A ‘non Western immigrant’ – or should I say ‘allochtoon’?
On the gracht If February thinks its job is to test my relationship with my beloved city, summer confirms our courtship. Short, but sweet enough. The other day I was in a chat room with some people who I have never met. I typed, ‘its sunny and warm in Amsterdam’. Someone replied immediately, ‘ Oh…
Notes on Man Capture
To capture a man, then immediately marry him, you need a chicken It is a truth (not widely accepted) that to capture a man, then immediately marry him, you need a chicken. But not because the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. The Garo Hills. An extension of the eastern Himalayas. When…
Ambi Jiji’s Retirement
Produced by Public Service Broadcast Trust (PSBT)Public Service Broadcast Trust Directed by Nandini Bedi Distributed bySynclinefilmstore 29 mins. Garo with English subtitles If the global does not encompass the local, then what does it contain? Ambi Jiji has always planted her crops on soil on which forests have been burnt. At the end of each…
Taal Tale
When it comes to speaking a ‘non- native’ tongue, I’ll choose imperfection over shutting up. I’m opportunistic and love to talk. This sort of attitude makes some people in the Netherlands see me as an outsider. Unfortunately for them, I see myself as an Amsterdammer, despite my ‘sub standard’ Dutch, and I plan to live inside the Netherlands for the time being.
Welcome to the brave new India of today
Produced by Public Service Broadcast Trust (PSBT)Public Service Broadcast Trust Directed and Edited by Nandini Bedi Distributed by SynclinefilmstoreSynclinefilmstore ‘It is not that we are not knowing English. It is just that we are knowing it in our own way only. Tell your name please’. Many Indians tend not to use the simple present tense…