Literature And History
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Who was Vishwanath Singh Bahadur? This is how a queer Maharajah and his court seduced an Englishman
Joe Randolph Ackerley’s trip to India, which inspired him to write ‘Hindoo Holiday’, took place 100 years ago.
Rohit Chakraborty
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Nawab Ghani, the Judas of Dhaka, and writer Shahidul Zahir’s unsparing portrait of him
As India celebrates 76 years of freedom, some reflections on the 1857 Uprising and vestiges of colonialism in 1970s war-torn Bangladesh.
Shahroza Nahrin
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India at 75: What is the place of women’s writings in the historical imagination of the nation?
The fifth in an exclusive series of essays to mark the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, by winners of the New India Foundation Fellowship for writers.
Nazia Akhtar
Trending
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‘Supporter of BJP met me’: Surat candidates on the various reasons they withdrew from the election
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CAA is a letdown, but Bengali Hindus in Assam are unlikely to ditch BJP
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Mumbai Police give clean chit to Ajit Pawar, his wife, nephew in alleged money-laundering case
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Over 17,400 citizens write to EC seeking action against PM Narendra Modi for hate speech
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What Sudhir Kakar (1938-2024) had to say on violence, secularism, and religion in India
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Why are we still fascinated by tales of the ‘shikaar’ despite the ecological horrors of hunting?
From Jim Corbett to Donald Anderson, what lies behind the love of literature about hunting in colonial India?
Amish Raj Mulmi
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From clothing to recreation: An 1847 book gave British women advice on what to carry to India
The author ends his chapter devoted to information for ‘the weaker sex’ with detailed advice about the care of pianos in India.
Margaret Makepeace
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How the shadow of the battle of Karbala has shaped Urdu literature
Events that took place on a far-off battlefield exactly 1,337 years ago have exerted a defining influence on Urdu literary tradition.
Asif Farrukhi
Video
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Watch: K-Pop singer Aoora sings in Assamese as he collaborates with Nilotpal Bora in a new folk song
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Watch Anu Malik and Sonu Nigam’s impromptu performance of ‘Main Hoon Na’ at Farah Khan’s home
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Watch: Doordarshan newsreader faints on live TV in Kolkata owing to severe heat
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Watch: Spice Girls sing ‘Stop’ as bandmates reunite to celebrate Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday
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Watch: Over 350 ballerinas come together to break the world record for standing on tip toes
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After ‘Dunkirk’, a starter list of 10 engaging books (and a bonus) on India’s role in the World Wars
Don’t go looking in history texts. The books to read are elsewhere.
Jenny Bhatt
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What the Mountbattens’ younger daughter knew about their life in India and their open marriage
Despite the ghastly title, the memoirs of Louis and Edwina Mountbatten’s younger daughter are both enjoyable and revealing.
Devapriya Roy
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Glimpses of a book on the Americas, published by the Ottoman Empire, that costs as much as a house
The Tarīkh is a unique publication with just a few remaining copies.
Michael Erdman
The Reel
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In ‘Tahader Katha’, the many partitions endured by a freedom fighter
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Watch: Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ trailer
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Start the week with a film: A legend returns in ‘Bob Marley: One Love’
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In Cannes-bound ‘In Retreat’, a Ladakh that has rarely been seen before
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‘Trap’ trailer: M Night Shyamalan’s thriller stars Josh Hartnett as a serial killer
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Why ‘Ghachar Ghochar’ is the one novel that (presciently) sums up the state of the world today
Think of the liberal elite getting snarled while events take their own course.
Satyavrat KK
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How Sri Lankan writers are (still) dealing with the 1983 riots in their fiction
The riots, leading to 26 years of war, are embedded in the island state’s literary consciousness.
Smriti Daniel