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Dipanjan Sinha

Articles by Dipanjan Sinha

Meet Shikha Mandi, the first RJ to host a show in Santhali

The daily broadcast, in the radio jockey’s tribal mother tongue, is beamed in the Jhargram and West Midnapore districts of West Bengal.

Shikha Mandi, 24, grew up in Kolkata but retained a love for her mother tongue that she says is fading among others of her generation. Youngsters in the cities pretend they don’t speak it, even if they do, and she wants to change that, she adds.

lifestyle

Updated on Mar 04, 2018 08:48 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Mumbai’s Strand Book Stall to shut: Book lovers share their favourite memories

At little bookshops like Strand Book Stall in Fort, Mumbaiites discovered that reading could be affordable and pleasurable, too

With tomes, paperbacks, special editions and hardcovers stacked along the shelves (and eventually on the floor, towering towards the ceiling), Strand didn’t offer much room to browse but plenty of opportunities for the imagination to take flight.(Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Feb 21, 2018 11:56 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha, Mumbai

End of an era: Mumbai’s iconic Strand Book Stall to down shutters on Feb 28

The Mumbai’s store’s first years were modest — just two shelves at the Strand cinema hall in Colaba

Strand Book Stall at Fort on Tuesday.(Bhushan Koyande/HT)

cities

Updated on Feb 21, 2018 12:54 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha, Mumbai

Tripura assembly elections: BJP plans to make inroads through tribal votes

The BJP’s poll promises include employment opportunities for every household, free smartphones for youngsters, accessible drinking water and greater national visibility and greater representation for tribals in the party and government.

Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Babul Supriyo participates in a rally ahead of Tripura assembly elections in Agartala on Friday.(PTI photo)

india news

Updated on Feb 17, 2018 10:58 PM IST

Agartala, Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

A documentary explores the metal sub-culture of the Indian subcontinent

Extreme Nation explores the musicians’ lives as rockers, and their relationship with a shared violent past, a tense present and evolving power conflicts in a volatile region.

Roy Dipankar spent four years researching for and shooting Extreme Nation, raising part of the funds via crowdfunding website Wishberry.

lifestyle

Published on Feb 03, 2018 08:53 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

BEd students take up MOOCs, new programmes and workshops to stay updated

New courses with an international outlook are drawing teaching aspirants and experienced teachers.

education

Published on Jan 27, 2018 08:21 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

In gay pride month, celebrate queer cinema, dance, design

Godrej India Culture Lab is throwing a day-long bash celebrating the queer aesthetic, to mark 10 years since Mumbai’s first pride march.

Boys of Safdarjung, a film by Manasa Madishetty about a group of queer people living in a Delhi housing colony, will be screened.

cities

Updated on Jan 20, 2018 01:10 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Rediscover mankind’s ancient link with nature at this Bhau Daji Lad museum exhibit in Mumbai

The exhibit opens on January 19 and is on till March 27

Jitish Kallat’s Aquasaurus is the grinning skeleton of a huge mythical beast shaped like a water tanker.(HT)

cities

Updated on Jan 19, 2018 11:03 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha, Mumbai

In footsteps of a man-eater: As a tigress kills at will, villages live in fear

The forest department has deployed cameras and camouflaged traps. They even called on a hunter from Hyderabad for help. A look at what it’s like to try and track an elusive killer

Shankar Atram, a cowherd, has made himself some armour out of waste metal. ‘I did this last month, after I saw a tiger in the forest,’ he says. ‘They usually go for the neck or back. I have done the best I can to save myself.’(Pratik Chorge / HT Photo)

lifestyle

Updated on Jan 05, 2018 07:25 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Between a rock and a hard place: The invisible Adivasis of Gujarat

The state’s development has not affected the tribal districts of Dang, Tapi and Narmada. Here, displacement, landlessness and Ponzi schemes form a three-pronged threat.

Families in Medha village in Tapi say they applied for land rights as soon as the forest rights Act came into effect. Ten years on, not a single application has been approved or processed.(Anshuman Poyrekar / HT Photo)

india news

Updated on Dec 17, 2017 04:00 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Easy prey: How chit fund scams are targeting the Adivasis of Gujarat

Displaced, landless and desperate, they are falling for pyramid schemes that promised 100% returns on tiny daily deposits.

In Selud village, Tapi district, Amrutbhai Harji lost his life savings to the Oscar chit fund scam. ‘Every day, my wife and I together invested Rs 60. Our dream was to turn our mud hut into a brick-and-cement home. By 2015, we had put in Rs 60,000 and then it all just vanished,’ he says.(Anshuman Poyrekar / HT Photo)

india news

Updated on Dec 17, 2017 09:00 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Everything serviced, monitored, under one roof: Would you live smart?

Automated townships are finding more takers in cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru. The challenge now, say residents and realtors, is to balance exclusivity with community living.

Brigade Orchards, a township in Bengaluru, is secured by a biometric system. It also has a stadium, an eco-friendly water management system and solar-powered common spaces.

real estate

Published on Dec 05, 2017 08:24 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Meet the trans community in a new YouTube channel and web series

Also on the cards: a talk show with transgender celebrities and episodes on crime against transgenders in a police procedural format.

