the northeastern tribe to revive its culture and population.

Adivasis Gender Law and Policy Human Rights

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Where hidden identities wait for justice

Naam Poribortito, the debut film of activist Mitali Biswas, reveals the dark and gory underbelly of West Bengal in particular, and the nation at large, where rape victims are denied justice and crusaders are silenced more often than not. Shoma Chatterji has more on the film and its portrayals.

Gender and Media Media

PATRIARCHY AND EMPOWERMENT

Unleashing Political Renaissance By Rejecting Patriarchy

Boregaon is a small village in Solapur district of Maharashtra where men have shunned the patriarchal mindset to support women’s political empowerment and gender equality, writes Suchismita Pai.

Panchayats Women's Representation Women

PATRIARCHY AND MASCULINITY

A Man Cannot Tolerate Failure

The age-old notions of patriarchy and masculinity, which suppress and disempower women, have an equally damaging effect on men’s behaviour and psyche, leaving them ill-equipped to handle failure. Rimjhim Jain reports.

Farmer Suicides Gender Laws and Policy Women

MAN & NATURE

The trail of a disappearing culture

Sunanda Bhat’s award-winning Have You Seen The Arana is deeply relevant in today’s world, as it explores the deep connectedness between man and nature, and the struggle of little-known people to preserve it in the face of many onslaughts. Shoma A Chatterji reviews the film.

Environmental films and books Reviews Adivasis

TASHIDING HYDRO POWER PROJECT

The fate of Sikkim's sacred river hangs in balance

Having drastically curtailed the width of eco-sensitive zones in Sikkim, the MoEF seems intent on ignoring local sentiment as well as environmental norms in order to push forward the Tashiding HEP on the sacred Rathong Chu river. Soumik Dutta reports on the latest in the case.

Environment Environmental Law and Regulation

A TRIBUTE TO FORGOTTEN LEGENDS

In search of Binodini and her peers

The leading ladies of Bengali theatre in the late 19th and 20th centuries presented an intriguing portrait of women caught between two worlds, liberated in a way, yet shackled in others. A recent performance as tribute to these artists leads Shoma Chatterji to reminisce their lives and times.

Art Creative Women Women's Films and Books

INTERVIEW

“I want to learn the mainstream language of cinema”

The multi-faceted Gulzar, one of those few personalities revered equally in intellectual literary and mainstream film circles, was recently bestowed the 45th Dadasaheb Phalke Award. In this interview with Shoma Chatterji, the venerable Gulzar Sahib speaks of his art, his career in Indian cinema, and the changes he has seen over the years.

Media Interviews People Art

CELEBRITY MPs

The not-so-glittering stars in Parliament

As parties firm up their candidates in various constituencies, several celebrity names - new and old - are doing the rounds yet again. Shoma Chatterji looks at a few examples from the years gone by to question what we may really expect from these star-turned-politicians.

Elections Government

DUBBING FILMS

From one language to another: What’s at stake?

Indian cinema has, of late, witnessed high-decibel debates over the desirability of dubbing Hindi films into regional languages. But does dubbing really pose a threat to vernacular cinema? Shoma Chatterji explores.

Films Creative Media

GENDER MINORITIES

Tales of the excluded

The recent judicial pronouncement criminalising homosexuality has created quite a furore, but in reality those with limited or no interaction with people of alternative sexual orientation have only a vague idea of their continuous struggle and challenges. Pushpa Achanta brings us two poignant narratives.

Gender Violence Human Rights Women

ARMY CULTURE

Soldiers, not servants

The army would like to point to low morale and push for higher pay. But as far as the troops are concerned, morale may have more to do with the way they are treated by officers, and this is what needs changing, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Firdaus Ahmed OP-ED Subcontinental Musings

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Amitabha Basu

Retired Scientist
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