This is everything on the table: I grew up in the '90s in a middle class, urban, educated family in Bangalore. This is not to say that my parents were rich. My father had lost both his parents by the age of 26, and he worked hard to stay standing on his two feet. I… Continue reading Left, Right, Left: Marching to the Beat of Ideology
Author: The Glass Elevator
Wildest Dreams and Exotic Bodies: Colonialism’s Tainted Legacy
Although colonial rule no longer functions, its legacy still persists, every now and then making an appearance in the most unexpected of places. This became apparent in September, when Taylor Swift was called out for the representation of Africa in her music video, 'Wildest Dreams', which features an unspecific beautiful African desert with no native… Continue reading Wildest Dreams and Exotic Bodies: Colonialism’s Tainted Legacy
Gorkhaland and the Curse of Political Invisibility
I have the first thirty seconds of introduction to a new person, more often than not, well-rehearsed by now. I pronounce my name the way it was intended, receive a blank look, smile and say "Call me Molly." They ask, “Are you from Kolkata?” "No," I say, "I’m from Siliguri," *wait for three seconds* "…… Continue reading Gorkhaland and the Curse of Political Invisibility
Angry Indian Goddesses! (In Hindi- Krodhit Bharatiya Deviyan!) : A Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIdxxvph-Vw Having lived in Goa for about two years, as a single woman in Goa the trailer of ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ intrigued me. Although I had read mixed reviews, I knew it was a film I needed to watch for myself so here I was watching ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ and yes it was hugely… Continue reading Angry Indian Goddesses! (In Hindi- Krodhit Bharatiya Deviyan!) : A Review
Master(piece) of None
“You’re out of tacos??!! What am I supposed to do now, go to the second-best place taco place in town like some asshole??” The line above, said incredulously (and hilariously) by Dev Shah (played by Aziz Ansari), is a perfect encapsulation of everything, good and bad, that millennials face today in a maelstrom of technology.… Continue reading Master(piece) of None
It’s a bird; It’s a plane: Finding a superhero series that passes the Bechdel Test
The place of women in the superhero-fiction universe has always been a contentious one.
What Diwali means to Bruno
Diwali is a nightmare in our house. We're invariably under house arrest, unable to go out for days, and stuck holding on to this fella. Okay, so maybe this is not Bruno's most flattering look, but I need your heart to melt a little for me to make my point. Bruno came to us on… Continue reading What Diwali means to Bruno
Retain, Not Detain
In the process of redesigning the national education policy in India, the question of whether the No-Detention Policy (NDP) should be revoked is also being debated. According to the NDP, first given in 2009 under the Right to Education Act, no student can be asked to repeat a grade until the 8th grade. I am… Continue reading Retain, Not Detain
‘But your English is very good!’
Scrolling down my newsfeed, I stumbled upon a TED video that my professor had shared. The TED talk was by the renowned Turkish author Elif Shafak, and was titled ‘The politics of fiction’. Intrigued, I opened the link and heard the author out. In the talk, the author illustrates the art of storytelling, and the… Continue reading ‘But your English is very good!’
On Cows and Patriarchy
“Boys will be boys”- this line of reason (or the lack of it), has rattled the nerve of sane people all over the world. From the most gruesome rapes to daily instances of sexual harassment, all is excused through this rather preposterous explanation. The implicit rationale behind this is that there is nothing that can… Continue reading On Cows and Patriarchy
THE GLASS ELEVATOR 