The YouTube channel Transvision aims to tackle misconceptions about the community.

cities

Published on Dec 01, 2017 11:23 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Coco is profound and heartwarming, says Dipanjan Sinha

A young boy wanders into the world of the dead, to find lively towns and skeletons full of pep. There’s also danger here, a final death that comes when you are forgotten in the world of the living.

Miguel Rivera loves music, but his family makes shoes, and they don’t like the thought of him doing anything else. His great-grandmother Coco is the only one who won’t mock his dreams.

entertainment

Published on Nov 23, 2017 06:28 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

A homecoming like no other: Tour Sudarshan Shetty’s Shoonya Ghar

The multimedia piece draws from film, found objects and sculpture

Sudarshan Shetty’s Shoonya Ghar exhibition at Bhau Daji Lad Museum.(HT)

cities

Updated on Nov 05, 2017 12:41 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha, Mumbai

From a hillock in Manipur to the world stage: See how football stars are born

We felt a dedicated club for girls would give them confidence and success, says Laibi Phanjoubam, co-founder of the Andro Mahila Mandal Association.

A practice session underway at the club maidan. AMMA was set up in 1982, as a self-help group meant to promote animal husbandry, weaving and crafts among women. In the ’90s, the club began encouraging young girls to play football in the adjacent ground. It has since produced national- and international-level players like Rina Salam, who currently plays for the Indian women’s team.(Anshuman Poyrekar / HT Photo)

lifestyle

Updated on Oct 28, 2017 07:22 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Meet the ‘Durga of Indian football’

‘I can say with confidence that living in a society in which girls and boys are not seen as very different helps a lot,’ says footballer and former India women’s team captain Oinam Bembem Devi.

Oinam Bembem Devi at her home in Imphal. She began playing football at eight, with boys from her neighbourhood, and went on to captain the national women’s team and earn an Arjuna award.(Anshuman Poyrekar / HT Photo)

lifestyle

Published on Oct 28, 2017 06:53 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

It takes a village... A look at how Manipur is getting it so right with sports

How does a tiny state generate 18 Arjuna awardees and batches of star boxers, footballers, weightlifters, archers and even judo and wushu players? The answer lies partly in a tradition of community volunteering that dates back to its days as a monarchy

L Ibongcha Singh, who has coached Olympic boxer Mary Kom, among others, strikes a pose with his students at the Khuman Lampka stadium in Imphal. Seen at the back is Dingko, now a full-time coach here.(Anshuman Poyrekar / HT Photo)

lifestyle

Updated on Nov 02, 2017 11:49 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Research as a career: Better prospects for science, engg

The plan for higher fellowships grants across IITs and the IISc is welcome, say faculty and educationists, but other streams need focus and funding too.

The funds are aimed at science and engineering students as students from these branches don’t often pick research as a career.(Getty Images)

education

Published on Oct 27, 2017 07:35 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Indie feature films go the crowdfunding way too

Detailed briefs and well-thought-out trailers help attracting interested investors.

lifestyle

Updated on Oct 14, 2017 08:40 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

I do... it my way. Would you write your own wedding vows? Some couples have

Picking up wet towels, assurance to be a personal jester for life or a promise to celebrate each other’s festivals; marriage promises are getting a bit more special

“I believe folded clothes make you very happy, and this is very hard for me, but yeah I will fold clothes,” Jonathan Sreekumaran promised his wife Subhashree Das on their wedding in 2016

lifestyle

Updated on Oct 10, 2017 04:55 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Affordable homes, shorter commutes see people move to smaller cities

A slower lifestyle and cleaner air are among the reasons to move away from metropolises, as employment and business opportunities grow too.

real estate

Published on Sep 27, 2017 06:12 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Death Café: A global initiative now in India asks, what’s your idea of a good way to go?

Over coffee and cake, people are invited to discuss their ideas about death.

The concept was launched in the UK by a business executive named Jon Underwood. In India, it is being run by palliative care expert Dr Sneha Rooh (second from left).

lifestyle

Published on Sep 23, 2017 11:22 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Healthy add-ons: How fortified food is making up for missing nutrients

Following an FSSAI drive, companies are enriching milk, salt and wheat with micronutrients like vitamins and iodine.

Data suggests that as much as 70% of Indians suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, consuming less than 50% of the recommended dietary allowance.(HT File Photo)

lifestyle

Updated on Sep 10, 2017 04:21 PM IST

Hidustan Times | ByRhythma Kaul & Dipanjan Sinha

Turn clay into trees, urban angst into art at this exhibition

Madhvi Subrahmanian is inviting the public to participate in one of the exhibits in her ongoing show.

