Arts & Culture News - Page 27

Joan Didion, American journalist and author, dies at age 87

She established a distinctive voice in American fiction before turning to political reporting and screenplay writing. But it was California, her native state, that provided her with her richest material.

Why blame Katrina Kaif? Women have been sponsoring weddings for ages

Soon after wedding of Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal, the Internet went on fire with aspersions on how the actress footed the whopping wedding expenses

Tracing the unabating universal influence of Rumi, and his connection to Indian Vedantic thought

"Rumi's poetry for me is like an extension of the Indian ethos."

What’s in your glass — Whisky or Whiskey?

The right way to understand the difference between whisky and whiskey lies in its history and how one makes the spirit.

As Bloody Mary turns 100, here's how this Paris bar where it was invented is celebrating it

The bar is carefully checking COVID-19 health passes as visitors from Australia, Egypt, and beyond gather to sample the famed drink at Harry’s, whose patrons over the past century have included writers Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Meet Saisha Shinde, the transwoman who designed Harnaaz Sandhu's Miss Universe gown

“We did it,” Saisha Shinde wrote in an Instagram post soon after the news of the big win made headlines.

An Actor's Actor book review: Sanjeev Kumar's authorised biography is a peek into both his stardom and craft

All 22 chapters of this book are bursting with anecdotes from Sanjeev Kumar's professional life. However, there is a chapter on his landmark films that also discusses his most fruitful collaboration with filmmaker Gulzar.

Rijula Das' debut novel A Death in Shonagachhi is a peek into South Asia's largest red-light district under the garb of romance-mystery

There is a crime, and there are clues, but the writing is not geared towards leading you to the culprit; there is a lot more going on in this novel

Why arm-twisting Better.com CEO Vishal Garg for firing 900 employees on Zoom is misinterpreting modern capitalism

Backlash against Vishal Garg is indicative of how we misinterpret capitalism when employee rebellion is considered an avante garde act of artistic mutiny, whereas tacit survival instincts displayed by the captain of the ship are almost always framed as evil.

Living Art | Tracing Jamini Roy's evolution as a painter, from Western styles to indigenous forms

Abanindranath Tagore’s idea of Indianisation of art and Rabindranath Tagore’s essay The Hermitage inspired Jamini Roy into nationalism and searching for his roots.

Goa Banyan Project: Environmental engineer Sanober Durrani's attempt to protect the trees through social capital and Instagram

The Goa Banyan Project places great attribution to Ostrom’s theory which utilises the idea of social capital, the latter referring to the idea of a set of shared values that allows individuals to work together in a group to effectively achieve a common purpose within the natural resources governance field.

Book Review | 'Believe: What Life and Cricket Taught Me' offers glimpse into Suresh Raina's life

The book’s title comes from a tattoo on Raina’s arm, which says, “BELIEVE”. It was inked to remember Tendulkar’s advice to him.

Why Salman Khurshid runs with fundamentalists and hunts with liberals

Salman Khurshid seems to be imbibing the Jinnah syndrome, assimilating the two contradictory traits, with the clear ascendancy of the faith over everything else

How India holds key to success of Covid-hit publishing industry in South Asia

India, the hub of the South Asian publishing market, was growing in unprecedented ways before the pandemic caused the harshest possible operational disruptions

Divya Dutta on her new book The Stars in My Sky and writing about people who matter

In this exclusive interview, actor Divya Dutta talks about her new book, her roles that are the closest to her heart, how she has managed to choose diverse characters, and why she doesn’t regret not becoming a mainstream heroine.

How Coming Home helped pastry chef Pooja Dhingra find herself again

In an exclusive interview, celebrated pastry chef Pooja Dhingra opens up about her new book Coming Home, cooking in her family kitchen again after so many years, fusion desserts, food photography, baking hacks, and her plans for the future.

Living Art: What Rabindranath Tagore's artwork at Christie's says about Nobel laureate's prowess as a painter

"Tagore’s Untitled (Couple) is not a painting of western or colonial subjects. In fact, it is the complete antithesis of that European academic realism that the British were still encouraging in the first half of the 20th century."

CNN investigates how 'fairness-mania' is fueling a dangerous drug dependence in India

A new series by CNN’s titled As Equals aims to reveal the scale of the use of harmful skin whitening products worldwide; raise awareness of colourism which often underpins their use; and hold to account corporations and government agencies who manufacture, sell, or inadequately regulate these products.

A Tale of Two Countries: How Meghan Markle continues to elicit polarised reactions from US and UK

Ever since relocating to the US with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle has injected herself into the American political debate in a way that would have been inconceivable in the UK, where members of the royal family scrupulously avoid politics.

Iram Manzil, palace overlooking Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad, has been a silent surveyor of the city

Erram Manzil is unique because it blends major architectural styles of the time, and there are few other buildings like it that reflect the creative originality of the Deccan.

Wilbur Smith, renowned novelist of adventure fictions, dies aged 88

Smith became a household name with his 49 swashbuckling adventure stories, which took readers from tropical islands to the jungles of Africa and even Ancient Egypt and World War II

Book review: Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh is an account more of SRK's (female) fans than the star himself

Shrayana Bhattacharya pieces together a story of what made Indian women love SRK, and what that love can tell us about the women themselves.

Actually... I Met Them book review: In new memoir, Gulzar doesn't hold back his awe and fondness for those who've shaped him

Gulzar looks back at his encounters with the likes of Bimal Roy, Sharmila Tagore, Kishore Kumar, Satyajit Ray, Sanjeev Kumar, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Basu Bhattacharya, Ritwik Ghatak, and Suchitra Sen with a lack of artifice that feels refreshing at a time when people speak in measured tones, concealing how they truly feel.

From ceramic cows to Kaavad-inspired art, these designers are keeping Indian traditions alive at the Indian Ocean Craft Triennial

The focus of the exhibition being held in Australia's Perth is to examine the role of craft in everyday life and look at intergenerational and intercultural craft traditions

Kalinga Literary Festival: 8th edition to be held in Bhubaneswar from 10-12 Dec

Around 300 celebrities from the worlds of literature, cinema, media and politics are set to participate in the event whose theme this year is 'India at 75: Commemorating the Republic of Letters'

South African writer Damon Galgut wins Booker Prize for 'The Promise'

He is the third South African novelist to win the Booker Prize, after Nadine Gordimer in 1974 and JM Coetzee, who won twice, in 1983 and 1999

James Ivory doesn't offer the big autobiographical splash, but reveals relationship with Ismail Merchant in dribs and drabs

In his memoir Solid Ivory, Oscar-winning filmmaker James wonders why his romantic relationship with producing partner, Ismail Merchant, a Muslim from Mumbai, "is not commemorated somewhere on a golden plaque."

Shubnum Khan talks her new memoir, traveling solo, and writing ‘strange and wonderful stories’

Meeting jinns, getting stuck in a flat after a volcano, accidentally becoming a bride in Shanghai: Shubnum Khan pens an introspective travelogue-cum-memoir in How I Accidentally Became A Global Stock Photo

NCERT releases training material to sensitise teachers, administrators about transgender, gender-nonconforming children

The training material explains concepts such as gender identity, gender incongruence, gender dysphoria, gender affirmation among various others. It also provides definitions of terms that people use to identify themselves; some of these are gender fluid, agender, transfeminine, and transmasculine.