As in previous years, Kaberi and I celebrated the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore with Prantik at Shakespeare’s Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon in the UK. Our theme this year was Tagore and the seasons: Spring. We began our performance by recreating the dance procession each year at the Spring Festival (Basanta Utsav) in Santiniketan to the…
Category: Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941): Nobel laureate, poet, philosopher, composer, dramatist, novelist, artist, dance creator, educational pioneer, … and all-round genius
Centenary of a massacre
For some reason, the UK Government seems deeply reluctant to investigate Russia’s apparent interference in the UK’s 2016 EU Referendum. Usually, a foreign power trying to destabilise a country would provoke immediate national security concerns. In February, Parliament’s DCMS Committee repeated its “call to the Government to make a statement about how many investigations are…
Brexit: breaking the political impasse – part 1
While Theresa May and Jeremby Corbyn play games with Parliamentary procedure, time is passing. In less than three months, on 29 March 2019, 2 years after Theresa May triggered the Article 50 procedure, the EU Treaties will cease to apply to the UK … unless Parliament does something first. The only problem is that the…
The real ‘Project Fear’
Yesterday, British broadcaster, actor, producer and director Stephen Fry launched this 12-minute animated documentary. It shows how certain UK politicians have built their careers by stirring up fear of immigrants and fear of a ‘mythical EU dragon’ over the past couple of years. The video opens with an illustration of an illusion known as ‘forced…
Brexit: the UK’s descent into dictatorship?
Media reports about recent closures of shop chains have mentioned reduced sales in High Street shops due to people buying online. Few dare to mention any loss of interest in shopping due to uncertainty faced by many households, particularly low income households, as a result of the UK Government’s incompetent handling of the UK’s departure from the EU.
Historic day in London: the People’s Vote March
Yesterday, Kaberi and I were among the estimated 700,000 people marching for a People’s Vote on the outcome of the negotiations between the UK Government and the EU27. These comments summarise our impressions. Today I saw the Britain that I feared we had lost: inclusive, calm, compassionate, funny, resolute, welcoming, decent. Thank you all for…
Celebrating Tagore’s educational philosophy
For this year’s celebration of the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore at Shakespeare’s Birthplace, we chose to highlight Tagore’s educational philosophy.
D-Day: Who will pick up the Brexit ball dropped by Theresa May?
.@faisalislam points out that according to the #ExitPoll, a “progressive alliance” could have as many seats as the Conservatives #GE2017 pic.twitter.com/Zk5bNdoZSD — Sky News (@SkyNews) June 8, 2017 On 6 June 1944, the largest seaborne invasion in history began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control and contributed to the Allied victory on…
D-1: UK heading for authoritarian rule outside the EU?
As you will have understood from this series of blog posts, I will be dismayed but not surprised if Theresa May and the Conservatives win this General Election, in spite of all the gaffes and scandals which emerged during the election campaign. The song ‘Liar, Liar’ in the video above reached Number 2 in the UK music…
D-2: Dementia tax and the collapse of the NHS?
Long-standing followers of this blog will remember that I started to take a special interest in healthcare and particularly dementia after my father started to decline towards what was eventually diagnosed as frontotemporal dementia. I was so shocked by what I discovered that I made the feature-length investigative documentary You must be nuts! – The business…