Swami Vivekananda, a luminary in the world of ideas, sheds light on universal brotherhood and realisation within spirituality. His profound insights on timeless wisdom touch upon important issues such as social justice, inclusivity, and marginalised communities. Despite not using the term “subaltern” in his time, Vivekananda’s teachings surpass caste and creed barriers by advocating for educational empowerment. He envisions a spiritual democracy that recognises the inherent dignity of every individual and challenges societal norms. In addition to theory, Vivekananda emphasises putting spiritual principles into action and encourages acts of kindness and compassion as manifestations of inner divinity. Vivekananda’s progressive…
Author: Moumita Chakraborty
Eighteen-year-old Vismaya Vijayan was upbeat when she heard about the latest decision of Kerala Kalamandalam to admit women to Kathakali courses. “It’s a great opportunity for women who want to learn the art.” As a traditional dance drama, Kathakali has always set itself apart. The flamboyance of emotions, the extravagance of the costumes, and the loud movements accompanied by assertive music, all bore a marked aerobic finesse. The art needed the agility of a well-toned physique and assertion of sharp movements, and hence was deemed unfit for the dainty feminine to take up. Probably why the art form had men playing even the female characters. The study of the art, too, was rigorous with strenuous practise sessions that lasted hours. Probably this…
The word Terracotta has originated from the Latin word ‘Terra Cota’, meaning ‘baked earth’. Terracotta is one of the foremost physical manifestations of human imagination in all of human history. This ancient art form characterised by figurines of Gods, Goddess, dancing girls, animals, tiles and toys has been the hallmark of Indian handicraft arts on the global platform since ancient times. Terracotta artifacts dating back to approximately 7000 BC have been uncovered from various archeological sites of the Indus Valley Civilization like Mohenjodaro, Birhana, Mehrgarh. The state of Bengal has always been the at the forefront of art and culture…
Music is the language of the spirit. And if it’s about imbibing an exhilarating romanticism in that language, Bappi Lahiri’s musical cosmos remains unrivalled. Bappi Lahiri’s style of music will always be cherished as the ultimate fusion of the intensity of beat and lyricism of nuances of life. The celebrated musical journey for the India pop sensation which began after being spotted by his school principal while he was drumming the school bench, realized its moment of triumph in the very first musical adventure. The overnight blockbuster success of the film ‘Disco Dancer’ and its soundtrack tripped the Indian crowd,…
“Voice is the fingerprint of the soul”, said Oscar awardee Daniel Day Lewis in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. If India as a phenomenon has a soul of its own, ‘India’s nightingale’ Lata Mangeshkar was a voice to it. The veteran singer was 92 years old when she breathed her last in the wee hours at Mumbai based Breach Candy Hospital. The Sur kokila was admitted to the hospital with Covid 19 and Pneumonia in January 2022. After her demise a deeply saddened universe of music lovers dwelling upon melodious nostalgia, gazes a void which infuses numbness. Rare are the…
One of Bollywood’s biggest designers and stylists, Manish Malhotra, is set for his international debut to open his first overseas store. This will more than double his chain right after the funding injection from Reliance Brands Limited, which acquired a 40% stake in Malhotra’s MM Styles Limited for an undisclosed sum. Reliance is looking forward to generating a “strong technology backbone for MM’s brand to make it a Global Couture Powerhouse.” The designer is about to launch his new product lines as well, including jackets, bags, shoes and shirts, to attract western customers. Malhotra is the second Indian to step…