1607, 2020

The Heartbeat of the Mind: Conversation with the Tabla Maestro Pandit Bickram Ghosh by Dr Sanjukta Ghosh (SSAI)

By Sunil Pun|July 16, 2020|Bangladesh, Culture, General, Media|0 comments

Lockdown Language by Dr Sanjukta Ghosh (SSAI) Faced with the pandemic, and likened to a war-like situation, the present scenario takes us back to the dialogues on mental health started a century ago in the trenches of the First World War. Not only did the flu affect healthy bodies in 1918, but the war-wounded soldiers also turned to regular music sessions for stabilising their mental health. Mental health is viewed

0907, 2020

The Language of Lockdown Arts

By Sunil Pun|July 9, 2020|Culture, Gender, General, History, India, Media|0 comments

Manch UK launches Meet the Artist Compiled by Payal Ramchandani (Kuchipudi dancer) with editorial comments by Dr Sanjukta Ghosh (SOAS South Asia Institute) During the lockdown, many artists are keen to share their personal stories on social media as the language of art could be empowering and enable one to connect with the inner world of emotions. It has been particularly difficult for dancers who are used to practising in

0905, 2018

Giulia Battaglia in conversation with Edward Simpson (Director of the SOAS South Asia Institute) about her book Documentary film in India: An anthropological history.

By Sunil Pun|May 9, 2018|History, India, Media, SSAI|0 comments

Documentary film in India: An anthropological history maps a hundred years of documentary film practices in India. It demonstrates that in order to study the development of a film practice, it is necessary to go beyond the classic analysis of films and filmmakers and focus on the discourses created around and about the practice in question. The book navigates different historical moments of the growth of documentary filmmaking in India

0203, 2016

Gurvinder Singh Film Screenings at SSAI by Navtej Purewal

By Jennifer Ung Loh|March 2, 2016|General, India, Media, SSAI|0 comments

On February 4 and 5, 2016, SOAS South Asia Institute was thrilled to host director Gurvinder Singh and screen two of his films: Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan (Alms for the Blind Horse) and Chauthi Koot (The Fourth Direction). In this blog post, Navtej Purewal transcribes some of the post-film discussion between Gurvinder and Derek Malcolm, former Chief Film Critic of the Guardian and director of the London Film Festival, after

2001, 2016

‘London and Us’ by Subir Sinha

By Jennifer Ung Loh|January 20, 2016|General, India, Media, Politics|0 comments

Shashi Tharoor’s recent op-ed for The Guardian, where he charged PM Modi with damaging India’s reputation worldwide by waging a ‘war on Muslims’ and on tolerance, was slammed by Modi’s fans, accusing him of tarnishing India’s image, and of a PM who works tirelessly to lift India to a position of prosperity and world leadership. To them it amounted to washing the national dirty laundry in the land of the

0904, 2015

“In Conversation with Vidhu Vinod Chopra” by Priyamvada Sinha and Koninika Roy

By Heewon Kim|April 9, 2015|Culture, General, India, Media, SSAI|0 comments

The NISU and SOAS South Asia Institute had organized an intimate gathering to glean the process of making a first-of-its-kind Hollywood film by Bollywood director Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The evening was made interesting with dance and song from Chopra’s films and an exclusive look at the theatrical trailer of Broken Horses. The trailer comes with Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron’s comment on the film: “Broken Horses is an artistic triumph. Beautifully