|
|
Distant
DREAMS
|
In their desperate pursuit of making it big abroad, the Punjabis stop at nothing.
Nonika Singh on how this has resulted in a thriving racket in illegal immigration |
|
PUNJABIS
and potatoes are found everywhere; beneath this oft-repeated
joke rests the grand Punjabi fascination for alien shores. As
this yearning translates into a fanatical mania bordering on
suicidal desperation, tragic tales of illegal immigration, of
unrequited ambition, of dreams turning sour, of precious lives
lost, are written and re-written. Yet the horror stories of
tragedies like the Malta boat mishap are buried deep in the
collective Punjabi memory. Even today an average Punjabi youth
would go to any lengths, bear any cost and adopt any means —
legal or illegal — to cross the seven seas and start a new
life in a new country.
EAGER TO FLY: Travails of illegal immigration fail to deter Punjabis wanting to settle abroad
|
|
Shakila’s genius on paper
For this collagist from a small village in Bengal, old magazines and newspapers are a medium to create exquisite works of art, writes Ranjita Biswas
IN
most Indian households, old newspapers and magazines either make their
way to the trash or are sold off to the local scrap dealer.
Windfall
for Dharavi girls
The Kishori project has come
as a breath of fresh air for young girls in Asia’s largest slum,
Dharavi in Mumbai. They are educated in personal hygiene and given
low-cost vocational training, writes Surekha
Kadapa Bose
LOOK
at your face. You are a girl. Stay at home. Shocking as it may sound,
these harsh words reverberate in millions of homes across India
everyday.
Beautiful
Bastar
There’s a bit of everything
— mystical, mythical, historical and the natural — in this
unpolluted part of Chhattisgarh, writes Inder
Raj Ahluwalia
THE
sand beneath, the river besides, the stars above. The tribal district
of Bastar provides one of the best vistas that nature can offer.
Italian
notes of Rabindra Sangeet
Madhusree Chatterjee
NOBEL
laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s music transcends geography and
culture. For Italian singer Francesca Cassio, a blue-blooded Roman, it
is both a passion and vocation.
Slice
of South Asia
From art-house classics to
Bollywood potboilers, the recent San Francisco International South
Asian Film Festival brought together diverse images from the region. Akanksha
Bhalla reports from San Franscisco
THE
San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival 2008 held
recently garnered audience beyond the festival circuit and the South
Asians here.
Controversies
don’t upset me: Nandana Sen
PLAYING
the muse of Raja Ravi Verma is a childhood dream come true for actress
Nandana Sen, who is not troubled by the controversies that surround
the yet to be released film Rang Rasia.
|
