‘As far as I can discern, there isn’t a false note in the film, the sure way in which it moves to the shattering climax, the haunting music, the cinematography which heightens the mood of impending doom.’ The story of ‘Devi’.
‘…It is said that the goddess resides on sacred trees, or in sacred orchards, and plays on the swing with her companions. Men who enter this grove, become women. Male animals became female animals. A horse turns into a mare; a lion into a lioness. Therefore, one must stay away from it.’
‘..I bring this up, because I feel as though right now, we’re akin to prisoners in an apocalyptic world. Perhaps, at this juncture in time, we desperately need that tiny window in our cell.’ Diving into fantasy fiction.
‘Humour is a force. It is not violence, but it pricks. Power does not like jokes. A truly good joke makes power feel worthless. A bully does not like jokes; a strict teacher, your boss and even you don’t like it when a waiter taking your order at an expensive restaurant laughs at your pronunciation of ‘sesame’…’ Of protest in humour.
‘What makes some athletes take that step? Are their actions spontaneous or are they clearly thought-out symbols of resistance? Why have other forms of injustice not been protested as much as racism has been, on the field of sport? And crucially, what were the consequences for those who walked down this path?’ Protest in sports.
‘Babu’s biggest single contribution to quizzing was that instead of looking at it as an activity for nerdy kids and adults, he used the game play as a vehicle to reach very different audiences. In Babu’s head, quizzes were a medium to get a message across.’ On Siddhartha Basu, India’s quizzing legend.
‘…criticising courts is akin to blasphemy, for the courts and the judicial systems were designed based on assumptions of Abrahamic mythology where fear of God’s fire and brimstone is supposed to keep humanity from committing evil, and where God/Judge is never wrong.’ The mythology of justice.
‘We can look at his contribution from two perspectives, as an artist and as a teacher. On both counts he stands out. He explored the entire gamut to mediums and techniques available to a printmaker… As a teacher too his impact has been exemplary, he has probably nurtured more printmakers than any of his contemporaries.’ In conversation with R. Siva Kumar on Somnath Hore.
‘Nirmala Malviya had for the last 15 years, ensured that Ganga Bhaiyya accompanied her for every dance recital she organised and performed. Yes, that’s right. It was Nirmala who organised her performances every year from start to finish. No one ever invited her, although she had moved heaven and earth to ensure that organisers and presenters noticed her.’ A brand new story.
‘All these tales of the Devil, popular in ancient times, do not actually visualise the red-coloured, horned, cloven hoofed Devil as we do so today or see him as living in a ‘fiery’ Hell, torturing souls. This depiction of the Devil is relatively recent, less than 500 years old.’ A history of Hell.
‘Even to be able to forgive someone who may accept it as their mistake, one requires an apology. An apology, however, is hard to come by, unless one is accused with enough evidence. In most cases, there is no proper evidence except the victim’s word for it. Turns out, in most cases it’s barely enough.’
‘These tales of metamorphosis exist in all cultures… Reading about orphans and the treatment of the social system to such figures in these folktales from northern Bengal as slogans and songs related to the Bengal elections enter the room, I find myself thinking about my LGBT friends and family from this region.’ A queer reading of folktales from North Bengal.
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