‘Over and over we, as Ivatans, have had to assert our identity and protect our community,’ says author Dorian Merina amid recent territorial claims over Batanes by Chinese scholars
A Broadway-loving teenager, an ancient Greek epic, and the surprising return of collaborative storytelling
‘My conversations with Marra became part of my own deeper discovery of myself as a woman activist. They were liberating.’
With his typewriter, Jecho Adrian Ponce gives strangers a few minutes to tell their stories, turning them into customized poems they can take home
With her memories fading, Edjop’s wife, Joy, may not have the opportunity to appreciate the powerful performances of Frankie Pangilinan and Elijah Canlas in the upcoming film, ‘Edjop’
The playwright behind ‘Ibalong Z: A New Bikol Musical’ hopes the younger generation will ‘fall in love with the story and feel inspired to read’ the epic
Ghulami Mein Na Kaam Ati Hain Shamsheerain Na Tadbeerain Jo Ho Zauq-E-Yaqeen Paida To Kat Jati Hain Zanjeerain (In slavery, neither swords nor plans are effective but when the taste for conviction is forged, the chains are shattered.) In these timeless couplets, Allama Muhammad Iqbal captivated a fundamental truth about human liberation. It’s that the physical force (shamsheerain) and strategic maneuvering (tadbeerain) are utterly powerless if a nation or an individual is trapped in a mindset of subjugation. True emancipation does not start on the battlefield or at a diplomatic negotiation table. It begins within the human psyche through Zauq-e-Yaqeen. An unshakeable conviction, profound self-belief, and faith in a higher purpose accordingly. When one examines the contemporary global events, Iqbal’s words understand modern struggles for sovereignty, social justice, and systemic reform. In the modern world, servitude rarely presents itself through colonial rule or physical iron chains. Instead, modern subjugation often manifests as economic dependency, cultural imperialism, digital surveillance, and ideological defeatism. Entire populations often find themselves caught in systems that dictate their economic choices. They systems that diminish their local heritage, and undermine their self-reliance. Iqbal’s verse applies to this contemporary reality. The verse reveals why so many political reform efforts or heavily funded technological solutions fail to bring real change. When a society suffers from an internal sense of inferiority, no amount of advancement or external assistance can bring genuine autonomy. Strategy and weapons are just instruments. They remain inert without the driving force of genuine conviction. Psychological emancipation must precede material victory. Until a community believes it is worthy and capable of self-determination, external freedom remains an illusion. What does it mean to cultivate Zauq-e-Yaqeen (the taste of deep certainty) in today’s complex world? It represents a transition from passive endurance to active self-realization (Khudi). Historically and in present times, the most profound societal revolutions did not succeed purely because they had superior resources. They succeeded because a critical mass of people developed an unshakeable belief in the justice of their cause. Modern historical struggles show that authoritarian regimes with military apparatuses often crumble when faced with non-violent movements engined by absolute moral certainty. In an era of informational dominance, Zauq-e-Yaqeen requires reclaiming intellectual sovereignty. It demands rejecting narrative manipulation and trusting one’s collective identity and ethical values. Developing nations breaking free from debt cycles and foreign leverage do so by encouraging local innovation, education, and confidence in their human capital. Iqbal’s poetry is not a eulogy for the past. It is an urgent command for the present. The chains of the modern era: political suppression, economic exploitation, or personal despair, cannot be let go of by adopting foreign systems or waiting for political saviors. Real liberation requires an internal awakening. When a society cultivates faith in its intrinsic worth, its moral foundation, and its capacity to shape its destiny, the structural barriers that once seemed insurmountable inevitably begin to shatter. Strategic plans and practical tools then become effective because they are finally guided by an invincible spirit.
