Six passionate lovers of the written word share what their reading journey was like in 2017 – their favourite books; lines from books that they loved, connected with; and new authors they discovered.
In an interview to Vani Viswanathan, Bhumika Anand, Founder and Director of Bangalore Writers Workshop, talks about what it means to work with writers on honing their writing skills, and what impact this has had on her own writing.
Anupama Krishnakumar interviews singer, songwriter and Dean of the Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts (SaPa), Bindu Subramaniam, and violinist and Associate Dean of SaPa, Ambi Subramaniam, about SaPa’s approach to teaching music, its vision, its curriculum and SaPa’s flagship program, SaPa in Schools (SiS).
What comes to your mind when you see the phrase ‘Women in today’s world’? The editors of Spark reached out to some women – popular writers and activists – with this question. We are proud to present a compilation of their viewpoints.
Why is it important to demand the right of women to “loiter” in public? What does it mean in a country where women need to fight bitter battles for a range of (basic) freedoms? In an interview with Vani Viswanathan, Neha Singh, who founded the Why Loiter? movement in Mumbai, discusses women’s right to public spaces for leisure and pleasure too.
Catch Sanjay Subrahmanyan, one of the foremost Carnatic musicians of our time, in a crisp-as-Kalyani and deep-as-Bhairavi conversation with Bhargavi Chandrasekharan.
February brings images of pink hearts and ribbons, and a certain narrow form of love that we like or detest. Two campaigns, one ongoing and one just completed, do their bit to start a conversation about the innumerable forms of love there could be – and how, if we open up our eyes just a little bit, we’ll know that each one of them is worthy of our respect. Interviews on Tathapi Trust’s “Pyaar ki Gutargoo” campaign and Zehen Collective’s #RedefiningLove campaign.
Vinita Agrawal began writing for Spark from August 2012. She has been one of our most regular contributors. It’s been a pleasure featuring her work, especially her soulful poetry in our issues. Vinita’s writing is simple, elegant and extremely heart-warming. Her poetry, especially the ones that exude pathos are sure to leave an indelible mark on your minds. Vinita’s humility is something we truly admire and her constant support, encouragement and motivation have been a big source of strength for us.
An interview with Vinita Agrawal.
Jeevanjyoti Chakraborty is one of the first writers who came knocking on our doors after the inaugural issue of Spark was published in January 2010. He has been an asset to the team ever since, delighting us unfailingly every time with his spellbinding writing. Jeevanjyoti writes on Science and human life with equal ease and what we particularly love about his works is the emotional element that finds its way into his writing even inside something as rational as Science. He has a way with words that we believe is his biggest gift as a writer.
An interview with Jeevanjyoti Chakraborty.