Water and Caste: Part One - History of Mahad Satyagraha

On 4th and 12th March 2023, Vyaktitva Learning Labs, a media literacy initiative, conducted a two- part session for children on Water for All in Navi Mumbai, India. This session was in commemoration of the 96th anniversary of the Mahad Satyagraha and features lovely artworks by the children. Art credit: Nirvana, 11 years.

For Numbi Arts, an arts and heritage organisation in the UK, retelling a popular Somali folktale is an attempt to archive their oral histories. Founder Kinsi Abdulleh and animator Aindri C tell us about preserving old stories, and their new film ‘Dhagdheer’.

Words by Lina Krishnan and Artwork by Lucia Dami. The siren call of the sea, the river entering a dream and can landlocked limbs find their way? Artwork credit: Lucia Dami

Listen to the latest episode of season 2 of the Subverse.

Listen to the latest episode of Arcx with host Anjali Alappat.

Listen to the latest Story from The Subverse.

A Postmodern architectural experiment, the Cosmic House, is the legacy of Charles Jencks and his family. Their family home is filled with referential, fascinating, and distinctive design. Anjali Alappat writes about her visit to this eccentric museum in the heart of London.

In this blogpost, Susan Mathews closes out Season 2 of The Subverse by delving into what we’ve learnt from our watery preoccupations. Channelling Douglas Adams, we embrace some muddy logics, explore life at water’s edge, and water as passage and porous border. Artwork credit: Adrija Ghosh

Returning to analog altered Vivek Muthuramalingam’s relationship with photography. Sharing a set of images that emerged from his experiments with analog photography, he writes about finding inspiration in a bakery in Goa, and setting up his own darkroom during the pandemic with his artist friends.

The host of Arcx, Anjali Alappat, shares what we’ve learnt from season one, our hopes for season two, and what should be on your reading list regardless.

Drawing inspiration from Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, visual chronicler Gaurav Ogale reimagines Leonia, an opulent city of waste and expelling. Fifty years later, the novel remains just as relevant, as we continue to discard with abandon, quick to forget our ever-growing mountain of trash. Watch Leonia, a dazzling and inventive short film from Dark ‘n’ Light.

Sometimes, ancient ideas simply get left behind. And sometimes, they blossom. Ideas like the ultimate nature of reality itself. Join astrophysicist Paul M. Sutter for a revival journey into the tiniest crevices of existence and see where insatiable curiosity leads.

Examining the defence strategies of butterflies and moths, ecologist Anisha Jayadevan reflects on how women are raised to take up less space, constantly fear potential predators, and find inventive ways to camouflage.

Water is a strong conductor of sound. In our second outing with Cosmodernism, join us for a voyage into cymatics, the study of sound and vibration made visible on water.

Does anyone still write letters the old-fashioned way? Is letter-writing dead? We speak to Sumedha Sah, who not only refuses to give up on letters, but also responds to them by creating gorgeous art.

What does home sound like? Join us for a revival journey in Northern Sami with artists from Karasjok who keep yoiking alive through their music and performance. Yoik is a form of song tradition of the Sami people whose meaning transcends its musical and poetic dimensions. In this film we see yoik through the eyes of the band Rolffa and the music producer Rolf Amundsen, the narration and art of Jo Morten Kåven and the amazing footage from Jan Helmer Olsen.

In Arcx, a six episode mini-series, we talk to six South Asian sci-fi, fantasy and speculative fiction writers, and trace their ideas from conception to execution. We’re peeling back the layers to learn about the media that influenced them, the stories that changed the way they see the world, and the stories they have yet to tell.

What was once designed as a utilitarian chair for government employees in Chandigarh has now become a sought-after design classic. Following the journey of the Chandigarh chair, design historian and graphic designer Nia Thandapani looks at the ethics and mechanics of revival.

By actively encouraging people to use their space and connect over shared discoveries of art and culture, a museum in Kerala is rediscovering its purpose. Aditi Nayar-Zacharias, director of the Kerala Museum, speaks to us about changing people’s perceptions of museums, community sculptures, shared spaces, and what revival means in the context of a museum.

We are in the midst of a modern-day Renaissance, where eager minds are exploring the rebirth, revitalisation and reintegration of neglected and forgotten arts, cultures and ideas. In this series, we will be delving into the nature of these revivals and the stories surrounding them.

We know what water is. We’re surrounded by it, composed of it, we drink and expel it. And yet, it remains unfathomable. Dark ‘n’ Light founder Susan Mathews plays with the different faces and interpretations of this life-creating molecule.