Crooked Lines (blog)

The Wife He cannot even kill a rat. The red of her scarf is exactly of the same hue as the lalupate flowers in full bloom in the courtyard of the Kathmandu District Court. The reds of the flowers and that of her painted lips are the only hints of colour in the grim surroundings…

Read more The Serpent’s Tale

Dhaka has a festive air about it. The sports-loving nation is hosting the cricket World Cup for the first time and nationalism is at the fore, uniting people otherwise divided on issues more than one. The Bangladeshi flag is aflutter from every corner of the city. The flags rekindle Qayyum Khan’s memories of the night…

Read more The day Bangladesh was born

One Tuesday last February I spent the evening watching Sahabuddin Ahmed paint in his makeshift roof-top workshop at Ganges Art Gallery. Even for a philistine like me, it’s quite a delight to watch the painter at his work. It’s amazing, the transformation of an empty canvas into a crucible of art. And, Sahabuddin is a…

Read more Portrait of an artist