Loving right now

A list of Indian Link’s current favourites

Watch

Doing the rounds of the international film festival circuit, Nandita Das’ Manto has just screened in Sydney after Cannes. It is based on the maverick writer and creative rebel Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955), whose short stories are set in the backdrop of Partition (Toba Tek Singh, Khol Do, Thanda Gosht). Written in the language of the streets, they saw him hauled in to court on numerous occasions, but each time he argued in favour of freedom of speech. That’s what makes him so relevant, some seventy years on. As Das said in Sydney, the film is a call to your inner Manto, the part that wants to be truthful and courageous and stand up to orthodoxies of all kinds.

Listen

Canadian podcast Bollywood is For Lovers (BiFL) is well worth a try for your daily filmi fix. A fortnightly podcast presented by Alberta-based film buffs Matt Bowes and Erin Fraser, it is aimed at “introducing people to this vibrant 100 year-old film tradition”. In each episode, the selected films are discussed down to the very last detail – the social milieu in which the stories are based, cinematic issues, subplots, comparisons with other films of the genre, the marketing. Oh, and celebrity gossip as well, revealing how well the presenters know the desi setting. For us, what it boils down to, is looking at ourselves through the eyes of another. And enjoying that firang-accented Hindi!

Read Eat

Who doesn’t love an aloo tikki? One of northern India’s favourite street food, this winter favourite is a golden-fried potato patty (trust the Punjabis to like their potatoes deep-fried). What makes it unique is, it is stuffed with roasted dal and served with a variety of chutneys. It’s spicy, crispy hot and deeply satisfying. But if there is a way to better it, Sydney’s Urban Tadka Restaurant has found it in its new item, Aloo Ki Chaalu Tikki. A deconstructed version of the original, the chaalu format gives style to the street version, with its martini glass presentation and rimmed sev decoration. It still retains all its oomph though…. nothing can better the best, in that regard! The new item is especially popular at cocktail events, Inder Dua of the Terrey Hills based eatery tells us.

You can’t empower women without listening to their stories. NZ-based authors Geoff Blackwell and Ruth Halliday bring us empowering stories from across the globe in their book 200 Women. In answers to five questions, the subjects reveal their motivations and hopes, high points and low points, and pick a word that they most identify with. Read stories related by corporate women, environment activists, entertainers, Hollywood stars, home-makers, artisans and many more. From India, check out actor Vidya Balan, activist Vandana Shiva and youth entrepreneur Divya Kalia among others. Just as catching are the portraits of the 200 women, taken by Kieran E Scott against the same backdrop. Proceeds from sales go towards women’s causes around the world.