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Journalism of Courage
Why a health-food movement is spreading across India
A professional food photographer from Mumbai, Pawan Manglani knew how to eat healthy but, during the stressful months of the first lockdown, he stopped taking care of himself. Processed food, desserts, alcohol and aerated drinks entered his diet and continued well beyond the pandemic. Manglani, 36, could see the changes in his body and stamina. Walking, climbing stairs and playing cricket became difficult. “I didn’t want to go out and buy a new set of clothes. On February 1, 2022, I decided that I was going to discipline myself,” he says.
Kareena Kapoor Khan: ‘I’m never running away from the fact that I’m 42’
Your latest movie Laal Singh Chaddha is an official adaptation of Forrest Gump (1994). As Rupa, how was it playing Jenny’s character?
We have remained true to Jenny’s character. Rupa is like the soul of the movie. Basically, it’s a love story. Laal (Aamir Khan) keeps looking for her at different stages of his life. For Rupa’s role, Aamir did my screen test. He was very upfront about it, knowing well that I have a body of work spanning 22 years. I am very happy that he did it because he became 100 per cent sure that I was his Rupa. That’s how the journey began. After that, we have been through a lot — the pandemic, my pregnancy. When people watched the trailer, they questioned why so much graphic was done on our faces. But a lot of people don’t know that the story starts when they are much younger. Obviously, Aamir and I are not that young. So, we have done a lot of de-aging.
What not to do when you photograph nesting birds
All over the world when a celebrity couple – or royalty – is expecting a happy event, the paparazzi begin to hound them: from sneaking pictures of suspected baby-bumps to trying willy-nilly to get the first images of the squalling little brat. The couple has to protect their infant, and, later, toddler fiercely as wolves, adding considerably to their stress levels, trauma, blood pressure and chances of divorce.
‘Akbar anticipated the modern, multicultural, secular state’: Parvati Sharma
On your biography of Jahangir, you had said, it was like digging him out of obscurity. When you were writing on Akbar (Akbar of Hindustan: Imperfect and Extraordinary. The Man Behind the Myth), was the challenge reverse?
There’s nothing in the book that will be new to a historian but a huge amount of what I read about Akbar was completely unknown to me. On the one hand, Akbar is this omnipresent figure but, paradoxically, many things about him aren’t so well known. For instance, the fact that the greatest resistance that Akbar ever faced was from his own Central Asian nobility who had accompanied Humayun into Hindustan, was a surprise.
Aanchal Malhotra’s new book is a salve on Partition’s wounds
Among my fondest memories of my grandmother are her accounts of her ancestral home and stories of the family she married into. She wasn’t a Partition refugee – my grandfather had migrated with his nuclear family to Lucknow five years before the Muslim League’s Direct Action Day. But almost all her relatives remained in undivided Bengal and the family would look forward to their annual visits during Durga Puja – celebrated with much fanfare at the feudal estate of her in laws.
What makes the poetry and politics of Anvar Ali, winner of this year’s Kerala Sahitya Akademi award, so engaging?
Anvar Ali, 56, is arguably the most interesting voice in Malayalam poetry today. His third volume of poetry, Mehboob Express (2020), the first in a decade, is a collection of intensely political poems that carry the pain and burden of our times. In step with his generation of poets, Ali has a sharp eye and ear and is tuned into his immediate sounds and surroundings. Yet, like in all good writing, there is an exceptional and universal vision that gives a visceral quality to his best poems. The politics that has shaped the inner and outer worlds of the poems in Mehboob Express also makes Ali a pan-Indian voice, who happens to be writing in Malayalam. Earlier this week, Mehboob Express was chosen for this year’s Kerala Sahitya Akademi; two years ago, Ali, now a sought-after lyricist, won the state award for the best film lyrics.
What the monsoon tells us about love, hope, peace, sharing and celebration
Rainy days are known to contribute to depression and sadness. People become nostalgic and melancholic, remembering lost loves, remembering first loves. But I see in rain the magic that is life; I see freedom from the scorching heat and that angst within; I see healing and wisdom. It is a manna, a windfall, a boon, a godsend. So as much as I find myself loathing the monsoon season, I have also come to understand that it is essential. It is something we must all make our peace with and show gratitude for.
