Puranjay Khanna’s debut book of poems, Second Star, released on his birthday For many a literate person, reading was a lifeline throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. With the world on pause, many found themselves reading more than ever. While pandemic led to increased readership, it also gave rise to many writers. One among them is a young lad, Puranjay Khanna, whose debut book, titled Second Star got released yesterday, in the presence of renowned dignitaries, at the Taj Land’s End H...

Irrfan Khan, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri’s Alma Mater, NSD’s Theatre Olympics India’s National School of Drama (NSD) has produced many a luminary in the field of film and television, both in front of and behind the camera. An autonomous institution under Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, it is located in New Delhi. The first batch of students came in 1961. Since then, between 10 and 33 students pass out every year. NSD is now holding its 8th Theatre Olympics in Mumbai, ...

Ice, Review: Life v/s ice, too much too late Melancholia guaranteed, but so is good cinema. Ice is a 15-minute Estonian film that has been shown at 28 film festivals so far (correction: 35; update provided by Anna Hints), and won four (five, she says)  prizes too. Harri is a lieutenant colonel in the Estonian army. Divorced, he only sees his ten-year-old son during the school holidays. Harri decides to make up for lost time and take him on a trip to an island where he went with his fath...

by Marla LewinThe play “Arcadia” is set at the English estate of the Coverlys, a family of the nobility, and bounces back and forth between 1809 and the present day. Arcadia refers to the classical Greek state of mind which is pastorial and harmonius.  There is little of that actually in the play where both classic and present day characters look for love, relics, and recommendation and confirmation of their talents.There is repeated mention of poet, playboy Lord Byron himself, though we ne...