Warp & Weft of History
India Today|4th November, 2024
British journalist Mishal Husain's Broken Threads is a rare mix of research and storytelling, making it a great read for anyone who wants to understand the history of South Asia's present
Trisha Gupta
Warp & Weft of History

Mishal Husain's Broken Threads begins with the actual frayed threads of a sari from her grandparents' wedding. A cousin uses its brocade border on a shawl, and gives it to Husain as a wedding present. Beyond this, though, the book contains surprisingly few object histories, for a family memoir in an age of Instagrammable nostalgia. It quickly becomes clear that Husain, a well-known BBC journalist, wasn't just looking for a place to inscribe her own memories. She had access to her grandparents' memories: "I had the books written by one grandparent (Shahid), an unpublished memoir left by another (Mumtaz), some audio tapes recording my grandmother Tahirah, and a 97-year-old sibling of Mary's to talk to," Husain says in an email interview. The book's structure stemmed from this: Chapters 1-4 are devoted, in succession, to her grandparents Mary, Mumtaz, Shahid and Tahirah.

But the real achievement of Broken Threads lies in contextualising each grandparent's individual trajectory. "I realised early on that I needed to begin a few decades before, going back into the 19th century and the period before and after 1857," says Husain. "I turned it into history as well as memoir because I didn't feel I could understand these individuals without understanding their times."

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der 4th November, 2024-Ausgabe von India Today.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der 4th November, 2024-Ausgabe von India Today.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS INDIA TODAYAlle anzeigen
Ways of Seeing
India Today

Ways of Seeing

'INDIA'S MOST IMAGINATIVE ART HISTORIAN' B.N. GOSWAMY SHARES PITHY OBSERVATIONS ON ART AND RELATED MATTERS IN THIS POSTHUMOUS ANTHOLOGY OF ESSAYS

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 02, 2024
Modern Master
India Today

Modern Master

A major new exhibition at DAG Delhi sheds light on key moments in the artistic career of M.F. Husain

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 02, 2024
THE RATAN TATA YOU DID NOT KNOW
India Today

THE RATAN TATA YOU DID NOT KNOW

The face of India's oldest mega-corp for as long as most of us can remember, Ratan Tata, who died at the age of 86 last month, was both a well-known public figure and an enigma. As the first chairman to hand over the reins to a non-Tata, he seemed to be breaking the mould, and not for the first time. But he was also a steely guardian of corporate tradition. Thomas Mathew's newly-published biography is based on hundreds of hours of conversation with Tata as well as many of his confidants. Excerpts

time-read
6 Minuten  |
December 02, 2024
The Chronicler of Dreams
India Today

The Chronicler of Dreams

DREAMS INFORM EVERYTHING THAT PAYAL KAPADIA DOES, WHETHER IT'S HER STORIES, HER CHARACTERS OR HER FILMMAKING EVEN IF THEY'RE ALL ANCHORED IN STARK REALITY

time-read
6 Minuten  |
December 02, 2024
INDIA'S FDI SQUEEZE
India Today

INDIA'S FDI SQUEEZE

THE ECONOMY SEEMS ROBUST, BUT FOREIGN INVESTORS ARE SHYING AWAY FROM PUTTING THEIR BIG, LONG-TERM BETS ON INDIA

time-read
7 Minuten  |
December 02, 2024
THE MAJHI MAKEOVER
India Today

THE MAJHI MAKEOVER

The Mohan Charan Majhi-led BJP government is establishing its 'people-first governance' by eliminating the perceived bureaucratic dominance of the Naveen Patnaik regime and blending accessibility, Odia pride and a development drive bolstered by central support

time-read
5 Minuten  |
December 02, 2024
BEWARE THE NEW BIG CON
India Today

BEWARE THE NEW BIG CON

CYBER CRIMINAL NETWORKS, OFTEN BASED ABROAD, ARE NOW LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TOOLS TO WEAVE ELABORATE STINGS WITH FAKE COPS AND ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES TO DEPRIVE UNSUSPECTING VICTIMS OF THEIR ENTIRE LIFE SAVINGS

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
December 02, 2024
TECH TWO: THE NEW FRONTIER
India Today

TECH TWO: THE NEW FRONTIER

INDIA HOSTS NEARLY 50 PER CENT OF THE WORLD'S GCCs. MNCs AIM TO LEVERAGE THE COUNTRY'S ROBUST SERVICES INDUSTRY AND ABUNDANT TALENT POOL

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 02, 2024
JITU ON THE BACK FOOT
India Today

JITU ON THE BACK FOOT

On December 16, 2023, the Congress had announced Jitendra 'Jitu' Patwari as their new Madhya Pradesh state president, signaling a generational change as he replaced veteran Kamal Nath.

time-read
1 min  |
December 02, 2024
THE MISSING COPS
India Today

THE MISSING COPS

THE STATE POLICE NOW OUTSOURCES ROUTINE TECH JOBS LIKE MOBILE PHONE TRACKING, BUT THERE'S NO SUBSTITUTE FOR BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN, SAY, DRUG CONTROL

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 02, 2024