Only, Rishi Kapoor was and is so much more. Few actors in Hindi cinema have had this sort of a career arc: from the gawky adolescent pining for his schoolteacher (Mera Naam Joker, 1970) to the naughty ninety-year-old (Kapoor & Sons, 2016), Rishi Kapoor has regaled audiences for close to fifty years. He won a National Award for his debut, became an overnight sensation with his first film as…
Henrietta Lacks, as HeLa, is known to present-day scientists for her cells from cervical cancer. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells were taken without her knowledge and still live decades after her death. Cells descended from her may weigh more than 50M metric tons. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of…
What difference do individuals make to history? Are we all swept up in the great forces like industrialisation or globalisation that change the world? Clearly not: real people-leaders in particular-and the decisions that they make change our lives irrevocably, whether in deciding to go to war or not, decisive tactical choices made in the heat of battle or changing the economic fortunes of countries. So if people-explorers, rulers, politicians,…
The Portrait of a Lady is regarded as Henry Jamess finest work of psychological realism. the novel is an eloquent work of literature realizing the distance between happiness and money.Set in Europe, the Portrait of a Lady is the story of a beautiful, strong-willed young American woman, Isabel Archer, who upon her fathers death is brought to Europe by her wealthy aunt Mrs. Touchett. it is assumed that Isabela…
Exploding pressure cookers, a thwarted wife’s deadly revenge and transvestites in distress – manning an ambulance in the seventies kept you on your toes.Having survived the rites of passage as a probationer, Les Pringle now has to face up to the reality of life as an ambulance man in Thatcher’s Britain. He does this with humour and fortitude – two qualities which are essential if he is to cope…
August 1914. With the approach of war about to bring tragedy and heartache to families all over England, Elsie longs to do her duty for King and country. She heads to London to act as an interpreter for thousands of Belgium refugees. But although she enjoys her work, she longs to do more. And when the opportunity arises she joins the foreign office, travelling to France as an undercover…
Tabla virtuoso, composer and percussionist Zakir Hussain is an international music phenomenon. The eldest son of the legendary Ustad Allarakha, Zakir gave his first public concert at the age of seven and was immediately hailed a child prodigy. In later years, his masterful dexterity and creative genius led to his becoming one of the most sought-after accompanists to the very best of Hindustani classical musicians and dancers. Zakir Hussain…
Behind The Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death And Hope In A Mumbai Undercity was written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American investigative journalist, Katheirne Boo. This book is a documentary of the writers experiences in a Mumbai slum called Annawadi between November 2007 and March 2011. The story in this book primarily focuses on three main families. Abdul, belonging to one of these families is an expert in shifting garbage from…