There were many attractions that would have drawn Indian theatre-lovers to the play Wedding Album staged at Watermans from 15th to 20th September. Firstly, the play was written by Girish Karnad, secondly, it was directed by Lillete Dubey, and thirdly, the cast was made up of seasoned and well-known actors. The combination of all three [...]

Glancing away from a riveting female historian
turned Sanskrit expert, rowers put out
in the Charles: bathtub vessels flying triangular sails
Like Kuru and Pandava pennants on either side
of the Mahabharata. She asserts: The Charioteer’s
driver, Krishna, is like—think of a Humvee owner
Taking his friends on a Friday night spin
in Bangalore saying, “I am God.” Parsing
an ancient text, and [...]

Blue plumbago waving frantically
in high wind the brass chimes
echoing an emperor’s garden
after he has withdrawn his hands
from a courtesan’s shaved legs
the kingdom’s burdens and labors
are shifted in the official painter’s
brushes water pink and lime bamboo
cured to engineered floors fitting
without nails or paste
interlocking Channels clicking flush
like bodies in a spoon and birds
coming out as tentative as [...]

Pausing in the heat to pour water
around new planted shrubs:
Formosa azaleas still turgid
from last night’s watering.
We misplaced the wheel’s rhythm.
It was not possible.
We could resume at will.
Periwinkles snuggle up to marigolds
over-ripe carrots bloom
because we failed to harvest them
last fall. Lantanas wait on winter.
You whispered goodbye and turned
your face to a land and time we loved
and [...]

Once you’re in lefty
it is right and right and right
and you can stalk cars
forever—Olds gone, GM going
Chrysler’s way. The history of automobiles.
Ford’s blue egg hatching
another fusion. The freight train’s horn
awakening a new year’s slumber
dissolved in the Carolina wrens’ chirps.
Once you’re in lefty
it is left and left and left
until your tenancy’s over. Who slept
in what room, [...]

And when that time arrives
—as it must—when we part
may there be no taste of neem
on our tongues—what might have been
is in dreams and our next mornings
the smooth transitioning motorcycles
gears trolling our dull neighborhoods.
The poems are from the Persaud album, Lantana Strangling Ixora

An exhibition and season of events celebrating
Indian music and dance in Britain
At The Croydon Clocktower.
10 APRIL – 31JULY 2009
By Diana Mavroleon
The advantage of structuring a season of events that includes various exhibitions but all under the same roof, to run over a generous period of time is that it presents its audiences with an opportunity [...]

IMF/WORLD BANK sanctimony exposed
Palash Kamruzzaman
The World Bank and IMF have proposed the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) framework for all poor countries as a condition of receiving unconditional debt relief under the HIPC Initiative. The PRSPs will also be the key vehicle for the World Bank and IMF and other donors for various assistance packages, [...]

A young woman strides confidently down the street. She holds herself with pride and purpose. Her headphones on, she snaps her fingers to an apparently catchy beat. She catches herself before executing a shimmie and turn. She is a Bollywood dancer somewhere in the world.
Hardly a day goes by without a new article about the [...]

John Keane’s book contains a wealth of interesting information on the past, writes Robert Rowthorne but it is of scant use to those seeking enlightenment about the future.
The subject matter of this long book is the history and future of democracy. Despite the word “death” in its title, the author is an optimist. Democracy may [...]