Soma is an Assistant Editor for the weekend supplement HT 48 Hours. She writes on lifestyle, art and culture.
Articles by Soma Das
Singer-actor Ila Arun adapts Ibsen’s controversial play on women’s empowerment
Ila Arun’s new Hindi play, Peecha Karti Parchayyaiyan, is an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s controversial drama about traditions that continue to bind us
An astronomer’s guide to the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system
Is there life outside our solar system? Scientist Manoj Purvankara shares interesting facts on TRAPPIST-1, ahead of his talk this weekend
Updated on Apr 25, 2018 05:24 PM IST
Hindustan Times | As told to Soma Das, Mumbai
Meet the photographer who is recreating iconic paintings with Indian celebrities
Photographer Rohit Chawla pays tribute to iconic artists by recreating their artwork with contemporary celebrities
An art project explores the association between colours and violence
256 Million Colours of Violence is an ongoing project that asks participants to choose a colour that denotes violence.
Iconic Marathi play on a woman landowner in the ’50s will now be staged in Hindi
An ’80s play about a woman zamindar in post-Independence India was ahead of its times. This week, it’s being adapted in Hindi.
Two artists are recreating painter Amrita Sher-Gil’s self portraits
Two contemporary artists collaborate on a project recreating century-old photographs and artwork by Indo-Hungarian artist Amrita Sher-Gil
Waswo X Waswo: The American artist who is reviving the art of hand-painting photographs
Udaipur-based American artist Waswo X Waswo photographs people in small-town India, and then has a local artist hand-paint them to fantastical effect
How quick food recipe videos captured India’s imagination
A surfeit of food recipe videos on fast forward captured the imagination of a generation with attention deficit
This Instagram account chronicles the daily lives of Muslims living in Mumbai
What is it like to be a Muslim in Mumbai today? An Instagram account puts the spotlight on the common man
Google India’s virtual exhibition celebrates Bollywood’s iconic actresses
A virtual exhibition archives rare black-and-white stills and lobby cards to highlight the representation of women in Hindi cinema
Updated on Mar 10, 2017 04:22 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Soma Das, Mumbai
A photography project documents a 172-year-old reading room in Mumbai
Photographer Chirodeep Chaudhuri and author Jerry Pinto collaborate on a project documenting the effect of time on a reading room in Dhobi Talao
Holi Special: A scientist demystifies colour
Ahead of Holi, we get scientist Arnab Bhattacharya to share some startling facts about colour
Updated on Mar 03, 2017 05:41 PM IST
Hindustan Times | As told to Soma Das, Mumbai
Meet the American photographer who captured the beauty of ordinary life in India
American photographer William Gedney’s black-and-whites of India stand out because he lived here, and sought to capture ordinary life rather than sensational images
Meet one of India’s first female Kathakali dancers
In the ’50s-’60s, classical dancer Kanak Rele broke stereotypes as one of the first women to learn and perform Kathakali. This weekend, she talks about her journey
Stop Instagramming, start sketching your journeys to make them more memorable
At a time when people Instagram their journeys, artist Allen Shaw talks about why sketches are the best way to preserve memories for posterity
A modern adaptation of a Tagore story talks about domestic violence
A modern adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s 1914 short story, Streer Patra, dwells on issues of domestic violence and inland migration
Cape Town, London, Mumbai: The man who paints elephant graffiti all over the globe
South African graffiti artist Falko One wandered through Dharavi and Bandra painting elephants on homes and walls, as part of his mission to gift art to people across the globe
Comedian Radhika Vaz on why feminism is popular in Indian advertising
Is Indian advertising turning over a new leaf and promoting feminism?
Updated on Feb 16, 2017 06:21 PM IST
Hindustan Times | As told to Soma Das, Mumbai
The travelling artist: Paresh Maity on turning his journeys into art
We click Instagram photos when we travel. From Venice to Rajasthan and Varanasi, leading Indian artist Paresh Maity turns his journeys into art. And he’s back in the city after four years.
HT Kala Ghoda Arts Festival: A heritage walk brings poems and history to life
The trail, packed to its capacity of 70 people, headed from the David Sassoon library towards Rhythm House and the Knesset Eliyahoo synagogue
Secret life of Muslims: The American web series that’s fighting Islamophobia
At a time when Islamophobia rages across the world, an American web series profiles people who are changing perceptions
Updated on Feb 11, 2017 08:58 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Soma Das, Mumbai
HT Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai: Words come to life as 18 poets take the stage
The session featured English poet and author Sampurna Chattarji, Gujarati poet Prabodh Parikh, English poet Sumana Roy from Siliguri in West Bengal, English poet Michael Crieghton from Delhi and Subhro Bandopadhyay, a Bengali poet from Delhi, among others.
The ugly truth: This German artist finds beauty amidst the struggles of life
Contemporary German artist Jonas Burgert’s works combine the fantastical with the grotesque, to depict universal concerns of inner struggle and insecurity
The bicycle diaries: Two Mumbaikars are going on a 60-day cycle ride
Two Mumbaikars are set to cycle from India to Myanmar and Thailand to test their endurance levels
HT Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai: In a contemporary act, Sarabhai and son
A rapt audience watched as renowned Bharatanatyam dancer Mallika Sarabhai performed Celebrating Tala, a four-act dance recital, with her son Revanta Sarabhai, at Cross Maidan on Tuesday.
HT Kala Ghoda Arts Festival: Public artwork, giant mural
The work is titled Homecoming, and the collaborative session was organised in association with the consulate general of Argentina celebrated the return of the horse statue at Kala Ghoda.
Going against the grain: Why Mumbai’s eateries are turning gluten-free
After sugar, carbohydrates and milk, gluten seems to be the latest bête noire at eateries across Mumbai. But do you really need to ditch it?
This papier mache artist tells stories of Mumbai through her sculptures
Artist Bharati Pitre’s papier mâché sculptures are based on her observations of day-to-day urban life, be it the obsession with selfies, or the city’s vanishing chawls
Strings attached: How puppetry reinvented itself for a modern audience
Puppetry, one of the oldest forms of storytelling, is undergoing a reinvention as puppeteers experiment with techniques to appeal to a larger audience
East meets West: Emmy-winning tap dancer teams up with Kathak performer
Kathak dancer Seema Mehta collaborates with Emmy-winning American tap dancer Jason Samuels Smith for Rhythm Rewritten
