Magnum photographer Steve McCurry may not be a household name but his photos are instantly recognisable, especially one of a young Afghan girl taken in Pakistan where her family had taken refuge in 1984. An exhibition at the Caumont Centre d’Art in Aix-en-Provence takes visitors around the world in his footsteps, to India, Afghanistan, Namibia … Continue reading “Around the World in 80 Photos in Aix”
Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju just made history by becoming the youngest ever World Chess Champion at the age of just 18. Gukesh defeated China’s Ding Liren, a grandmaster and the defending champion, at the World Championship in Singapore on 12 December. Previously the youngest champion was Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he won. Gukesh … Continue reading “Youngest Chess Champ”
Monkey Man is a new departure for Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel: he co-wrote, directed and stars in the film inspired by Indian mythology and reality, which plays homage to the action movies he adores. The title and the film are inspired by the Hindu monkey-faced demigod Hanuman. The film does share themes with both … Continue reading “Monkey Man: Indian Mythology Meets Action Movie”
Everyone has heard of the Suffragettes and their actions, yet, have you heard of Princess Suffragette? This Indian princess, whose father was the last ruler of the Sikh Empire, gave up her socialite life in order to fight for a cause. Meet Sophia Duleep Singh, goddaughter to Queen Victoria who got involved in Emmeline Pankhurst’s … Continue reading “Princess Suffragette”
Akram Khan’s Chotto Desh blends dance, projections and theatre to explore the choreographer’s British-Bangladeshi identity. You can catch new tour dates in October in Paris and Cherbourg. Khan’s work fuses classical Indian dance and stories with contemporary dance. Chotto Desh means “little homeland” (Bangladesh is “the homeland of the Bengali people”). It is a child-friendly … Continue reading “Exploring British-Bangladeshi Identity”
The Commonwealth Youth Awards honour young people from around the world for their work trying to advance one or more of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s winner, Maya Kirti Nanan from Trinidad and Tobago, founded an organisation to help people with autism in her Caribbean island home. The Commonwealth is a voluntary association … Continue reading “Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2023”
This resource will introduce students to an aspect of Indian culture: the festival of Holi, when participants throw brightly coloured powders and water to welcome the arrival of spring. Pupils will watch a video, listen to a short extract of a podcast and read an article to help them find out how Indians celebrate this … Continue reading “Holi: Festival of Colours”
The British Royal Foundation is awarding five Earthshot prizes a year till 2030 for innovative ideas to help the planet. The 2022 winners were announced at a ceremony in Boston, Massachusetts, on 2 December hosted by Prince William. The winning projects are based in Australia, Britain, India, Kenya and Oman. The first Earthshot Prizes were … Continue reading “The Earthshot Prizes: Class of 2022”
As well as lots of new and upcoming films, the Arras Film Festival (4-13 November) is organising a retrospective of films around Queen Victoria, the Victorian age and the British Empire. It includes literary classics like Oliver Twist and Sherlock Holmes, films about the Empire such as Zulu and The Man Who Would Be King, … Continue reading “Queen Victoria at the Arras Film Festival”
The British Royal Foundation is awarding five prizes a year till 2030 for innovative ideas to help the planet. The Earthshot prizes have been named in reference to President Kennedy’s Moonshot project which concentrated innovators’ energies on putting a human on the Moon in the 1960s. Prince William explained that the aim of the Earthshots … Continue reading “The Earthshot Prizes”
