Interview with Dalit rights academic and activist Dr Suraj Yengde
Leading Dalit rights academic and author of Caste Matters (2019) Dr Suraj Yengde recently featured in Origin, the film based on the life of journalist Isabel Wilkerson as she writes the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Puja Nandi chats with Suraj about the film, Dalit rights and the diaspora’s lack of engagement in conversations around casteism.
Origin: depicting Isabel Wilkerson’s extraordinary book on caste
Origin, tells the story of Isabel Wilkerson as she embarks on writing and publishing her book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents was published. Starring Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and directed by Ava DuVernay (When They See Us, 13th). From Nazi Germany to caste discrimination in India, this film explores how people can be capable of such hate.
Cornershop’s Tjinder Singh on Enoch Powell, how making guitar music was sacrilege and the meaning of ‘Brimful of Asha’
Puja Nandi speaks with Tjinder Singh of the influential British band Cornershop who formed in the 90s. This interview is part of WEIRDO’s ‘We Are The Weirdos, Aunty-ji’ series.
Nabihah Iqbal dazzles London’s EartH Hackney
Nabihah Iqbal dazzles at her biggest headline show to date at EartH Hackney, ending her UK tour at home in London. The British Pakistani artist takes her audience on a journey through her ethereal, shoegaze, electro-inflected world.
Polite Society: a high-octane action-comedy kicking down South Asian and Muslim women stereotypes
From the director and writer of smash-hit Channel 4 comedy, We Are Lady Parts, Nida Manzoor’s big screen debut Polite Society is a story about fighting the status quo, sticking it to the patriarchy, and reclaiming bodily autonomy. It’s a refreshing rebuttal to the typecast bit parts you often see South Asian women relegated to in film and TV.
Gig review: Teenage Sequence + KILL, THE ICON! and Dogviolet
Three South Asian-fronted bands took the stage at the Shacklewell Arms, London on a cold, blustery night. Puja Nandi reviews Teenage Sequence's first headline show, with support from KILL, THE ICON! and Dogviolet.
An unsung hero of raga rock: Ananda Shankar
Overshadowed by the meteoric fame of his uncle Ravi Shankar, Ananda Shankar was a pioneer of Indo-funk rock. His unique style blended eastern and western guitars melded with the sound of sitars and ragas weaved into classic funk rhythms.
Pinky Ann Rihal - the forgotten Hindi new wave band of London’s underground scene
Carefully remastered and reissued on both vinyl and digital for the first time since its limited 1985 release, you can now get your ears around the highly sought after and impossible to find new wave album ‘Tere Liye’ by the unsung pioneers of the British Asian music scene that is Pinky Ann Rihal.