SHIFTING IMAGES
Post-Covid musings: After the deluge
Now that we have stepped into a new year, it may be time to take a brief pause from our hectic schedule.
Begum Sufia Kamal: A moral hero
Today, after a period of hiatus, I have once again taken up my pen (metaphorically) to remember and celebrate a hero—a woman of courage and integrity who changed the world, not with fire and fury but with her soft touch.
Isolation and solitude: Life in the time of corona
It has only been a month of isolation, yet it feels like “One hundred years of solitude”.
SHIFTING IMAGES / When will America be ready?
As my daughter and I drove to the polling booth last week to vote at the Democratic Primaries in the United States, I asked: “So,
The shift of ‘soft power’
Over the past three months, I have lost many nights of sleep, abandoned my favourite political TV programmes, and ignored household chores.
Happy 20/20
I am sitting at my desk, with a hot cup of tea, peering out at the foggy winter morning enveloping the placid Gulshan Lake.
Passage to freedom
Forty-eight years have elapsed since we overthrew the yoke of exploitation and oppression and gained our Independence, through blood, sweat, and tears.
The Age of Alternate Reality
Common sense tells us that life’s experiences should help us acquire a degree of certainty about most issues. However, I seem to be the exception to this conventional wisdom.
Reweaving a lost past
It is not always easy to travel back in time. For, we have a tendency to block the memories that generate emotional turbulence of some sort.
It's all in a word
“I'll miss you… may God be with you, etc.” Her response? A text with a single emoji, that of a crying face.
Long walk to coexistence
Who would have thought that a car could be employed as an instrument of terror? Only twisted minds, demented spirits, and agents of evil can harness a seemingly innocuous vehicle to mow down innocent pedestrians going about their business…
Redefining cultural borders
Some years ago, at a tea party in our home, an English friend devoured five samosas and exclaimed: “I just love these "triangular starters"—you must share the recipe with me!” The guests laughed, relishing the quaint nomenclature for a samosa—a South Asian
Time to take a pause
The truth is that taking a break from the routine activities frees our mind to perceive the sights and sounds that are often hidden by the noises in the system. Thank God that Rabindranath Tagore was not fixated on “doing”.
We need activism more than ever
Recently, I watched a TV news clip of protesters in the United States demonstrating against the Health Care Bill that, if passed by the Senate, would deprive millions of basic medical benefits. What struck me most was the image of a young protester in a wheelchair struggling with the security guards trying to forcefully evict her.
Expanding the frontiers of connectivity
The debate about “art for hedonistic pleasure or art for a greater cause” is ongoing and will continue. But there is broad consensus on one issue: a good work of art can connect you to your senses, not just your mind. In our fragmented world, it's important for people not only to comprehend adversity with their minds, but also to feel it emotionally and spiritually. This might motivate some of us to turn compassionate thinking into compassionate actions!
Is this the “tolerant society” we wanted?
Is this the “tolerant society” we envisaged as the outcome of our independence struggle?
Bollywood, please spare us your Muslim stereotyping
Films are powerful tools that shape ideas, attitudes and social norms. But as any art form, the message can be diffused or even distorted if it's not presented in the right way.
Coping with 'otherness'
Some years ago a South Asian friend shared an interesting anecdote with me. When she landed her first job in the corporate banking sector in London, she bought herself a new wardrobe of business suits and dresses.