Articles by Chintan Girish Modi
Interview: Ruth Vanita, author, Love’s Rite: Same Sex Marriage in India
Ruth Vanita is an ardent supporter of same-sex marriage in India
Published on Mar 12, 2021 05:42 PM IST
Chintan Girish Modi
Essay: The importance of Lawrence Ferlinghetti
The courtroom drama around Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s publication of Alan Ginsberg’s Howl (1956), that focussed on the defence of free expression, provides a case study for contemporary writers, filmmakers, and stand-up comedians in other parts of the world facing censorship
Published on Mar 02, 2021 05:38 PM IST
Chintan Girish Modi
Interview: Sharanya Manivannan, author, Mermaids in the Moonlight
The Chennai-based author makes her debut as an illustrator with Mermaids in the Moonlight, a picture book for children drenched in folklore, magic and the history of the civil war in Sri Lanka
Published on Feb 26, 2021 10:30 PM IST
Chintan Girish Modi
Interview: Aparna Karthikeyan, author, No Nonsense Nandhini
Aparna Karthikeyan’s new book revolves around a single mother who grows, plucks and sells sampangi flowers for a living in the Sivagangai district of Tamil Nadu. The real-life inspiration behind this work of fiction is Chandra Subramanian, a woman, whom the author has known for six years. In 2017, she wrote an article titled “A thorny life, but Chandra bets on flowers” for PARI. The book is a fictional adaptation of that news report. While it is recommended for ages 10-15, it also appeals to older readers
Updated on Jan 29, 2021 06:24 PM IST
Chintan Girish Modi
Interview: Pallavi Raghavan, Author, Animosity at Bay: An Alternative History of the India-Pakistan Relationship
We will have a calmer relationship with our history if we understand that the past cannot be used to justify and perpetuate the grievances of the present
Updated on Jan 08, 2021 09:44 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Report: Two children’s books from India make it to The White Ravens catalogue
The prestigious catalogue which aims to promote quality in children’s book publishing contains a selection of 200 children’s and young adult books from 56 countries, published in 36 languages
Updated on Dec 10, 2020 04:06 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
“Reaching out for therapy is a sign of strength” - Sonali Gupta, author Anxiety; Overcome It and Live Without Fear
Clinical psychologist Sonali Gupta says her book shows how anxiety plays out from an Indian perspective
Updated on Nov 27, 2020 09:40 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Essay: Queering Karva Chauth
While many feminists view Karva Chauth as a regressive practice rooted in misogyny, a growing number of LGBTQ couples are celebrating the festival
Updated on Nov 11, 2020 05:08 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Interview: Annie Zaidi, Author, Prelude to a Riot
A timely tale about religious intolerance, political propaganda, and fragile intimacies, Prelude to a Riot is one of the five books shortlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature
Updated on Nov 06, 2020 08:22 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Review: 10 Indian Champions Who Are Fighting To Save the Planet by Bijal Vachharajani and Radha Rangarajan
A glowing tribute to the work of individual environmentalists and traditional communities that engage in conservation practices
Updated on Oct 16, 2020 04:50 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Review: Bread, Cement, Cactus: A Memoir of Belonging and Dislocation by Annie Zaidi
An examination of the familiarity and estrangement, identity and confusion encapsulated in the idea of home
Updated on Oct 08, 2020 04:00 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Review: Outrage; The Rise of Religious Offence in Contemporary South Asia edited by P Rollier, K Froystad, AE Ruud
Without reducing religious offence controversies to battles between tradition and modernity, or between faith and freedom of expression, a new book of essays looks at how struggles for power in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar are shaped by history
Updated on Oct 02, 2020 04:25 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Essay: Maan, Firoz and queer love in A Suitable Boy
Though Vikram Seth’s novel and Mira Nair’s series based on it is mainly structured around matchmaking for Lata Mehra, there is a tender love story unfolding in the background between Maan and Firoz, which exists alongside their love for women
Updated on Sep 07, 2020 03:49 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Essay: Free Speech or Hate Speech? The Curious Case of Bloomsbury India
Indian twitter is witnessing a pitched battle over the fate of the book Delhi Riots 2020 with followers of the Hindu Right accusing Indian Left Liberals of promoting cancel culture
Updated on Aug 24, 2020 03:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Essay: A tribute to Ilina Sen
The author and activist seen through the eyes of her friends and co-travellers
Published on Aug 14, 2020 06:10 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Essay: Vidya Balan’s Shakuntala Devi biopic suggests the genius lied about her husband’s sexuality to sell her book
Is this true and if it is, does it make the ‘human computer’ less of an LGBT ally?
Updated on Aug 01, 2020 12:50 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Review: The World That Belongs To Us: An Anthology of Queer Poetry from South Asia edited by Aditi Angiras and Akhil Katyal
An ambitious undertaking, this anthology ensures that trans, non-binary, Dalit and Muslim voices, which are often marginalized in mainstream queer spaces, get to have their say
Updated on Jul 23, 2020 06:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Review: Reel and the Real; Portrayal of Gay Men in Bollywood Films by Himadri Roy
Bollywood films have played a significant role in widening the discourse around gay rights in India
Updated on May 25, 2020 01:01 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
The solace of poetry on Easter during the pandemic
A meditation on how a poem by WB Yeats, written after WW1, acquires new life in these times of COVID-19
Updated on Apr 12, 2020 04:49 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi
Reading Rilke in a difficult time
Great poetry leads the reader to fundamental truths. Reading Rilke during the lockdown has led Chintan Girish Modi to be patient amidst discomfort
Published on Apr 08, 2020 04:44 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Chintan Girish Modi