The 70s marked a period of sizzlers in popular Malayalam cinema, so the gossip went. This may sound a bit sacrilegious to cine bhakts who see the period as the golden age of radicalism in politics and culture, of experiments in form, and of committed explorations into the cinematic medium by masters like Aravindan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, K.P.Kumaran,…
They came in hundreds. Each “kara” pulling their chariot mounted with gargantuan forms of bulls, the draught animals they depended on to tear open their fertile loams and sow their seeds of hope and prosperity. Hundreds of sweating bodies, unmindful of the sweltering heat of the sun at its zenith in “Meenam,” their brazen…
It reminds you of a Grimm tale illustration – red and white striped delectable candy on the outside, lurking peril inside. When a ‘revamped’ Kovalam lighthouse – officially Vizhinjam lighthouse, was opened to the public on December 4 last year, I was among the few enthusiastic ones who flocked to applaud the rise of a new…
Of late, often have I been asking myself why it’s that works of Indian writers in English don’t stir and shake the depths of my being? What’s…
During this Easter Lent season, I had the great fortune to watch a memorable event conceptualized by noted cultural activist Soorya Krishnamoorthy. An…
The jasmines have started to declare their presence everywhere; some loudly and others quietly but incisively. The loud ones look like tacky women, their…
Seen movies may be memorable, but unseen movies may leave you inquisitive and pining for ever. After a brief hiatus, when I sit down again to unlock…
Peace is abstract while violence has its own striking images. The image of Kerala Police officials dragging Mahija, the mother of Jishnu Pranoy, an engineering…
There are times when words fail you totally, leaving you hurt, insulted, powerless, stunned and full of fear. But words are all that you have. It…
My daily morning sights are replete with certain constant imageries and upon reflection, I realized, the most predominant among them is the sight of adolescent…
Imagine a scenario where we could get into the minds of creative people. The result could be frightening, if not fascinating. That’s what we experience…
They aren’t so feted in actual life, but they’ve always played a vital role in our imaginary lives. Our fictional worlds in all genres across…
It’s a film I enjoy with unmitigated glee every time I watch it. It’s a film I look forward to watching with a renewed curiosity. There’s…
When Indian contemporary art was going big and the spaces in and around Kochi were being acquired by land as well as art ‘developers’ during…
Speak only good of the dead (De mortuis nihil nisi bonum.) This is a mortuary aphorism attributed to Chilon of Sparta (600 B.C.), one of the Seven Sages…
When former U.S. first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “a woman is like a tea-bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you…
Cartoonist E.P. Unny has this hilarious take on Malayalees. He says if you see a group of people at India Gate in New Delhi admiring the war memorial…
It’s heaven to be a revolutionary when you are a 33-year-old, the age when Fidel Castro (1926-2016) came to power by overthrowing the Batista Regime…
A scene from Chelari cattle market in Malappuram before it was shifted to another place about six months ago. Photo by: Sreejith E.K./Immagine Photography
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