August 2005

The Archives

• talkies

  The Rising

  08.15.05 | Permalink | 20 Comments

  The Rising is a Bollywood movie - with a vibrant palette and a song on the lips - unless it is a historical epic with a vibrant palette and a scowl on the lips. Oscillating between scenes of village life, romantic intrigue, communal harmony and British racism, oppression, exploitation, it sets the viewer up perfectly [...]

• homistan

  Zindabad

  08.14.05 | Permalink | 2 Comments

  Happy Independence Day, homistans. I wanted to write a long post about how much I abhor The General and how I wish there would be a uprising against these cookie-cutter dictators that shadow my nation’s every step….but, I am tired and, really, what is the point? Let’s just remind these midnight children of their trysts [...]

• univerCity

  Trial of Mangal Pandey II

  08.12.05 | Permalink | 17 Comments

  On April 6th, 1857, the martial court assembled in the 34th Regiment Mess House to try Sepoy Mangal Pandey. Presiding was Subadar-Major Jawahir Lal Tiwari, with fourteen other native subadars as members of the court. The Judge-Advocate was Captain Hatch and Lt. James Vallings undertook the interpretation duties. Mangal Pandey, sepoy number 1446, 5th Company, [...]

• univerCity

  The Trial of Mangal Pandey I

  08.11.05 | Permalink | 14 Comments

  Like all stories, this story starts in capital and industry. Small arms and guns manufacturing using interchangeable parts took off in America in the first half of nineteenth century. In the 1851 Great Exhibition, the gun exhibits by US companies attracted great fanfare. In 1853, a Royal Commission was formed to figure out why the [...]

• optical character recognition

  Your Turn III: Ibn Battuta

  08.10.05 | Permalink | 4 Comments

  This last, for now, entry from CM readers comes courtesy of Saurav. A genial fellow, he lives in NY and claims to have seen the ghost of Vivekananda at Columbia. Ok, I totally made that up but wouldn’t that be cool? On his post today, I have to say that I taught Ross Dunn’s Adventures [...]

• talkies

  Quick Hit List

  08.09.05 | Permalink | 34 Comments

  update: Ok, ok. ok. Now, I am in it for the glory. We shall compile the Top 25 of Indian Cinema for a newbie. The movies should be representative of genres, influential directors or stars, cultural themes or epochs, and regional film industries. They should have had popular appeal. They should be available on DVD [...]

• homistan

  i’m an alien, i’m a legal(?) alien, i’m an….

  08.07.05 | Permalink | Comment?

  What follows is the uncut version of an article i wrote recently about a hotel. the hotel is in Jangpura/Bhogal, a locality where I’ve been living for just over a year now. It’s not the usual CM style, but it says something about the city and its hidden histories, and its (even more hidden) traditions [...]

• optical character recognition

  Your Turn II: We Have Never Been Multicultural

  08.05.05 | Permalink | 1 Comment

  Rob is a fine young scholar raising hell across the pond. His post came right before I saw Hanif Kureishi’s piece in the Guardian, The Carnival of Culture. With a 600 percent increase in hate crimes, Blair announcing further support for faith schools and deportation for hate-mongers, it appears that the conversation about multiculturalism is [...]

• optical character recognition

  Your Turn I

  08.04.05 | Permalink | 2 Comments

  My bilious nature has interrupted my “hiatus” [maintaining radio silence is more often than not a supreme skill taught only to those inducted into the daiymo Bloguwa]. But while contemplating my silence, I had decided to do what everyone who really knows me says I do best: Delegate. I emailed some of my readers and [...]

• imperial watch

  That Torture Thing

  08.03.05 | Permalink | 2 Comments

  Remember those “Not in my name” signs that Muslims lifted up after London bombing. Today, I feel like walking around campus with a Not in my name placard around my neck. Problem is, this IS in my name. You see, I may not be responsible for the acts of deranged Muslims in Kashmir or Lahore [...]