The global arts community is mourning the unexpected passing of Marjane Satrapi. She is the pioneering French-Iranian author, illustrator, and film director best known for her graphic memoir Persepolis. Satrapi passed away in Paris at the age of 56. Relatives confirmed that her death was tied to profound heartbreak following the loss of her husband, Swedish producer Mattias Ripa, who died the previous year. Her death sparked an outpouring of tributes from political leaders, cultural institutions, and readers worldwide. French President Emmanuel Macron paid homage to Satrapi as a monumental talent who converted her childhood in revolutionary Iran into an accessible, universal human story, blending sharp irony, vulnerability, and courage. Born in 1969 in the northern Iranian city of Rasht, Satrapi grew up in Tehran during one of the most turbulent eras in modern Middle Eastern history. As a child of progressive, middle-class parents, she witnessed the overthrow of the Shah in 1979, followed by the rapid consolidation of power by the fundamentalist Islamic regime and the devastating Iran-Iraq War. Concerned for her safety and rebellious spirit, her family sent her to study at the Lycée Français in Vienna when she was just fourteen. Her years in Austria were marked by acute feelings of social isolation, homelessness, and cultural displacement. The struggles that would later become central themes in her creative career. After returning to Tehran to complete her university education in visual communication, Satrapi ultimately chose a life in exile, relocating permanently to France in 1994. In 2000, Satrapi published the first volume of Persepolis, a monochrome graphic novel that fundamentally altered how Western audiences viewed everyday life in Iran. Drawn in a bold, stripped-down visual style influenced by expressionist art, the book chronicled her youth with remarkable humor and emotional honesty. Satrapi demystified a country often flattened by geopolitical headlines. The book became an international bestseller, translated into dozens of languages and adopted into school curricula worldwide. In 2007, Satrapi co-directed an animated film adaptation alongside French artist Vincent Paronnaud. The film won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature, and cemented Satrapi’s standing as a multi-talented cinematic voice. “I don’t want to return to a dictatorship and spend the rest of my life in jail being tortured.” — Marjane Satrapi Satrapi’s artistic career extended well beyond Persepolis. She directed live-action feature films including Chicken with Plums (2011), the dark comedy The Voices (2014) starring Ryan Reynolds, and Radioactive (2019), a biopic celebrating Marie Curie. In addition, she was an accomplished painter and was elected to the prestigious French Academy of Fine Arts. Yet, Satrapi remained fiercely principled. She consistently criticized the Iranian regime while demanding true integrity from Western governments. In early 2025, she publicly rejected France’s prestigious Légion d’honneur, citing European political hypocrisy regarding human rights in Iran. Following the 2022 Iranian protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, she edited the collective work Woman, Life, Freedom, uniting artists and historians to support the civil rights uprising. Through her uncompromising honesty, sharp wit, and visual mastery, Marjane Satrapi left behind a legacy that proved art can dismantle prejudice, bridge divide, and speak truth to power.
In a world governed by productivity and comparison, it is easy to move through our days completely numb to the extraordinary fact that we exist at all. We go searching for the meaning of life as though it were a hidden treasure or an undiscovered law of physics waiting to be solved. Yet, as writer Maria Popova reflects in an essay on The Marginalian, human meaning does not exist as an immutable physical entity. The fundamental laws of nature that existed long before us and will persist long after we are gone. Meaning is an fragile, temporary interlude. It occurs strictly within the brief window of consciousness between the chaotic formation of our bodies and their eventual collapse back into unfeeling cosmic dust. The fundamental secret to making sense of this brief interlude lies not in grand metaphysical theories, but in recovering a sense of radical, unearned wonder at the ordinary world around us. This was the central conviction of legendary English writer and philosopher G.K. Chesterton, who famously used the humble dandelion to diagnose the spiritual malady of the modern age. In his autobiography, Chesterton looked back on his early life and realized that his animating purpose as a thinker and writer was to battle the prevailing cultural cynicism and pessimism of his era. He observed that most people spend their adult lives trapped in a kind of waking sleep, viewing their everyday surroundings as mundane, dead, or thoroughly exhausted of fascination. Chesterton asserted that the true purpose of both spiritual practice and artistic expression is to dig for this submerged sunrise of wonder. It’s to peel away the layers of routine until a person sitting quietly in a chair suddenly awakens to the realization that they are actually alive. Until a person finds joy in that alone. For Chesterton, looking at a common yellow weed pushing through the soil was enough to prompt profound gratitude. He recognized that he had done nothing to earn the