In ‘The Emperor of Shoes‘ set in Guangdong, China, Spencer Wise tells us the story of Alex Cohen, a 26-year-old heir to a thriving shoe business. Of course, the shoe business thrives on the backs of underpaid Chinese workers, which Alex begins to see slowly. Wise turns the spool unhurriedly, the various threads interleaving beautifully....
When someone asks me what is my favourite country in the world, my reply comes in a beat. China. Eyes widen, eyebrows raise in surprise. Why would I love a place that plays ‘sly games’ with India? A place which cripples you completely if you don’t know Mandarin? And, of course, a place where people...
Like all serious travellers and photographers, I too have a hard disk chock full of images packed into folders that are delightfully building up. I love wandering into these digital suitcases of memories and browsing through the photos. Every time I do that, I remember a long forgotten moment and very soon am back in...
I watched the Chinese movie “Mountains May Depart” (山河故人) as part of the ADIFF 2016. Jia Zhangke’s sweeping drama is set in China and Australia and takes place in three parts. It begins in 1999 with a group of people dancing to “Go West” by the Pet Shop Boys, a song that resurfaces more than...
In one of the most memorable road trips I have ever done, I visited Qinghai, situated in the vast Tibetan plateau. After wandering through the mostly unfriendly and uncommunicative region of Xingjiang, it was a relief to land up in a place where people at least looked at you while speaking. The grassy landscape was...
I had been on the road for the past 2 and a half weeks and I was yet to see a genuine smile. In Xinjiang, the far west of China, it is hard to come by.
This is a view from the pedestrian bridge right in front of my college. I like standing here and watching the flow of traffic on either side, the people who walk across the bridge and the people who display their wares that range from hamsters for sale as pets to cellphone repair services. Life is definitely interesting...
And this is the machine that does the neat job of sealing the glass before it’s handed over to the customer. The glass is placed in the circle in the centre, pushed inside and then pulled out clean with a sealed cover on top. It is then pierced with a straw and handed over to...
