This Week in Culture: Remembering Hanif Kureshi's Legacy, Surreal Cinema, & Much More

It has been almost one month since I returned to my family home after years abroad. The experience has been, for lack of a better word, complicated. There’s an undeniable comfort in being home. My family and I are back to sharing a living space when, for so long we didn’t even share a timezone. And of course, there’s the food. No takeout or frozen meal could ever compare to a fresh, hot meal made with my mom’s love. 

At the same time, being launched back into the achingly familiar feels unreal, like a perpetual dream of my childhood that I can’t wake from. The weeks feel longer, but the days are shorter. Time seems to exist outside of my realm of understanding, especially as the shape of my life in the months ahead remains ambiguous. 

When the path forward feels so foggy, I try to find solace in the solidity of what is behind me. Every moment that has passed, every perfect or difficult day, was once something that I looked to in anticipation. Everything I love was, at one point, completely unknown to me. Things come to us in brief moments, but their impact is long-lasting. Time, then, becomes more freeing than it is daunting. Things will happen and we will deal with them as they do. 

From this point of view, I’ve started measuring time passed in increments based on what I’ve learned. Each day, week, or month that passes is defined by the creatives, art, and cultural moments that entered my life through our coverage. With every cool new topic I write about, I feel more excited for what’s to come. What lies ahead may be scary, but it’s also full of discoveries that I can look back on fondly in retrospect. 

If you’ve been feeling lost in time like I am, the Homegrown Culture Bulletin is a remedy in the form of our week’s highlights. Here’s what we have for you this week:

'In The Belly Of A Tiger' Spotlights The Desperate Circumstances Faced By Rural Indians

Written and directed by Jatla Siddartha, ‘In the Belly of a Tiger’ is a surrealist drama about an elderly couple in rural India. The two farmers struggle to find work; facing exploitation and extreme marginalisation. This leads them to desperate and unfortunately realistic measures as they contemplate sacrificing themselves to a tiger in the forest so their family can receive government compensation. 

Learn more about ‘In the Belly of a Tiger’ here.

Attend A Mumbai Exhibition Celebrating The Everyday Moments Of India's Visual Culture

‘The Art Lobby’ is an exhibition spotlighting five Indian photographers who are “capturing the simple, happy moments of everyday life across India.” Their work will be displayed at Alum Studios in Andheri on September 28th. The evening will feature not just photographs, but also a video installation, 'Artist Talk', and analogue film merchandise. 

Learn more about the exhibition here.

A Homegrown Brand Is Attempting To Reinvent The Perception Of Zero-Proof Spirits

Sober is a homegrown brand proving that you don’t need 40-proof to have a good time. The non-alcoholic spirit brand is the first of its kind in India, bringing non-drinkers and drinkers alike an alternative option when they’re trying to stay off the booze. Their non-alcoholic gin, whiskey, and rum imitate the taste and sensation of liquor without its negative health impacts. 

Learn more about Sober’s liquor alternatives here.

Shroom Sabha 2024: Attend A 4-Day Festival In Kerala Celebrating The World Of Fungi

India’s first mushroom festival, Shroom Sabha, is a celebration of our profound connection to ecology through mushrooms. Taking place in the Periya Reserve forest in Wayanad, Kerala, this event is an opportunity for fungi enthusiasts of all sorts to forge connections through a mutual appreciation of mushrooms’ many purposes. 

Learn more about Shroom Sabha 2024 here.

Khushbu Shah’s Cookbook 'Amrikan' Underlines The Ingenuity Of Diasporic Culinary Art

Khushbu Shah is a second-generation Indian immigrant in Michigan whose new cookbook, Amrikan: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora, is an ode to cultural survival. She teaches us how to adapt American ingredients for Indian recipes, taking a bold leap into the future of Indian-American cuisine. Her work is a celebration of what happens when cultures meet, mix, and cook, reminding us that the best food is often born out of innovation. 

Learn more about Shah’s new cookbook here.

A One-Man Revolution: The Artistic Legacy Of The Late Hanif Kureshi

DAKU was a street artist whose politically engaged graffiti art in major Indian cities made him a household name. Though he maintained his anonymity, it was an open secret within India’s art community that the man behind DAKU was the late Hanif Kureshi, a multidisciplinary artist who believed in the power of public art to drive social change. 

Learn more about Kureshi’s legacy here.

If you enjoyed reading this, here’s more from Homegrown: 

Mahanagar: Revisiting Satyajit Ray’s Intimate Portrait Of A Working Woman In The Big City

How Rajasthan's Karni Mata Temple Came To Be A Sacred Sanctuary For Rats

A Streetcar Named History: Kolkata's Iconic Trams Ride Into The Sunset After 151 Years