Nothing surprises an immigrant more then someone speaking their language— be it someone from the same country as them, or not. If familiarity had a language, for me, it would be Portuguese. The sing-song tone of it; the altos and lows and letters and punctuations that don’t exist in any other language I’ve studied. I’ve studied four.  So I’m in this coffee shop, right? And I’m nervous; I’m rea...

I’m stuck in this awful place with no escape.I'm sitting here on the cold concrete floor.I’m observing others around me, some are huddled in the corner crying like scared puppies. And others look scared and afraid.That was me when they first brought me here.I wonder, is this what it feels like to be hated and despised? Hour after hour they bring more people in.Its starting to get a little packe...

The cab takes me to the outskirts of town on a cold early December night. As I hand over due cash to the cabbie, I hold on to the synthetic currency for another couple of milliseconds to feel its statutorily enforced value and the plasticity of financial stability. I would have given this romantic tussle another whole second but I was at the destination which would help me make more money. Soot...

The Curve of the Earth (Short Documentary):Nearly four years after befriending someone on Facebook with the exact same name as him, filmmaker Lorenzo Benitez ventures to South America to meet the friend he had come to know in writing, but had yet to meet in-person. In this experimental ‘travel video’, what began in jest evolves in sincerity as they appraise the surprising significance of their...

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By Roudri Bandyopadhyay Mangoes are the king of fruits; at least that’s what I was told as a child.  No part of a mango in any form goes to waste. Unripe mangoes are often cooked with lentils and enjoyed across the land of Bengal induring summer, when the blazing heat from the sun feels like it could crack skulls open. The recipe for Tok Daal is quite simple. My mother explained it to me in fiv...