Thanks to Robin Varghese’s recommendation, I’ve been watching Ray’s documentary on Tagore. I’m no fan of dramatized documentary, but there is no simple illustrative function being performed here. All the poetry of Ray’s film-making is present in these frames!

Elsewhere, Kamila Shamsie has been wordering why Pakistani writers haven’t kept pace with their Indian counterparts. (The phenomenon can be explained, according to my man Mohsin Hamid, by the presence of fast bowlers in Pakistan.)

The above two links were linked to August celebrations of independence in India and Pakistan. Thanks to Indian Writing, I read about 15 August in flooded Bihar.