Israr Hasan

A graphic novel on the push and pull of friendships

The stories occur in places deeply etched into many of our memories—from rooftops to buses to benches in the park to the digital world of emails and texts.

Lee Lai's 'Stone Fruit': Jokes, rhymes, and the depths of relationships

One of the most searing scenes in Lee Lai’s magnificent graphic novel, Stone Fruit (Fantagraphics, 2021) is when a young child, Nessie,

Abdulrazak Gurnahs 'Afterlives': The repercussions of colonialism, unveiled

Abdulrazak Gurnah, this year’s Nobel laureate in literature, seems to come as an admirable choice compared to the Nobel Prize’s controversial recent history.

Blood Brothers: exploring Ali and X’s bittersweet friendship

There are very few friendships that have attracted the public eye and provoked reactions of dread and rapacious approval in equanimity. One of those friendships - better described as blood brothers - is that of the charismatic militant civil rights activist, Malcolm X and the greatest boxer of all time, the ballistic and eye-brow raising trash talker, Muhammad Ali.

Here’s why switching to ebooks is a good idea

Reading is popular. It has always been that way. Human beings have been reading ever since patterns of writing first emerged in cuneiform in Mesopotamia and books have always contained a kernel of our individual merriments.

‘Wendy, Master of Art’: The life of the artist in graduate school

No one said earning a Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) would be easy. After all, art is anything but a linear process of creation. It zigzags through tumultuous periods of unease, delicate uncertainties, and perpetual anxieties, along with quite a mouthful of self-induced negativity.

Essential skills for budding researchers

Many people are interested in research and it is not uncommon for young people, especially recent graduates, to join think tanks or research centres to try their luck at expanding the frontier of knowledge.

Revisiting the lost Jewish communities of Baghdad

Iraq once boasted one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities, encompassing 2,600 years of rich cultural history punctuated with moments of benign tolerance, blatant discrimination, and outright intolerance and persecution.

January 1, 2021
January 1, 2021

Video essays are the new art form: Our top 5 picks

Due to malleability and expansion of the internet, a new form of art form – the video essay – has picked up a lot of traction using audio-visuals to provide deep-seated commentary on a wide range of issues. While the initial focus of video essays has been on films, video essays have been used to analyze a plethora of ideas in the realm of diverse intersections between pop culture and the real world. Here are a few of the top video essays of the year you should look at.

December 22, 2020
December 22, 2020

Marinated with history

There is one secret to the delicious T-bone steaks, the barbecued juicy lamb chops, or seared vegetables — marination!

December 17, 2020
December 17, 2020

A History of the Destruction of Knowledge

Humanity has always had an ambivalent relationship with knowledge. While the written word has changed from being recorded on papyrus to tablets, scrolls, ink-ridden bindings to printed books all the way to electronic screens,

December 11, 2020
December 11, 2020

Netflix courts the anime world

Netflix is the world’s largest streaming entertainment service with millions registered as its users. In the current awards season, Netflix has been making rounds with brilliantly executed respective

December 4, 2020
December 4, 2020

Delving into the world of Korra

Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. What followed was finding Aang in the iceberg, genocides, Iroh’s advice, Zuko’s revolutionary redemption arc, and the climactic battle between Team Avatar and Fire Nation punctuated with thematic awestruck music and emotionally charged state of the art animation.

December 1, 2020
December 1, 2020

Garnished — with panache and taste

Ever since the pandemic altered our lives, we have seen an outgrowth of creative synergies all around us enabling better lifelines of help and eking out a standard of life in a time of deep uncertainty.

November 26, 2020
November 26, 2020

The Trauma of Identity

George Takei’s visceral and heart-wrenching graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy (2019), dives deep into the cold, dark heart of America’s perceived multiculturalism.

November 20, 2020
November 20, 2020

Exploring the layered histories of Dhaka

Densely populated and a witness to centuries of Mughal, British, Pakistani rule and now, the capital city of Bangladesh, every nook and cranny of the city bears a strong link to the multicultural heritage of the city and the country at large.

November 16, 2020
November 16, 2020

Fahim triumphed against all odds, only to be silenced by death

22 years old Fahimul Karim of Magura was known as the man who defied expectations constantly pushing the efforts of mental and physical endurance.

November 8, 2020
November 8, 2020

The Trial of The Chicago 7: A trial of reflection

Offering a stellar cast portraying America’s motley mix of stoned rebels, radicals, pacifists, and social activists, the film showcases a scope of talent that truly reflect the happenings of an (in)famous trial.

push notification