At the tender age of 18, Sonal Mansingh began dancing professionally. In a career of fifty-five years, she has given many mesmerizing performances in Bharatnatyam, Odissi, and Chhau.
Mansingh has travelled the world for her dance and won many accolades. Here are five momentous performances by her that make us want to go back in time and witness them.
Read more about her illustrious dance career in Sonal Mansingh: A Life Like No Other.
Tag: Penguin India
6 Quotes by Amit Chaudhuri that Showcase His Brilliance
The author of six novels, his first major work of non-fiction, Calcutta: Two Years in the City, was published in the UK and India in 2013. His first novel, A Strange and Sublime Address, is included in Colm Toibin and Carmen Callil’s Two Hundred Best Novels of the Last Fifty Years.
Here are 6 quotes by Amit Chaudhuri that’ll enrich every reader’s life.
On the nature of history.
A poet’s view on love.
On the bottomless depths of a woman’s heart.
How class division changes perceptions.
His views on writing.
On a feeling many share.
Amit Chaudhuri’s latest – Friend of my Youth is, like all his previous works, a treasure trove of beautiful moments and glorious quotes that’ll leave you breathless.
8 Quotes for the Rebel Inside Every Girl
What if Cinderella didn’t want to go to the ball but rather go out with her friends? What if Rapunzel didn’t need ‘saving’? And why didn’t Eric become a merman to have a ‘happily ever after’ with Ariel?
How much, do the stories we tell our little girls, shape their views about being a woman?
Elena Favilli’s Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls introduces us (and our impressionable girls) to one hundred remarkable women and their extraordinary lives. From Cleopatra to Malala, Charlotte Bronte to Serena Williams, these tales are truly empowering for heroines who definitely don’t need rescuing.
Here are a few quotes from the book.
A message that, unfortunately, seems to get lost quite often.
Aiming for the stars is in every girl’s blood!
Your voice isn’t small. Your voice isn’t weak. You were meant to ROAR!
You are perfect the way you are.
Touch the skies. You’re meant to be with the birds.
You are a fighter. No obstacle is ever ‘too big’ for you.
Why be something else when you’re PERFECT.
Be bold. And you will be free.
Feeling like a rebel with a cause? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
Master on the Doyens of Indian Classical Music
Veteran musician and sarod maestro, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, in his Master on Masters, writes a deeply personal book about the lives and times of some of the greatest icons of Indian classical music. Having known these stalwarts personally, he recalls anecdotes and details about their individual musical styles, bringing them alive.
In writing about them, the maestro transcends the Gharana and north-south divide and presents portraits of these great artists that are drawn with affection, humour and warmth.
Have you heard these legends before?
A Peek into a Reader’s World
Books are fascinating! They house many worlds, people, and emotions in them. And people who read them, i.e.: booklovers, slowly begin to embody these worlds. The reader often walks into the world of a book, but have you ever thought about how a book or its story become a part of a reader’s daily life? Has it ever happened to you that a story or character’s words seemed most appropriate in your life situation? (Happens to us every day!)
As the day of books is upon us, we decided to take you through some daily life situations where words from a book seemed to fit in all too perfectly.
When your always hungry colleague announces it’s lunch time during a meeting.
When your BFF throws you a Draw 4 card in UNO. Oh, the betrayal!
Your colleague when you need to stay back late. On a Friday.
When your in-laws decide to stay at your place for some time.
When you stay away from home for the first time and all you can cook is Maggi.
The salesman trying to get you to buy that Rs. 8,000 shawl.
Your dog, when he doesn’t care you are going to punish him.
Can you relate?
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan – A Bio
A distinguished maestro in the field of playing the sarod, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is popularly known as the “Sarod Samrat“. He is the sixth generation sarod player in his family. The credit of modifying the sarod as a classical instrument goes to his ancestors of the Bangash lineage originating from Senia Bangash School of Music.
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was born on 9th October 1945 at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. His father Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan was a musician in the court of the royal family of Gwalior. Hafiz Ali Khan received training from the descendants of Miyan Tansen, considered one of the greatest musicians produced by India. Amjad Ali Khan was the youngest son in his family. His first tutor was his father and he began playing at a very young age.
