A few years ago, Germany seemed like it had all the answers. But in 2024, we find ourselves in a land of bleak absurdity Peter Kuras Germany doesn’t have a reputation as a funny country, but its dark humour is currently shaming the best recent efforts of both Britain and the US. Not that there… Read More Tractor chaos, neo-Nazis and a flatlining economy: why has Germany lost the plot?
‘I have written five books, but I feel that they are all one book. A book about the history of a utopia …’ Svetlana Alexievich held her Nobel Lecture on 7 December 2015, at the Swedish Academy, Stockholm. She was introduced by Sara Danius, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy. The lecture was in Russian.… Read More Svetlana Alexievich’s Nobel Lecture (2015)
Raghu Karnad According to the Mahabharata, the legendary city of Indraprastha was founded by the five Pandava brothers for their queen, Draupadi. Its wide streets and orchards surrounded a palatial hall, built by the demon-architect Maya, which appeared ‘like a mass of new clouds conspicuous in the sky’. The hall was ‘so rich and well built’… Read More Looking for Indraprastha
NB: This most perceptive essay on concepts of imperium was delivered at the Indian History Congress in 1991, and published by the Indian History Congress proceedings Vol. 52 (1991), pp. 831-887) The Soviet Union has just expired, and it seems only natural to know why. It appears as a failure; and to most it illustrates… Read More Madhavan Palat: Forms of Union – Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (1991)
NB: This is the simplest and most brilliant philosophical reflection on time I have heard. Here is Javed Akhtar’s own explanation of it at the Kolkata Literary Festival, 2022; and here is one of his recent recitals, at the Faiz Festival in 2018. It begins around 4.30 minutes into the video. Javed sahib shukriya. DS… Read More Javed Akhtar recites Waqt, his poem on Time
January 22 has been projected as Victory Day. It is, of course, a victory, but not of the vibrant Hindu religious tradition, but of a majoritarian, exclusionist project that is deadly opposed to an inclusive, modern, and dynamic idea of India. The hurried consecration signifies not any vindication of Hinduism, but its appropriation by a… Read More The idea of Ram and the idea of India
NB: The only book by Greil Marcus that I’ve come across is The Dustbin of History; a set of incisive literary essays, mostly book reviews and cultural cum historical meditation. Well worth reading. As is this essay. DS whatever language is the language of your work, if I can move anyone else as that work… Read More Greil Marcus: Why I Write
GAZA casualties live statistics NB: The only thing I disagree with in this otherwise courageous statement is this: “Our governments’ current policies weaken their moral standing and undermine their ability to stand up for freedom, justice, and human rights globally.” I’ve commented on these issues many times but readers could see this and this. The… Read More Bifurcation point: More than 800 Western officials sign scathing criticism of Gaza policy
DOCUMENTS: BOOKS: IMAGE & SOUND: Editor’s Picks: (Cover Page Artwork Credits: Henri-Laurens (1918))
मध्यमार्ग का अवसान : दिलीप सिमियन (Translated by Suman Keshari)The Broken Middle 1984 की हिंसात्मक घटनाओं को मुख्य रूप से सहमति की राजनीति और साझा भारतीय राष्ट्रवाद के आदर्श के विघटन के रूप में देखा जाना चाहिए। जब साम्प्रदायिक शत्रुताएँ समाज में व्यापक रूप से फैलती हैं, तो वे (प्रत्यक्षतः अथवा अवचेतन ढंग से) सामाजिक चेतना को छिजाते… Read More मध्यमार्ग का अवसान: दिलीप सिमियन (EPW, November 2014)
After the truth-shower 