Pensha

On a simplistic level, Sita — Warrior of Mithila — is a reinterpretation of the consort of Lord Ram, giving her character more heft. However, the subtext is deeply political. Not the petty, narrow political wheeling-dealing, but debating the ills that we grapple with, offering us the egalitarian point of view which was the hallmark of our ancient past. ‘Imbalance’ is the core of Amish’s second book in the Ram Chandra Series. And, to address and correct the ‘imbalance’ are the two protagonists and also Vishnu-in-partnership, Ram and Sita. This version tells Sita’s story beginning from the apaharan and then going back to her birth and gurukul, discussions with Guru Vishwamitra, and her skill of archery and wielding the lathi. The warrior in the title is clearly justified and challenges the popular image of Sita as a meek and submissive woman. In the book, it says that most of our history is oral. And, it is so because it can be changed to suit the changing circumstances of society. ...

Omar Zafarullah’s A Hundred Journeys — Stories of My Fatherland is a sane commentary on Pakistan and consequently India too. Born in 1971, the watershed year in Pakistan’s political history, Zafarullah has written about his country, warts and all, for his children to understand where they come from. A part memoir and part living manual, the book traces his family’s history, its migration from Ropar in Punjab, British India in 1910, to Gojra in the present-day Pakistan. Zafarullah’s A Hundred Journeys, brought out by Rupa, is an ode to the author’s father and also recalls the indomitable spirit of his grandmother, Maaji, and the British India’s policies, which gave his family a chance to lift themselves out of poverty. Excerpts from an email chat... Does the title A Hundred Journeys have any reference to Quran? And, why the ‘Stories of my Fatherland?’ The story traces the history of my father’s family; a major incentive for me was to explain better to my kids about my father ...

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the US Consulate General, Mumbai, are organising Green Heroes Film Festival in Mumbai on Tuesday. This programme will recognise individuals and organisations who work relentlessly at grassroots level to protect the environment in their neighbourhood and communities. As part of this effort, TERI identified Green Heroes in five cities in western India — Ahmedabad, Indore, Mumbai, Panjim and Pune — and enabled up-and-coming storytellers to make films on the initiatives of Green Heroes through workshops in each of these cities. The programme has resulted in 22 insightful, heart-warming short films on the heroes who are working in diverse fields such as forest and water conservation, composting, wildlife protection, waste management and clean energy. Four of them are from Pune — Jeevit Nadi Foundation, Sunil and Priya Bhide, R Cube, Charity Store and Sharad Shinde from Mawal. Three Green Heroes share their stories with us: Cause of a riv...

Photojournalist Raghu Rai’s camera trailed Mother Teresa for five decades. In his pictorial biography, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, you get to see the iconic images of the lady who was mother to all The diminutive figure draped in a white saree with a blue border was a personification of compassion and love. She continues to be so even after her death. In his pictorial biography, Saint Teresa of Calcutta — A Celebration of Her Life & Legacy, (brought out by Aleph Book Company) photojournalist Raghu Rai captures the story of Mother Teresa and the work of Missionaries of Charity. Rai’s camera was a witness to the daily and eventful happenings in the life of Mother and did its job faithfully, adhering to instructions of Mother — to respect the dignity of the poorest of the poor. Divided into three sections — The Canonization of Mother Teresa, Her Life and Work and Her Legacy, the book also has an appendix with a chronology of events in Mother’s life. The book, which is scatter...

For someone who takes a long time in opening up, chatting up random people in the queue while boarding the ferry from Dabhol-Dhopave and then to Tawsal-Jaigad, surprisingly became easy. Away from prying, judgemental eyes, it seemed perfectly natural to lie down in the shade of a shut kirana shop or walk barefoot on the cool grass. Sitting on a blue tarpulin sheet under a makeshift bamboo roof, it was easier to understand a farm hand’s woes about the ‘winter’ in Konkan which spoils the fruit crop. Two Health Departments workers wait for passengers with kids at Tavsal jetty These impromptu halts, while doing a l00-km run on a daily basis for six days along the coastal Maharashtra, were postcards to myself; the images were familiar, but they were dipped in different hues. When you are working in a newsroom, you are inundated mostly with stats and a not-so-rosy picture of the world around you. This is not to say that what we saw during this trip from Alibaug to Goa was free of dark cl...

What makes a home? The people, of course. And also the surroundings. Can a house made of cement and concrete find itself in harmony with the greenery around in a forested area? Not really. Gone are the days when every region had its unique architecture, suiting the landscape and lending it an exclusivity. For instance, Konkan was known for its chiryachi ghara (red brick houses) and Marathwada for its dhabyachi ghara (flat-roofed houses). Now, these structures are few and far between. Cement and glass constructions have mushroomed both in rural and urban landscapes. We have gone wrong trying to bring in a ‘homogeneous’ look, and, more importantly, ignoring the region’s climatic conditions. The house of a farmer at Palsunda village which won the Design Jatra team HUDCO prize It was this which acted as a trigger point for architect Pratik Dhanmer when he returned to his village Murbad near Dahanu. “My village consists of 70 houses. In the past, we relied on traditional architecture — ...

The news of Indian soldiers mutilated by the Pakistani army has set off a fresh wave of protests among the countrymen. The daughter of Head Constable of Border Security Force, Prem Sagar, wants 50 Pakistanis to be beheaded as revenge for her father’s death. A long round of Pakistan bashing and war-hate will occupy the news space for a few days to come. In the midst of this, a few peaceniks, like Tehmina Dadyseth, will try to talk about people and humanism. Before the hate mail for Tehmina starts, here’s a disclaimer. She is the heroine of Anuja Chauhan’s Baaz, a war romance, if one can categorise it. Daughter of a retired General, Tehmina aka Tinka, doesn’t support war. Her love interest, Ishaan Faujdaar (Shaanu), is a flying officer in the Indian Air Force. Quite like ‘maverick’ (Tom Cruise in Top Gun), he believes in his duty to the nation. Until his and Tinka’s views clash and, make us, the readers, squirm. Unlike her other books, which too had an element of conflict in the plot...