I recently had the opportunity to read Graham Greene’s short story The Destructors (1954) (If you haven’t read it yet, you might want to read it here – https://www.shortstoryproject.com/story/the-destructors/ – before going through the rest of this post). I was intrigued by the story’s highly ambiguous tone (both linguistically and philosophically) and soon discovered thatContinue reading “Why Graham Greene’s ‘The Destructors’ is linguistically and philosophically ambiguous”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Globalization of Bollywood
Bollywood and other branches of Indian cinema have become truly global, serving audiences all over the world. As a devout consumer of Indian films, I was mulling over the reasons why they have gained such a vast audience worldwide. A profound reason for the increase in the appetite for Indian cinema has been the constantContinue reading “The Globalization of Bollywood”
How art and architecture integrate politics and religion
The use of monumental art and architecture to combine politics and religion has been a historical phenomenon transcending eras, cultures and geographical locations. People often used places of worship to beseech the Gods for prosperity, wealth and victory in war. Moreover, invaders and conquerors always devastated the major temples in an empire to establish theirContinue reading “How art and architecture integrate politics and religion”
The Shadows
It was 2:00 am. As I was leaving my lab, the bell housed in Burruss Hall – the main building of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies – had rung twice. It was strange for the main building of a university campus to have bells ringing like this one. But then, nothing about BlacksburgContinue reading “The Shadows”
Historical and Cultural Influences on Louis Kahn’s Architecture
For some reason, I recently ended up reading the Wikipedia page of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), India. I have never visited the institute, so I wasn’t quite familiar with its architecture but the brickwork I saw in photographs looked eerily similar to the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, where I received myContinue reading “Historical and Cultural Influences on Louis Kahn’s Architecture”
Venice’s Piazza San Marco painted by Canaletto and Renoir – two artworks separated by a lot more than just time
Giovanni Antonio Canal (popularly known as Canaletto), an 18th century Venetian artist of the Rococo period, produced extensive, detailed and architecturally accurate ‘view’ paintings of Venetian and other landmarks. I recently saw a photograph of Canaletto’s remarkable painting The Piazza San Marco, Venice (1742-1746), which I discovered is just one of the artist’s many viewContinue reading “Venice’s Piazza San Marco painted by Canaletto and Renoir – two artworks separated by a lot more than just time”
The Perils of Hollywood Depictions of Mental Health
Countless films in Hollywood and across the world – some of them quite acclaimed – have woven stories around one or the other mental health problem. From depression to schizophrenia, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, obsessive compulsive disorder, amnesia and autism, Hollywood has hardly left any mental illness untapped. The problem with many of these films isContinue reading “The Perils of Hollywood Depictions of Mental Health”
How artifice in art can be revealing rather than misleading: Notes from two artworks by Parmigianino and Fragonard
I was recently going through my college art history notes and was reintroduced to two fantastic painters in a very new light – Parmigianino and Fragonard. This inspired me to present an analysis in this blog, even though I know I am diverting from what I typically write about. Let me know what you think.Continue reading “How artifice in art can be revealing rather than misleading: Notes from two artworks by Parmigianino and Fragonard”
Bollywood Singers and Typecasting
In the unforgiving flood of remakes in which Bollywood is drowning in present times, it’s a pity that Neha Kakkar’s immense potential has suffered by being limited to singing cheap and soulless versions of old classics. Chamma chamma, Yaad piya ki, Dilbar dilbar are only a select few among a host of such songs. NehaContinue reading “Bollywood Singers and Typecasting”
Where is the Poetry in Bollywood Songs?
Gone are the days when you heard songs like ‘Phoolon ke rang se, dil ki kalam se’ (penned by Neeraj for the 1970 classic Prem Pujari), or ‘Kaaton se kheench ke ye aanchal’ (Guide, 1965; written by the legendary Shailendra) or ‘Aji rooth kar ab’(Arzoo, 1965; written by the inimitable Hasrat Jaipuri). Its almost likeContinue reading “Where is the Poetry in Bollywood Songs?”
The Roaring Kotzilla 