The Forest is an installation that represents urban homes as ‘trees’, these trees created by inhabitants of the city, representing the longing for a world less concrete.(Satyabrata Tripathy / HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Sep 09, 2017 11:52 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Mumbai rains: When strangers to social media, all came forward to help

Tales of some hosts and guests in Mumbai

People help a patient pass a waterlogged street at Lower Parel.(Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Aug 31, 2017 10:27 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAnubhuti Matta, Dipanjan Sinha and Yesha Kotak, Mumbai

Party is over! Mumbai’s iconic Hawaiian Shack downs its shutters

The bar was known for its low prices, potted palms, bamboo interiors and music

Sheen Romy and her mother Sadhna at Shack.(HT)

cities

Updated on Aug 26, 2017 03:13 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha, Mumbai

Expect very low mileage: Review of The Hitman’s Bodyguard

Car chases, flying bullets, two tough guys who don’t get along until they suddenly do... this flick offers little fun and nothing new.

If it feels like deja vu, you’ve got the right idea. The Hitman’s Bodyguard uses a template that died two decades ago, and only the star cast of Samuel L Jackson, Ryan Reynolds and Salma Hayek renders it bearable.

entertainment

Published on Aug 24, 2017 05:12 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

Micro-markets boom as Chembur, Powai, Thane bridge gaps with the rest of MMR

Suburbs that had been bypassed by realty development have now become hot property for residential projects, commercial projects or both.

The Airoli-Belapur commercial-industrial belt is among the factors that have helped Thane West become a realty hotspot.(HT File Photo)

real estate

Published on Aug 21, 2017 05:37 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

A fairy tale goes Russian: Meet Goldilocks and the Three Bears in a ballet

Mumbai-based Indian Academy of Russian Ballet has been prepping for a year for their first public show, and it’s an all-girl production.

Kiyara Munim, who will perform as Goldilocks, strikes a pose.(Satish Bate / HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Aug 19, 2017 11:16 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByDipanjan Sinha

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Dipanjan Sinha

The daily broadcast, in the radio jockey’s tribal mother tongue, is beamed in the Jhargram and West Midnapore districts of West Bengal.

At little bookshops like Strand Book Stall in Fort, Mumbaiites discovered that reading could be affordable and pleasurable, too

The Mumbai’s store’s first years were modest — just two shelves at the Strand cinema hall in Colaba

The BJP’s poll promises include employment opportunities for every household, free smartphones for youngsters, accessible drinking water and greater national visibility and greater representation for tribals in the party and government.

Extreme Nation explores the musicians’ lives as rockers, and their relationship with a shared violent past, a tense present and evolving power conflicts in a volatile region.

New courses with an international outlook are drawing teaching aspirants and experienced teachers.

Godrej India Culture Lab is throwing a day-long bash celebrating the queer aesthetic, to mark 10 years since Mumbai’s first pride march.

The exhibit opens on January 19 and is on till March 27

The forest department has deployed cameras and camouflaged traps. They even called on a hunter from Hyderabad for help. A look at what it’s like to try and track an elusive killer

The state’s development has not affected the tribal districts of Dang, Tapi and Narmada. Here, displacement, landlessness and Ponzi schemes form a three-pronged threat.

Displaced, landless and desperate, they are falling for pyramid schemes that promised 100% returns on tiny daily deposits.

Automated townships are finding more takers in cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru. The challenge now, say residents and realtors, is to balance exclusivity with community living.

Also on the cards: a talk show with transgender celebrities and episodes on crime against transgenders in a police procedural format.

A young boy wanders into the world of the dead, to find lively towns and skeletons full of pep. There’s also danger here, a final death that comes when you are forgotten in the world of the living.

The multimedia piece draws from film, found objects and sculpture

We felt a dedicated club for girls would give them confidence and success, says Laibi Phanjoubam, co-founder of the Andro Mahila Mandal Association.

‘I can say with confidence that living in a society in which girls and boys are not seen as very different helps a lot,’ says footballer and former India women’s team captain Oinam Bembem Devi.

How does a tiny state generate 18 Arjuna awardees and batches of star boxers, footballers, weightlifters, archers and even judo and wushu players? The answer lies partly in a tradition of community volunteering that dates back to its days as a monarchy

The plan for higher fellowships grants across IITs and the IISc is welcome, say faculty and educationists, but other streams need focus and funding too.

Detailed briefs and well-thought-out trailers help attracting interested investors.

Picking up wet towels, assurance to be a personal jester for life or a promise to celebrate each other’s festivals; marriage promises are getting a bit more special

A slower lifestyle and cleaner air are among the reasons to move away from metropolises, as employment and business opportunities grow too.

Over coffee and cake, people are invited to discuss their ideas about death.

Following an FSSAI drive, companies are enriching milk, salt and wheat with micronutrients like vitamins and iodine.

Madhvi Subrahmanian is inviting the public to participate in one of the exhibits in her ongoing show.

Tales of some hosts and guests in Mumbai

The bar was known for its low prices, potted palms, bamboo interiors and music

Car chases, flying bullets, two tough guys who don’t get along until they suddenly do... this flick offers little fun and nothing new.

Suburbs that had been bypassed by realty development have now become hot property for residential projects, commercial projects or both.

Mumbai-based Indian Academy of Russian Ballet has been prepping for a year for their first public show, and it’s an all-girl production.

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