Blog
Writing About Hope after Trauma | The Pickpocket’s Letter
Writing About Hope After Trauma | The Pickpocket’s Letter Why The Pickpocket's Letter Is Ultimately a Story of Resilience There are some stories that begin with tragedy and never really leave it. Then there are stories in which tragedy is only the beginning. When I...
The Orphaned Children of Haridwar
The Orphaned Children of Haridwar Few places in India are as spiritually significant as Haridwar. For centuries, millions of pilgrims have travelled to its sacred ghats for a dip in the River Ganges, in the belief it washes away a lifetime's sins. Yet behind the...
Cinema in 1930s Calcutta, Film and the British Raj
Cinema in 1930s Calcutta, Film and the British Raj Discover cinema in 1930s Calcutta, from Hollywood glamour and Bengali films to the grand theatres that entertained audiences during the British Raj. A Moment in Time Calcutta, August 1934 – 7:15 p.m. The evening air...
The Lost Art of Pickpockets A journey through the history of the world’s most elusive thieves
The Lost Art of Pickpockets A Journey Through the History of the World's Most Elusive Thieves A Moment in Time Howrah Station, Calcutta – 7:30 a.m. The platform is a sea of movement. Porters are weaving through the crowds carrying towering piles of luggage. Vendors...
How the British Built Calcutta, From Three Villages to the Capital of the British Raj
Raj Journal # 5 How the British Built Calcutta From Three Villages to the Capital of the British Raj A Moment in Time Calcutta, January 1934 The first tram of the morning rattled past the grand façade of Writers' Building. Clerks carrying leather briefcases hurried...
Objects That Built an Empire: A Trunk Bound for Bombay
Objects That Built an Empire: A Trunk Bound for Bombay. As a boy, I recall seeing a battered old trunk relegated to a corner of our back room which rarely saw the light of day. Made of sturdy teak wood, covered in brown leather, it had a handle on each side and two...
Why Was Calcutta Called the ‘Second City of the Empire’?
Raj Journal # 4 Why Was Calcutta Called the "Second City of the Empire"? The Rise of Britain's Greatest City in the East A Moment in Time Calcutta, November 1934 – 8:15 a.m. The River Hooghly is alive with activity. Ocean-going steamships from London, Liverpool and...
Objects That Built an Empire: The Fountain Pen That Changed History
Objects That Built an Empire: The Fountain Pen That Changed History I want you to imagine walking into a grand office in London during the height of the British Empire. Heavy oak furniture fills the room. Maps of distant lands cover the walls. A clerk carefully places...
Who Were the Anglo-Indians in British India? The Forgotten Community That Bridged Two Worlds
The Raj Journal #3 Who Were the Anglo-Indians in British India? The Forgotten Community That Bridged Two Worlds Calcutta, March 1934 The morning tram clattered through Chowringhee as office workers hurried towards Dalhousie Square. Among them was a young railway...