It is said that future wars will be fought over water or rather, over its scarcity. This year, same as last two years, saw a shocking series of farmer suicides in states like Maharashtra, Telangana and Jharkhand over crop failure, owing to insufficient rains and inadequate irrigation. Unless we act fast and start saving rain water and recharging our groundwater, we are in for very tough times, warns Dr. M.A. Haque. “Water is not free, as we usually think. It will be a huge problem that could lead us to another war.” –Pope Francis For the last many years, Indian…
Author: oiop
One of this year’s prominent images has been of a young Gujarati Hardik Patel leading his community in violent agitation for a slice of the reservation pie. How valid are these protests? And what is the ground reality of reservations in India? P.M. Kamath examines the issue. Hardik Patel, a young man of 22 years, a hitherto unknown name, shot into prominence not only in Gujarat and all over India, but throughout the US and the western world: He kept the reservation pot boiling for Gujarat state and the Centre, both under the BJP, at a time when it was…
One wonders what keeps a dancer-teacher-choreographer and researcher like Sharmila Biswas relatively absent from the platform of public performance? She has been experimenting with her chosen classical style of Odissi by merging it with the specialised textile weaving culture of Odisha, and the results are amazing and haunt the audience much after the performance is over. She has introduced the mythical stories of Sita and Vedavati into her performance with a brilliantly synchronised and trained chorus and live music. Shoma A. Chatterji hears it from the beautiful and talented Sharmila Biswas. What does Aparkaya stand for? Aparkaya is the art…
A besieged Paris will host the climate change conference on the cusp of December. Will the countries – developed and developing – work together to help this planet and its inhabitants, instead of playing the blame game? Dr. Chandani Bhattacharjee hopes so. The countdown to the Conference Of Parties (COP) 21, 2015, will begin in a city reeling after the massive terrorist attack, which culminated in the declaration of a state of emergency shortly afterwards. Paris will be host to COP21, a meet organised at the behest of a world suffering from the undue accumulation of greenhouse gases, and grappling…
Patuas are travelling minstrels of rural West Bengal. They go from village to village singing stories depicted on painted scrolls called pats. Their art has passed down from generation to generation. The Patuas were originally Hindus who converted to Islam. So they observe both Muslim and Hindu customs and traditions and even celebrate Hindu festivals. Their scrolls depicting Hindu themes entertain audiences which include people of all religions. Pats were originally made on cloth. Today, they are simply made by sewing together sheets of handmade paper and painted with poster colours. A strip of bamboo is stuck on each end…
A step at a time, leads to giant strides, says G. Venkatesh, as he urges everyone to make even a single lifestyle change and stick to it, for the benefit of Mother Earth, our only home. He suggests many options on the cusp of year 2016. ANew Year Resolutions. Are they, by and large, mere talk which will never be walked consistently for 365 (or 366) days of the year? No harm however in proposing some, readers may wish to pick from and add on to those they may already have decided upon. He and she, here and there…small drops…
The word ‘intolerance’ is a much-bandied word in India today, and with reason, says C.V. Aravind. He analyses the year gone past, when so many intellectuals and thinkers came out in protest against repeated attacks on various freedoms and says that Prime Minister Modi will have to do better at reigning in the ‘hotheads’ of his party. But will his party agree? The spokespersons of the ruling BJP might go blue in their faces arguing that all the talk about rising intolerance is pure balderdash and that in reality a conspiracy is being hatched at various levels to discredit the…
The Indian art market which crashed following a global recession in 2008, is showing signs of revival with support from art connoisseurs. Prakash Bal Joshi surveys the art scene today. TThe bubble around the Indian art market burst way back in 2008 along with the crash of the world economy. It was really a big blow to the Indian art market, which was witnessing a rise in valuation year after year since the time the Indian economy began liberalising. The boom before the bust Experts are now wondering whether the boom in the Indian art market was good and did…
We may have laws to help the disabled in our country, but how effectively are they implemented on ground? With most government offices lacking even the basic ramp for disabled access, there seems to be a paucity of practical and empathetic thinking. Dr. T.D. Rajan analyses the situation and tells us how life can be made just a bit easier for the disabled. Once again, December 3 will arrive and there will be several press releases and media coverage about World Disability Day. World over, several events will take place and India is not the one to be left behind.…
As the year comes to a close, every citizen looks around for something which he had missed out during the year. He may or may not get it, but the effort should always be on, says V. Gangadhar. When my journalism career started, I spent the first year doing what came to be known as festival reporting. It was a never-ending routine. Festival reporting was simple – you just reported festivals which were in plenty in the Hindu calendar year. After some experience, I could do the work blindfolded. After all, how many readers would remember that the same news…