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FOLDING FORMS


Figure 1 - Emily Jacir, Belongings. As we witness the passing of a year since the lockdown and the pandemic, we reflect on what the year has given us. Millions, over this year, migrated towards their homes when the lockdown was first announced. What is it about the home that urged people to make their way homeward and how was it for those who were forced to be far away from home? In an attempt to define what a home is, Mary Douglas describes what it is by comparing it with other institutions. She says, ‘Home certainly cannot be defined by any of its functions. Try the idea that home provides the primary care of bodies: if that is what...

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MOTIFS IN PAIRS- AN ODE TO PARSI PAIRS


                                      Figure 1- A Pair of Magpies   The practice of love for a community takes shape in the most intimate of ways – conjugality. Yet, the intimacy is dictated by the needs of society. A  heterosexual couples’ ability to procreate, places them as one of the foundations of society. Love, in a conjugal relationship need not necessarily centre itself around romance. Love plays out in the steps they take together; being responsible for each other, setting up a home together and preparing for the next generation.  Dwindling communities like the Parsis have been actively trying to keep their legacy alive by...

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THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE 


A feature of love that gives it its gravitas is the promise of commitment. You promise to be present in another person’s life through their ups and downs. It involves that risk of love that Alain Badiou talks about. “inasmuch as love is a pleasure almost everyone is looking for, the thing that gives meaning and intensity to almost everyone’s life, I am convinced that love cannot be a gift given on the basis of a complete lack of risk.’ (Badiou 2012, 6-7). In religion, love and commitment involves sacrificing simple pleasures and taking risks. A monk would have to sacrifice a life of socialising and creating a family for a life of solitude. Every monk commits their lives to the...

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LETTERS FROM CHIKANKARI


    Figure 1 - Chikankari Garment  Ganjefa: The Game of Cards is a story written by Naiyer Masud and Deepa Zafir. The story traces the narrator’s (a man) interactions  with his mother and  the people of Lucknow. With the passing of his father, the protagonist makes his way homeward to settle in with his mother. Set in the midst of riots and hardship, the protagonist narrates his mother’s plight and ailing health. Being the breadwinner of the family she struggles day and night, squinting her eyes as she works the needle and thread doing chikankari. Realising that her health is deteriorating she asks her son to call a woman named Husna to come to her aid. He runs through...

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LOVE FIGURES EVERYWHERE


Today we live in a world where we are surrounded by dating apps that ensure that nobody will get hurt while dating. Alain Badiou in In Praise of Love, quotes from a few of these apps and shares his thoughts about 21st century love. ‘“Get love without chance!” And then another says: “Be in love without falling in love!” No raptures, right? Then: “Get perfect love without suffering!” …I believe this hype reflects a safety-first concept of “love”. It is love comprehensively insured against all risks: you will have love, but will have assessed the prospective relationship so thoroughly, will have selected your partner so carefully by searching online - by obtaining, of course, a photo, details of his or her tastes, date...

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