Articles by Chintan Girish Modi
Rakhshanda Jalil – “I refuse to be bullied or marginalised”
On Urdu: The Best Stories of Our Times, the new anthology she has edited and translated, that features fiction by Surendra Prakash, Qurratulain Hyder, Zakia Mashhadi, Gulzar, Khalid Jawed, and Ali Imam Naqvi, among others
Updated on Dec 09, 2023 09:34 AM IST
BN Goswamy: Elevating the artist over the patron
A tribute to a beloved teacher, curator, and scholar who produced rigorous but accessible work on Pahari and Indian miniature painting
Published on Nov 29, 2023 03:48 PM IST
‘India loses more than 1% GDP through the exclusion of LGBT persons’
Economist MV Lee Badgett has studied the economic impact of not extending the social institution of marriage to same-sex couples. An interview
Published on Nov 27, 2023 08:49 PM IST
Report: Prithvi Festival 2023
Love poetry and plays that examined nostalgia and the workings of patriarchy featured at this year’s theatre fest
Updated on Nov 21, 2023 08:00 AM IST
Review: Bahubali; 63 Insights into Jainism by Devdutt Pattanaik
A new book offers a good entry point into the religion for those who are curious about Jain cosmology, customs, and philosophy
Updated on Nov 18, 2023 05:04 AM IST
Ranjit Hoskote - “I grieve for the direction in which Germany is going”
The poet, art curator and cultural critic on the circumstances that led to his resignation from the Finding Committee for the 16th edition of Documenta
Published on Nov 16, 2023 08:51 PM IST
Review: The Great Indian Cricket Circus
Not simply a compendium of information, this is a chronicle of memories around the game that evokes joy, sadness, longing, anger, despair, and hope
Updated on Nov 11, 2023 06:42 AM IST
Aravind Jayan - “The anxiety of being watched has increased”
The author of Teen Couple Have Fun Outdoors on his debut novel that has been shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction
Updated on Nov 04, 2023 07:43 AM IST
Report: Stumbling upon gems at MAMI 2023
Even those who attend the film festival alone can enjoy the buzz of being part of a temporary collective of people hungry for stories and emotions
Published on Nov 01, 2023 04:10 PM IST
Interview: Bikram Sharma - “For me, writing is very much all about rewriting”
Bikram Sharma, the author of The Colony of Shadows discusses his research process and the importance of representing disability sensitively.
Updated on Oct 24, 2023 05:32 PM IST
Review: The Peacemakers by Ghazala Wahab
A collection of 12 essays by a diverse group of writers focuses on people who have risked their lives to bring about peace in the midst of violence
Published on Oct 11, 2023 08:29 PM IST
Interview: Vikramajit Ram, author, Mansur - “It all comes to edit, edit, edit”
On the historical novel set in the Mughal era that’s on the longlist for the JCB Prize for Literature this year
Published on Oct 09, 2023 08:41 PM IST
Interview: David Hardiman, author, Noncooperation in India
On Gandhi Jayanti, one of the founding members of the Subaltern Studies Group talks about writing a history of the Noncooperation Movement
Updated on Oct 02, 2023 04:50 PM IST
Review: Cockatoo by Yashraj Goswami
A collection of interconnected short stories about desire, deception and disaster set in different parts of India
Updated on Sep 22, 2023 06:02 PM IST
Review: Siddhartha; The Boy Who Became the Buddha by Advait Kottary
The author builds on his experience with the performing arts to create drama, anticipation, and intensity in his retelling of the life of the Buddha
Updated on Sep 21, 2023 12:07 AM IST
Daisy Rockwell - “Publishing is obsessed with the cult of the new”
The Booker Prize winner on translating Rukogi Nahin, Radhika?, Hindi author Usha Priyamvada’s novel, which was first published in 1967
Published on Sep 15, 2023 11:05 PM IST
Interview: Daisy Rockwell: “Translators can be seen as curators”
International Booker Prize winner Daisy Rockwell on the significance of Edith Grossman, who fought for the right of a translator to be recognised for her work
Published on Sep 09, 2023 10:26 AM IST
Interview: Manish Gaekwad, author, The Last Courtesan – “My mother and I were accomplices in this”
The genre of memoir was the best way to tell Rekhabai's story because she wanted to share her life in her own voice and not through another narrator. She wanted to be honest and truthful, and the memoir allowed her to do that. The process of writing the memoir was enjoyable and brought the author and Rekhabai closer together. Rekhabai would have been thrilled about the book's reception and the attention it is getting. The cover of the book features a picture of Rekhabai performing her routine as a dancer. The process of listening to Rekhabai's life story did not alter the author's relationship with the various places in India that the story unfolds in. The author's experience as a screenwriter influenced the narrative choices made in the book, but the prospect of selling movie rights did not influence how it was written. While working on the book, the author read various books including The Book of Disquiet and Fictions. If the book were to be made into a movie, the author would choose Tripti Dimri to play Rekhabai. Some depictions of courtesans in Indian cinema and literature that stood out for the author include Sardari Begum and Umrao Jaan Ada. The author believes that the stereotype of the tawaif as a sex-worker needs to be more informed. The author responds to gay men who romanticize the lives of courtesans by saying that if they find comfort and expression in courtesan-ship, why not? The author is currently working on a book about their own growing up years in the kotha and a rom-com film script.
