Books
The Court Jester of Bollywood
Naseeruddin Shah is the court jester of Bollywood, the nickname of Hindi Cinema, which, despite being derogatory (meaning senseless imitation), it embraced in vigour. The reason why everyone else comes only second to Shah in being a wise clown is that unlike most actors in the Hindi cinema world, Shah is not a fool whose […]
A Voyage Down the History of Pak Cricket
Peter Oborne, chief political commentator of the Daily Telegraph has penned a brilliantly researched book on the history of Pakistan cricket. He has to his credit Basil D’oliveira, Cricket and Conspiracy: The Untold Story, which tells the story of the charismatic black South African cricketer, Basil D’oliveira, who set off to England as an immigrant, […]
The Sacred Myth of the Orient
I was watching Francis Ford Cappola’s 2007-fantasy drama Youth without Youth about an old linguistics professor regaining youth after he was struck by lightning. The title says the rest, bringing to light the ambiguities of existence and aging. The film might disappoint you, if you are going to watch it with Cappola’s Godfather and Dracula […]
Not Lost in Memory’s Transition: Biography Revives Proust Translator’s Life
It’s not often that a translator has a story as good as the author himself. But C.K. Scott Moncrieff’s was wild enough to seem like fiction. Moncrieff was the first person to translate Marcel Proust’s seven-volume epic, “Remembrance of Things Past” into English. He was also a poet, a soldier during World War I and a spy in Mussolini’s […]
Who was Ali Shariati to us?
The question put forth by Hamid Dabashi was answered by Iranian filmmaker Mohsin Makmalbhaff. The time and the place which Makmalbhaff points to corresponds to Iran of the early 70s. He was brought up in a religiously charged atmosphere, visiting the scholar at the Masjid every day and coming to know about a new speaker […]
Sufism and Deconstruction
What links a 13th century Sufi Sheikh to the 20th century Post-modern theorist? Ian Almond, professor of World Literature at Georgetown University explores this question in his 2004 book ‘Sufism and Deconstruction: A Comparative Study of Derrida and IbnArabi’. Almond says that his aim is neither to claim that Ibn ‘Arabi was a post-structuralist or […]
The Snowden Question: Espionage and Ethics
Edward Snowden, renowned for letting the genie out of the US top secret bottle, remains to be one of the legends of modern IT era. The US government apparently had no excuse – though lame – to offer in its defense. To the shock of right minded people all over the world the computer […]
Najla Edward Said: On the Otherness Where We Belong
The reason why most people read Najila Said’s memoir: Looking for Palestine: Growing up Confused in an Arab-American Family might be that she is Edward Said’s daughter. There are other reasons why she must be read. Her prose is riveting; she recounts more about the process by which she grapples with her many identities than about her […]
Co-existence and Diaspora: A Jewish Critique of Zionism
All believers, whatever be their religion, must go through the experience of diaspora, as diaspora is helplessly an important stage in their life. Etymologically the word signifies scattering and dispersal and evokes the memories of homelessness. Where the Quran narrates the story of Banu Israel, addresses the newly emerging community of believers under Prophet Muhammad […]
The Strategic Partner
Review of Jason Brownlee’s Democracy Prevention: The Politics of the US, Egyptian alliance Democracy Prevention: The Politics of the US, Egyptian alliance Paperback: 296 pages Cambridge University Press (October 4, 2012) ISBN: 1107677866 In the heyday of counterrevolution against the deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, I had chat with a Communist party member in India […]
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