PATHER PANCHALI at the Michigan Theater

The Michigan Theater is presenting a World Cinema film series this year, featuring all-time classic movies from across the globe. Next week's feature is PATHER PANCHALI. The date is Monday, March 1 at 7:00 pm. This is a rare opportunity to see it on the big screen, in a period environment.

(India – 1955) The first movie from independent India to attract major international critical attention, Pather Panchali won "Best Human Document" at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, establishing Satyajit Ray as a major international filmmaker. Sometime in the early years of the century, a boy, Apu, is born to a poor Brahmin family in a village in Bengal. The father, a poet and priest, cannot earn enough to keep his family going. Apu's sister, Durga, is forever stealing guavas from the neighbour's orchards. All these add to the daily struggles of the mother's life, notwithstanding her constant bickering with old aunt who lives with the family. Bengali with subtitles. 122 minutes.

A new blog

India in Ann Arbor is a new blog about the many Indian influences in Ann Arbor - food, performing and visual arts, film, literature, people, business, fashion, handicrafts, yoga, meditation, Bollywood, and perhaps many others. I expect to write about how these influences from India flourish and shape the vibrant Ann Arbor community. I am not imagining it as yet another blog with restaurant, film or book reviews. I would like to write about the people who are connected to India in different ways - their lives and stories, the different ways in which elements of Indian culture and traditions interface with those of the local community, the history of the Indian community in Ann Arbor, the role that the University of Michigan plays in highlighting India in the community, etc. I plan to post interesting interviews with local people and insightful pieces written by invited guests. In keeping with my personal interest in photography, I also hope to include relevant photographs with the posts.

My hope is that this blog will not only provide interesting reading but will also be a resource for the community. I look forward to hearing from you through your comments and views!