Updated on Sep 01, 2023 08:13 PM IST
Interview: TM Krishna - “Guilt is a form of escapism. It is an excuse”
The activist, writer and Carnatic vocalist talks about finding a new audience, understanding Ambedkar and Narayana Guru, and his work on a exploratory new book
Updated on Aug 01, 2023 08:28 PM IST
Review: Queers in QuarantineEdited by Koyote Millar and Rahul Sen
A collection of poems, stories, journal entries and photo essays on how queer people across the world experienced the pandemic
Updated on Jul 28, 2023 06:02 PM IST
Thomas Abraham, MD, Hachette India - “India prefers classic crime titles”
Hachette is publishing a range of classic crime fiction and adventure novels called The Great Yellowbacks. Here, Thomas Abraham, who has curated the series, talks about his passion for these titles
Updated on Jul 19, 2023 11:49 PM IST
International convention of temples planned in Varanasi
The event will be inaugurated by Mohan Bhagwat, Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Singh (RSS)
Updated on Jul 15, 2023 05:15 PM IST
Over the rainbow: A Wknd interview with author and poet Ruth Vanita
A new book encapsulates poetry themed on identity, loss, same-sex love; another traces battles for marriage equality in rural India. Much has changed, she says.
Updated on Jul 24, 2023 06:13 PM IST
Report: Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival
The fourteenth edition of the festival was a remarkable celebration of queer joy that also provided a great opportunity to socialise
Updated on Jul 05, 2023 10:21 PM IST
Review: Who Clicked That Pic? by Nandita da Cunha and Priya Kuriyan
An inspiring picture book for children pays homage to Homai Vyarawalla, India’s first woman photojournalist
Updated on Jun 30, 2023 07:47 PM IST
Srinath Perur – “Language carries associations of both pride and vulnerability”
The translator and chair of the jury of the JCB Prize for Literature, 2023, on translating Girish Karnad’s memoirs
Updated on Jun 26, 2023 06:09 PM IST
Interview: Paramita Brahmachari – “My covers are in a hand-drawn style”
The winner of the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize 2023 on her process of interpreting books to make striking jackets and illustrations
Updated on Jun 23, 2023 05:05 PM IST
Queering the screen: Film fest to honour the need of safe space for LGBTQIA+ people
The series aligns itself with the global mandate to give the month of June a special place in the annual calendar in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other marginalized) people who face human rights violations all over the world
Updated on Jun 17, 2023 12:53 AM IST
Get to know...Vidur Sethi
Actor, writer and curator Vidur Sethi is nervous and excited about his debut film, Pine Cone. He shares his playlist, and the queer artists to watch out for
Updated on Jul 20, 2023 02:43 PM IST
Review: Hoofprints on the Land by Ilse Kohler-Rollefson
Ilse Kohler-Rollefson writes about the need to promote traditional forms of animal herding over industrial livestock farms and the benefits that will result for animals, humans and the planet
Updated on Jun 09, 2023 07:02 PM IST