Tag: India
2008 was not that long ago. In the evolution of gay acceptance in America, however, 2008 was effectively a generation ago. Since 2008, the moral, political, legal and societal conversations around homosexuality have dramatically shifted in favor of us gays — in the mainstream, at least. For minorities, it’s a different story. Being Indian-American, I […]
On Friday, millions of Hindus across the world observed Holi, the Indian festival of spring. It’s the sort of party that even the non-religious can appreciate; the focus is on fun, and when done right, people flock to the streets to dump water on each other, throw colorful powder and get high. Holi is one […]
Himanshu “Heems” Suri, who goes by moniker Deepak Choppa these days, is celebrating his first solo album since his rap group Das Racist disbanded in 2012. He kicked things off with an exhibit at New York’s Aicon Gallery titled “Eat Pray Thug” after Suri’s upcoming album of the same name. The show, which opened on […]
The 102nd annual Indian Science Congress was scandalized this week when one guest lecturer claimed that ancient sanskrit texts referenced interplanetary aircrafts — among other crazy scientific breakthroughs like, “a cow bacteria that turns anything eaten by an animal into pure gold.” Captain Anand Bodas, a retired principal of a pilot training facility, gave the lecture and […]
We’re big fans of urban exploring. Accessing places that are otherwise off-limits can be exhilarating, and fun. But this is fucking nuts. Watch as self-described “professional adventurer” James Kingston climbs atop a crane in India and then dangles off it by one freaking hand. […]
India’s Advertising Standards Council has issued new regulations banning advertisements that portray people with darker skin negatively “in relation to being attractive to the opposite sex, matrimony, job placement, promotions and other prospects.” Skin lightening is a $600 million dollar industry in India, and though ads have become less obviously prejudiced in recent years, the advertising council […]
“Frankly, I hate Ghandi,” says a young woman in The World Before Her, a groundbreaking documentary by Indian filmmaker Nisha Pahuja. The film follows the parallel universes of young women competing in the Miss India beauty pageant, while their peers train as fighters in Hindu nationalist camps. On the issues entrenched in the film, Al Jazeera writes: […]
Over the last five weeks, Bejing-based Canadian photojournalist Kevin Frayer has been covering India’s parliamentary election for Getty Images, which ended today with epic turnouts in its ninth and final phase. It is considered “the world’s largest democratic exercise,” and the numbers are staggering. Every five years, upwards of 814 million eligible voters, majority rural […]
After over nearly two years of deliberation and denial, it has been decided by India’s largest telecommunications company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to forgo the use of messages sent by telegram, a service that to much surprise continues to remain ubiquitous within the country. Apparently, the FINALLY outdated method of communication is favored by many, not only […]
