book review

‘Halla Bol’: A book of modern Indian history

January 6, 2020. Breathless. I have to put words down as I read else I’ll be left with none by the end of Halla Bol. As I tumble through the first chapter, I feel I am in a film. Somewhere I have read spoilers, I know how this will end. Even so, I am on the edge of my seat praying for a miracle. Every hard detail – new shoes, a green sweater, a cycle rickshaw, bamboo stick broken like twigs, a refrigerated room – seared into my mind’s eye. The cuts are too fast, the angles too crazy. A [...]

A review of Acting Up: Gender and Theatre in India, 1979 Onwards

Acting Up: Gender and Theatre in India, 1979 Onwards, by A. Mangai, a book which examines the work of major women theatre practitioners in India since 1979 to explore the intersection of gender and theatre. Niharika Malimadugula has written about the book for The Wire. She writes, "Despite being a largely scholarly endeavor, there’s a sensitivity of description and a personal involvement from Mangai, both as a teller and participant in the world of theatre, that makes the book relatable and p[...]