Bengal Biennale Breaks Art World’s Cloistered Walls
The recently concluded Bengal Biennale has been remarkably successful in its very first edition. Organised in tandem in Santiniketan and Kolkata, it ran from November 29 to December 22, 2024, in Santiniketan, and from December 6, 2024, to January 5, 2025, in Kolkata. Since the required infrastructure for holding such
TRIBUTE | P. Jayachandran (1944-2025): Soulful Voice of Indian Playback Music, Passes Away
Jayachandran recorded over 16,000 songs in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi, was widely recognised for his contribution to Indian music, having won several awards for best playback singer. | Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA Renowned playback singer P. Jayachandran, popular across South India and affectionately called “Bhava Gayakan” for his
How Kashmir’s Sufi Shrines are a Reminder of an Accommodative Islam That Once Existed in the Valley
Kashmir has a rich Sufi heritage, which is enshrined in the ancient tombs and hermitages (or khanqahs) that dot its landscape. Its encounter with Sufism started in the 14th century, when wave upon wave of Sufi theologians from former Mongol and Timurid territories migrated to Kashmir. Historically, six Sufi monastic
M.T. Vasudevan Nair: The Chronicler of Kerala’s Inner Conflicts
He was officially M.T. Vasudevan Nair, but peers close to him and friends of the same or older generation called him Vasu; others generally used his initials “MT”. He chose the last for me when, in the 1980s, I wrote to him from Delhi to ask how I should address
How Jules Verne’s Visionary Works Inspired Modern Technology and Innovation
When French author Jules Verne died in 1905, powered air flight, which he put at the centre of his 1886 book Robur the Conqueror, had moved from fiction to reality. Just two years earlier, the Wright brothers had achieved the first manned air flight in human history. Yet more of
Delhi’s Historical and Cultural Legacy Inaccessible due to Pricey Heritage Walks and Privatisation of Monuments
At the first interactive session on Delhi’s heritage, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), as part of its inaugural heritage walks and talks initiative held at Town Hall, Chandni Chowk, experts delved into the mystery surrounding the grave of Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and
T.M. Krishna: Standing Ovation for the Sangita Kalanidhi’s Concert a Turning Point in Carnatic Music History
When T.M. Krishna received a standing ovation from an overflowing audience at the Music Academy on a bright Christmas morning this year, it marked a momentous point in his musical journey and, indeed, in the history of Carnatic music and the cultural history of South India. Here was a venerable
TRIBUTE | Shyam Benegal was a Diverse and Inclusive Filmmaker
Shyam Benegal’s love for films started when he was a child. His appetite for them was voracious. When he couldn’t afford to watch them, he befriended the projectionist of his local cinema and watched them through his window. Sometimes he and his friend wedged the door open a crack so
Best of 2024: Frontline’s Top 12 Stories on Books and Culture
Cultural performances at the INS Khukri Memorial Amphitheatre in Diu on November 14, 2024. | Photo Credit: President of India-X/ANI In his essay in Frontline’s 40th anniversary special, the artist and curator Shuddhabrata Dasgupta writes: “In any society, the health of culture depends on the willingness of practitioners to set
Quiet Dies a Craft: Traditional Bengal Boat Making Documentary 2024
WATCH | Quiet Dies a Craft: Traditional Bengal Boat Making Documentary 2024 | Video Credit: Reporting and narration: Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay; Videography: Jayanta Shaw; Editing: Samson Ronald K., Kavya Pradeep M; Team Frontline: Abhinav Chakraborty, Saatvika Radhakrishna, and Mridula V.; Produced By: Jinoy Jose P. In West Bengal’s Shyampur, 74-year-old master