Amjad Ali Khan gave his first solo recital at the age of twelve. His love for the instrument and passion for music made him famous and one of the greatest sarod players of all time. Amjad Ali Khan has a unique way of playing the sarod with his fingernails instead of his fingertips. This gives a clear ringing sound but is the most difficult technique to apply on the sarod. Khan has composed many ragas of his own like Kiran Ranjani, Haripriya Kanada, Shivanjali, Shyam Shri, Suhag Bhairav, Lalit Dhwani, Amiri Todi, Jawahar Manjari and Bapukauns. He has acquired international acclaim by composing for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, a piece titled Tribute to Hong Kong. The other musicians involved with this project were guitarist Charley Byrd, Violinist Igor Frolov, Suprano Glenda Simpson, Guitarist Barry Mason and UK Cellist Matthew Barley.
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has given performances in Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Kennedy Center, The House of Commons, Mozart Hall in Frankfurt, Chicago Symphony Center, St. James Palace and the Opera House in Australia. The maestro has received Honorary Citizenship in the states of Texas, Massachusetts, Tennessee and the city of Atlanta.
Amjad Ali Khan is the first north Indian artist to have performed in honour of Saint Thyagaraja at the Thiruvaiyur shrine. He has been a recipient of many awards like Padmashree Award, Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Tansen Award, UNESCO Award, UNICEF National Ambassadorship, Padma Bhushan, International Music Forum Award, etc.
Amjad Ali Khan has two sons who are promising sarod players, hinting that the legacy shall live on.
What does a City Ravaged by War Look Like?
Everyday hearing the news makes war seem like a very real possibility. But do we really know what happens to a city when it is hit by war?
In Exit West – a heartrending story of love in the time of a refugee crisis – Mohsin Hamid paints a searing picture of a city torn by war and the destruction that the people go through.
Here are some of heartbreaking moments from Mohsin Hamid’s new novel.
Do you, too, have a war-time experience to share? Share with us!
The Woman Jinnah Fell in Love With
The news of Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s marriage to Ruttie Petit in 1918 shook pre-partitioned India. Everyone wondered about this woman who had made the serene yet strait-laced national leader fall in love with her.
Sheela Reddy in her exhaustive Mr. and Mrs. Jinnah paints an interesting portrait of the enchanting Ruttie Petit Jinnah.
Wasn’t she enigmatic? Tell us how you perceive Ruttie Jinnah.
A Trip Down Memory Lane: 6 Classics to Relive Your Childhood
Some of our most unforgettable books were the ones we read in our childhood. Perhaps it was our unfettered imaginations, or the ease with which we learned things, or perhaps that pure, creative mind that absorbed all stories and made those books memorable throughout our lives.
And now, more than ever, in our chaotic lives, is a good time to return to our glorious reading memories
Here are six classics that will take you on a trip down memory lane!
The Wizard of Oz
When a terrifying tornado crashes through Kansas, Dorothy, a little girl from a neighbourhood, is whisked away with her dog to the magical land of Oz. She thinks she’s lost forever and that’s when she embarks on an enchanting adventure.
Malgudi Days
The fun that Swami and his friends have in the sleepy little town of Malgudi made Malgudi not just a place but an emotion. It meant hopping on a joyride and getting off at the Malgudi Railway Station, to enjoy a fascinating world.
Sherlock Holmes
How can we forget our beloved detective who possesses unique powers of deduction and sets about inspecting complex cases, wearing his famous hat and smoking his pipe? We can’t help but tag along, as Sherlock Holmes conducts thrilling investigations, be it the foggy streets of Victorian London or the beautiful English countryside.
The Jungle Book
A heart-warming story of a friendship between a boy man and the jungle, The Jungle Book tells a story of a ‘man-cub’ being saved from the jaws of an evil tiger and adopted by a pack of wolves. As Mowgli grows, our excitement grows with him and his escapades in the Seeonee jungle.
Around the World in Eighty Days
The candidate: A daring traveller. The challenge: To travel across the world in just eighty days!
As the race against the clock begins, we are taken on a thrilling trip through exotic lands and dangerous places. Sometimes aboard a train, sometimes riding an elephant, it’s an exciting hustle to win the bet.
Heidi
A charming story of the love for a place and for one’s grandparents, in this classic we are mesmerised by the joys experienced by Heidi, living in the Alps with her grandfather. When her strict aunt sends her away to the city, Heidi yearns to return to the happiness of life with her grandfather.
Is there a memory of a book you would like to share? Do you have a beloved classic that you would want to talk about? Tell us – we would LOVE to know!
5 Things You Didn’t Know About Divya Dutta
In a career spanning more than two decades, Divya Dutta has appeared in multiple Hindi, Punjabi, Malayalam and English films. She is noted for playing a wide variety of roles in various film genres, and has established herself as one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema.
Here are a few things you may not have known about the IIFA Award winner.
Find out more about Divya Dutta in her memoir Me and Ma.
