The India They Saw: Four poets in four languages
Sukkanya Ramgopal, Radha Kannan, Sumana Chandrashekar and Charu Hariharan
Glimpses of an India as envisioned by four great poets — Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi, Dr Shivmangal Singh ‘Suman’, Dr Sa. Shi. Marulayya and Mahakavi Vallathol Narayana Menon, presented by Sunaadam Trust.
Mazhab: Song against communalism
Poojan Sahil and Karwan e Mohabbat
“Mazhab nahi sikhata, aapas mein bair rakhna”. These lines by Allama Iqbal have been ringing through our consciousness since we were kids. This song is an attempt to remind us that we always need to keep rejecting hatred.
An artist’s take on the 75th year of Independence
Rajib Chowdhury
On the 75th year of India’s independence, the Indian Cultural Forum asked various artists to show us what they think about the various kinds of freedoms that are under threat in the country today — especially in the background of a range of issues like Covid-19 and citizens’ right to good healthcare, the issue of the Pegasus spyware, the abrogation of Article 370, freedom of the press, the farmers’ agitation and educational reforms.
Enjoy Enjaami: A call for ecological and social justice
Arivu ft Dhee
The deep-rooted meaning of the words in the album emerge from rural Tamil Nadu and its unique way of speaking, which the album portrays beautifully. Enjoy Enjaami is a call for unity, call for solidarity, not among all ethnically diverse people but also plants, land, insects and birds. This song celebrates the social linkages with nature, and it also laments the loss of contact with our roots, our ancestors, and our native land.
Letter on non-official stationery addressed to the minister for development
Annie Zaidi
“Public space can be only as open as a department file. Otherwise every maidan becomes Azad Maidan. Every square carries the germ of Tianamen. Innocent parks can turn into Gezi. You may have seen.”
Kaun Bataye: For the people, by the people
Dastaan LIVE
‘Kaun Bataye?’, a crowd-sourced video single by Dastaan LIVE, is based on the writings of an anonymous poet set against the backdrop of the turbulent events of the present day. The song is not just a lament about the failure of society to adapt to modern times but also one that celebrates the fact that we will prevail in the face of such adversity to regain the humanity that we seem to have lost somewhere along the way.
You Will Not Speak
Parul Khakhar, Salil Tripathi
“They’ll force you to slash your tongue and keep it out of sight
Many more will cheer you, but you will not speak”
A Kavadi Chindu on Babasaheb Ambedkar
TM Krishna and Perumal Murugan
“Educate, Organise, Rebel were his thoughts
that into our minds he brought
On the battlefield, this hero stood and fought
He came to uproot the ugly caste system
This rare gem, gave us wisdom
So graceful is he, our heart is his kingdom”
India is Not Lost: A SAHMAT exhibition
ICF Team and Newsclick
Writer and filmmaker, Sohail Hashmi, walks us through India is Not Lost, an exhibition of Sahmat’s initiatives over the decades to observe iconic moments of India’s long struggle for independence.