miracle of seeing a dandelion, a sunflower, or the sun itself. The sheer improbability that consciousness exists means that everything we encounter is an unbidden gift rather than a right. Why do so many of us lose this innate childhood astonishment. Chesterton pointed out that the enemy of wonder is rarely mere familiarity; rather, it is the insidious habit of comparison. We undervalue what is in front of us by constantly judging it against something presumed to be superior, cheaper, or more sophisticated. Chesterton noted how people dismiss a simple dandelion by claiming one could purchase a better or cheaper version at a high-end department store, or by casually remarking that only elite connoisseurs in distant cities truly understand flowers. Others sneer at the simplicity of a dandelion because they feel entitled to an exotic orchid instead. This constant, demanding comparison is built upon a profound delusion. The arrogant belief that human beings are owed the best that paradise has to offer, without any obligation to feel thankful or surprised by what they receive. When we treat life with this spirit of entitlement, we fall prey to what Chesterton called Presumption, whose twin sibling is Despair. We destroy our own capacity to enjoy anything at all in demanding more while appreciating less. Ultimately, both Chesterton and Popova remind us that meaning is not something we passively find. Rather, it is something we actively attain through deliberate attention and precision of perspective. The simple dandelion asks for nothing other than to be noticed. It’s when we stop treating existence as a series of transactions or demands. Only then we begin to realize that the aim of life is pure appreciation. We should stripping away the burden of false expectations and consumerist comparison. We must step into the light of simple awareness. We must wake up to the quiet miracle that we get to exist, observe, and feel in this very moment.
MUMBAI:Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has revealed that his two sons, Taimur Ali Khan and Jehangir, are frightened by the wars, conflicts and growing tensions around the world. The 56-year-old actor recently spoke about his family and expressed concern over the impact of the current global situation on his children. While discussing his sons with his wife, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif said that the children are aware of the conflicts taking place in different parts of the world and frequently ask questions about their safety and what the future may hold. Saif Ali Khan made the remarks during a visit to Uri in Jammu and Kashmir as part of a programme series. During his interaction, the actor spoke about the concerns of his children and explained how global conflicts have affected their sense of security. According to Saif, his children often ask him questions about the wars taking place in different parts of the world. Their questions, he said, reflect the fear and uncertainty they experience while watching or hearing about international conflicts. “My children ask about the various wars happening around the world,” Saif said, adding that they are also frightened by the current situation. The actor said that his sons want to know who is responsible for protecting them and whether they are safe. They also ask what could happen in the future and whether the situation around the world could become even worse. Saif recalled some of the questions his children ask, including, “Who is protecting us?” and “What will happen next?” He said they also worry about whether the circumstances could deteriorate further. The actor’s comments highlight how international conflicts can affect children even when they are physically far away from the areas where fighting is taking place. With news about wars and geopolitical tensions spreading rapidly through television, social media and the internet, children can become increasingly aware of events that may otherwise seem distant from their daily lives. Saif’s remarks have also drawn attention to the emotional impact of global instability on families. Parents are increasingly required to explain complex international developments to children while attempting to reassure them about their safety and future. The actor’s comments come at a time when several regions of the world continue to experience conflict and political tensions. The ongoing international crisis involving the United States, Israel and Iran has also contributed to concerns about the possibility of wider instability. The situation has generated anxiety among people across the world, particularly because of concerns that existing conflicts could expand and have broader regional and international consequences. Saif Ali Khan’s disclosure offers a personal perspective on how such developments can affect even celebrity families. Despite living a privileged life, his children, like many others, remain exposed to global news and the uncertainty created by wars and international tensions. His comments also underline the importance of creating a sense of security for children during periods of international crisis. For parents, addressing children’s fears and answering their questions honestly while avoiding unnecessary alarm can be particularly challenging. By sharing his sons’ concerns, Saif has highlighted the wider human impact of global conflicts and the way uncertainty can reach families far beyond the immediate areas affected by war.