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Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
From Ghalib to Gulzar: New anthology maps India's cities through 375 poems
New Delhi, From Ghalib's Delhi and Nissim Ezekiel's Bombay to Agha Shahid Ali's Srinagar and Kamala Das' Calcutta, poets have cast their spell over every corner of the country. A new anthology, "The Penguin Book of Poems on the Indian City", captures the same enchantment, taking readers on a poetic voyage across 37 Indian cities. The recently released anthology, edited by Bilal Moin and published by Penguin Random House India , features a total of 375 poems, including works originally written in English as well as translations from nearly 20 different languages. "It was an honour to compile this poetic atlas of Indian cities — a first-of-its-kind anthology bringing together poetic voices spanning over 1,500 years, translated from more than 20 languages. Here, legendary poets of antiquity coexist with young voices crafting verses in the age of social media, narrating the cities they inhabited and tracing their evolving identities. "Expanding beyond major metropolises, this anthology captures the rhythms and realities of thirty-seven diverse cities, spotlighting forgotten poets and revitalizing many near-lost contributions," said Moin, who has also authored a collection of haikus, titled 'The Ideajunkyard' in 2018. Spanning from the classical voices of Valmiki and the Sangam poets to the Bhakti and Sufi traditions represented by Surdas, Kabir, and Amir Khusrau, as well as early modern poets like Mir Taqi Mir, Narmad, Rudyard Kipling, and Rabindranath Tagore, the anthology provides a rich and immersive lyrical journey through India's cities. It also features contemporary poets including the likes of Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, Vikram Seth, Eunice de Souza, Arun Kolatkar, Amrita Pritam, Amit Chaudhuri and Gulzar. And together, they all take the reader through depictions of cities as imperial capitals, colonial outposts and dynamic, ever-evolving spaces that serve as the backdrop for postmodern life. According to the publisher, at its core, "The Penguin Book of Poems on the Indian City" is a collection that portrays the Indian city as a complex organism and living embodiment of the collective consciences of its many, many residents. "A collection for not just those who live in the cities featured in this book but for anyone who is familiar with the chaotic, paradoxical and magical tableau that constitutes life in a city in this part of the world," they added. The 1062-page tome, priced at ₹1,999, is available for purchase across online and offline stores.


Business Standard
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Sangam India inks MoU to acquire 2% stake in DaMENSCH
Sangam India has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with DaMENSCH Apparel to acquire 1.73% stake as part of a strategic collaboration to market activewear products. DaMENSCH Apparel engaged in the business of apparel and related lifestyle products. The MoU aims to explore a long-term strategic partnership with DaMENSCH, focused on the manufacturing, marketing and selling of seamless and activewear products by Sangam (India). As a part of MoU, the company will subscribe to 470 compulsorily convertible preference shares for a total investment of Rs 9,99,29,050, resulting in a 1.73% stake in DaMENSCH on a fully diluted basis. Sangam (India) engaged in the business of manufacturing and selling of synthetic blended, cotton & texturised yarn, fabrics, denim fabrics and readymade seamless garments. The companys consolidated net profit declined 30.3% to Rs 9.52 crore on 4.7% increase in net sales to Rs 734.30 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24. The counter fell 0.54% to end at Rs 405.60 on the BSE.


India.com
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
Raj Kapoor's wife Krishna Kapoor once left actor and their home in anger, took Rishi Kapoor and other kids with her after she found out that...
Veteran actor Raj Kapoor, also known as the showman of Hindi cinema, left no stone unturned in entertaining audiences. While his professional life always gained headlines and appreciation, his personal life remained under public scrutiny. Kapoor was known for his habit of drinking alcohol. However, another major revelation about the actor was made by his son Rishi Kapoor when his autobiography came to limelight. In Rishi's autobiography, Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored, he disclosed shocking details about his father and his extra-marital affair. Rishi also mentioned how it affected the family dynamics. On several occasions, Raj Kapoor had been linked to many actresses. Reports claim that Raj and his wife Krishna Kapoor had many heated arguments due to these link-up rumors. However, it was Rishi Kapoor's book that confirmed his father's extra-marital affair with Vyjayanthimala, and Nargis, and revealed how his mother Krishna Kapoor reacted. In his biography, Rishi wrote, 'When I was young, my father's name was in the news for his affairs with many actresses. But the memories of the disputes in the house faded with time. When my mother came to know about his extra-marital affair with Sangam co-star Vyjayanthimala, the matter got worse. There were a lot of fights between mummy and papa. This time, Mother was not ready to step back, and she left the house with me. For some time, we stayed in a hotel, and later we had a flat in Chitrakoot where we started living. When papa realized his mistake, things got sorted out (sic).' Rishi also revealed more about his father's relationship with Vyjayanthimala, which caused multiple disruptions in their family. Raj Kapoor's extra-marital affair with his co-star was not Vyjayanthimala, but Nargis, which often made headlines. However, Raj and Nargis' affair never materialized, and later Nargis married Sunil Dutt.


