Mitra

Paper remains under-recognised as an art form in India. Please tell us about your engagement with the medium and the thought behind curating ‘On Paper Of Paper’? Ankon Mitra with his work ‘Mycelium Mycelium’ at India Design ID. (Courtesy the artist) Looking at the paucity of opportunities to showcase and celebrate paper art in the country when I started my practice in 2008-2009, I actively sought participation in biennales and exhibitions abroad, like the CODA Museum paper exhibition, Apeldoorn, the…

Namma Metro (Photo: Wikipedia) Auto Rickshaw Drivers Union (ARDU) also has been working on Namma Yatri, a mobility app that provides multi-modal service to commuters without the involvement of any middlemen.Bangalore government has been taking, or approving every approach, which provides benefits to commuters in travel. Recently, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has collaborated with the auto union, and released an application named Metro Mitra, which allows passengers to book train tickets, auto rides and…

One of the most prominent figures in contemporary Bengali literature, Amar Mitra’s works critique the use, misuse and abuse of power. Winner of the O’Henry Prize, 2022, for The Old Man of Kusumpur (translated by Anish Gupta), 71-year-old Mitra, who has earlier won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Dhurbaputra (2006) and the Bankim Puraskar Award for Aswacharit (2001), among many others, uses his rich imagination and craftsmanship to create alternate worlds. Dhanapatir Char, translated from the original Bengali by the late…

What got you interested in writing a book about the Union Ministry of Home Affairs? The idea struck me in 2002 while collecting data for another book – The Puzzle of India’s Governance: Culture, Context and Comparative Theory (2005). I was in Delhi, at North Block, interviewing a civil servant who was an impressive Oxford-educated man. During our conversation, I began thinking about how crucial the bureaucracy is in a country like India. While politicians are in the limelight, civil servants get things done behind the…