india

In India hundreds of years ago, tiny paintings the size of a leaf held political and social and spiritual meaning. Now, Shahzia Sikander, an artist in New York City, has taken the genre and turned it into something looser, but still small and jewel-like. Produced by Sarah Lilley.

In India hundreds of years ago, tiny paintings the size of a leaf held political and social and spiritual meaning. Now, Shahzia Sikander, an artist in New York City, has taken the genre and turned it into something looser, but still small and jewel-like. Produced by Sarah Lilley.

First-time director Zana Briski’s documentary Born into Brothels is short-listed for this year’s Oscars. A few years ago Briski, a photographer, found herself giving photography lessons to children living in the brothels of Calcutta’s red light district. She told Lu Olkowski about the challenges of trying to change people’s lives with art.

When the British withdrew from India in the late 1940s, they left behind railroads, cricket, and … tubas. Rob Weisberg explains how the brass instruments cast off by the British Army have become an integral part of India’s musical culture.