India.com
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
Krishna Kapoor once left Raj Kapoor and moved out of his home with kids after she found out that Raj was...
Veteran actor Raj Kapoor, also known as the showman of Hindi cinema, left no stone unturned in entertaining audiences. While his professional life always gained headlines and appreciation, his personal life remained under public scrutiny. Kapoor was known for his habit of drinking alcohol. However, another major revelation about the actor was made by his son Rishi Kapoor when his autobiography came to limelight. In Rishi's autobiography, Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored, he disclosed shocking details about his father and his extra-marital affair. Rishi also mentioned how it affected the family dynamics. On several occasions, Raj Kapoor had been linked to many actresses. Reports claim that Raj and his wife Krishna Kapoor had many heated arguments due to these link-up rumors. However, it was Rishi Kapoor's book that confirmed his father's extra-marital affair with Vyjayanthimala, and Nargis, and revealed how his mother Krishna Kapoor reacted. In his biography, Rishi wrote, 'When I was young, my father's name was in the news for his affairs with many actresses. But the memories of the disputes in the house faded with time. When my mother came to know about his extra-marital affair with Sangam co-star Vyjayanthimala, the matter got worse. There were a lot of fights between mummy and papa. This time, Mother was not ready to step back, and she left the house with me. For some time, we stayed in a hotel, and later we had a flat in Chitrakoot where we started living. When papa realized his mistake, things got sorted out (sic).' Rishi also revealed more about his father's relationship with Vyjayanthimala, which caused multiple disruptions in their family. Raj Kapoor's extra-marital affair with his co-star was not Vyjayanthimala, but Nargis, which often made headlines. However, Raj and Nargis' affair never materialized, and later Nargis married Sunil Dutt.


India Today
03-06-2025
- General
- India Today
The age of historical disagreements
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated June 9, 2025)In times when historical controversies can raise enough dust to bury entire civilisations, the ancient Tamil site of Keezhadi has re-emerged as a flashpoint. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has asked the site's lead archaeologist to revise his final report of January 2023—essentially, to locate the site on a much later timeline than the 6th-8th century BC originally suggested by the has sparked fresh allegations of political interference in historical research. 'Post-dating' the site would take away all the excitement from a discovery that had conferred greater civilisational depth to Tamil Nadu, pushing back its Sangam era by three K. Amarnath Ramakrishna, who led the early phases of excavation, has rejected the ASI's demand, stating that he stands by his 982-page report. His conclusions, he says, were based on unimpeachable scientific methods like stratigraphy and accelerator mass spectrometry. The state of the art in radiocarbon dating, the latter method has a precision of 40 years for recent antiquity. A MATTER OF TIMETo be sure, Keezhadi still awaits full scholarly consensus, specifically on whether the prime evidence for antiquity—potsherds with early Tamil inscriptions—are coeval with the carbon-dated charcoal layers. Also, whether its ceramic style accords with ancient Tamil Nadu's pottery chronology. But the ASI's May 2025 letter doesn't just seek corroboration. It calls for 'necessary corrections' and insists the earliest layer not be dated before 300 BC. Ramakrishna isn't the only one who spies a prejudicial edge in the ASI adopting such an approach to 'well-reasoned findings'. For many in the South, it's part of a broader pattern—one where 'science is subordinated to ideology, and archaeological evidence inconvenient to the dominant historical narrative is sidelined'.advertisement Keezhadi offers signs of a literate, urban Tamil civilisation along the Vaigai river dating back over 2,600 years. Nearby sites like Agaram and Konthagai buttress that idea, with some lines of inquiry even suggesting possible evolutionary links of early Tamil-Brahmi to the Indus script. The trouble this runs into, of course, is that it challenges the Centre's Vedic-centred view of antiquity. Hence, the ASI missive is seen by many experts less as pure academic scrutiny, more as a formal curb on the kind of story Keezhadi can tell. If fully unfurled, that narrative can subvert the privileged space conferred on the Vedic/Sanskritic lineage, suggesting a parallel civilisational track in the South—with its own language, script and cultural norms. A putative continuum with Harappa would deepen that as Keezhadi's findings were gaining national and international attention, Ramakrishna was abruptly transferred from Tamil Nadu to Assam in 2017 and ASI-led excavations slowed, later declaring no significant discoveries. In response, the state archaeology department took over Keezhadi work. Over time, that unearthed over 7,500 artefacts that buttressed Ramakrishna's hasn't been enough, it seems, to persuade New Delhi. 'The ASI has never been eager to acknowledge Keezhadi's truths,' says CPI(M) MP and writer S. Venkatesan, who has written extensively on Keezhadi. 'The BJP pushes mythology as history, but it works just as hard to erase our real past. But Tamil antiquity cannot be erased by government order.'BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan counters that the Centre had funded the initial excavation. 'The report was likely returned for administrative reasons, perhaps to avoid future questions,' she says. In response, Venkatesan asks: 'Why did you stop funding? If an excavation yields nothing, you may stop. But Keezhadi yielded everything. You stopped because what was discovered unsettled the very history you have been narrating.'Subscribe to India Today Magazine