GAITHERSBURG, MD: Kadambari, a Bengali film that explores the suicide of Kadambari Devi, sister-in-law of Rabindranath Tagore, 132 years ago, won the Best Film award at the 4th Washington, DC, South Asian Film Festival, which concluded on September 28. The film was directed by the National Award-winning filmmaker Suman Ghosh, who is an economics professor at Florida Atlantic University. Chaitanya Tamhane won the Best Director award for Court, a Hindi and Marathi film, which is India’s … [Read more...]
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Frank blogs regularly for the Huffington Post and writes occasional columns and articles for publications such as the International Business Times and The Economic Times of India.
Frank writes on a wide variety of topics that are critical to shaping the future of America and the American dream and to making the United States and the world a better place. These include: Business; education; poverty and inequality; politics and public policy; immigration; manufacturing; innovation; leadership; citizenship; and social commentary.
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‘Kadambari’ best film at Washington South Asian Film Festival
‘Kadambari’, a Bengali film centred around Kadambari Devi, sister-in-law of Rabindranath Tagore with whom he is supposed to have had a close personal relationship and who eventually committed suicide, won the Best Film award at the 4th Washington, DC, South Asian Film Festival. The film was directed by the National Award-winning filmmaker Suman Ghosh. Chaitanya Tamhane won the Best Director award for ‘Court’, a Hindi and Marathi film, which is India’s official entry to the upcoming Academy … [Read more...]
‘Kadambari’ wins best film award at Washington South Asian Film Festival
Washington: "Kadambari", a Bengali film centred around Kadambari Devi, sister-in-law of Rabindranath Tagore with whom he is supposed to have had a close personal relationship and who eventually committed suicide, won the Best Film award at the 4th Washington, DC, South Asian Film Festival. The film was directed by the National Award-winning filmmaker Suman Ghosh. Chaitanya Tamhane won the Best Director award for "Court", a Hindi and Marathi film, which is India's official entry to the … [Read more...]
Art advances the cause of South Asian peace
India and Pakistan are bound together by geography, culture, and centuries of flowering of arts and many manifestations of human creativity. Since 1947, highly talented individuals from both sides of the border have excelled in music, films and literature and are very popular across the region. Indeed top actors and singers are household names in both countries. Yet, almost seven decades after independence and partition, peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbors remains hostage to … [Read more...]
Two Capitalist Tales: A Kickstart and a Kick in the Head
These are two tales about capitalism at its best and at its worst. These are true stories because even Hollywood at its brashest could not write fictional scripts better than these to depict the duality of capitalism. On Monday, September 21, The New York Time's ran two contrasting articles on the front page of its business section. An above-the fold article was titled "Once a Neglected Treatment, Now Expensive Specialty Drug." A below-the-fold article was titled "Kickstarter Focuses Its … [Read more...]
The Ugly American: A Perspective in 2015
In 1958, The Ugly American was a popular novel. The book told the story of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Sarkhan, a fictional country in Southeast Asia, who lost a battle against communism due to its narrow, chauvinistic American-centric approach to dealing with the culture and conditions of that country. In 2015, Donald Trump is playing The Ugly American. He is doing so by appealing to the darker side of the American citizenry and to our lesser angels. This is not a fictional work. But, it … [Read more...]
Let Us Pave the Way for Meaningful Education
Let Us Pave the Way for Meaningful Education … [Read more...]
Donald Trump: The Sorcerer Not ‘The Apprentice’
Donald Trump was the star of the now-cancelled TV show The Apprentice. That show was misnamed in that it had nothing to do with apprenticeship. An apprentice is one who works under the direction of a mentor to develop the necessary skills to be proficient in a job. The classic progression for an apprentice is from a well qualified entry level worker to become a journeyperson and finally to become a master craftsperson. In his performance as a candidate for the Republican presidential … [Read more...]
Labor Day 2015: Workers Getting Organized
On this Labor Day 2015, there are nascent signs that workers may be gaining a little ground. These include: Companies like Walmart and T.J. Maxx increasing their minimum wage. Companies like Gap and Starbucks changing their job scheduling policies. And, companies like Google and Nestle improving their maternity leave benefits. These changes are occurring for a number of reasons including: Economics and the need for businesses to improve inefficient business practices that lead to … [Read more...]
American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin Honor Frank Islam With “Pride of India” Award
BURLINGTON, MA--American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin honored Frank Islam with its prestigious "Pride of India" award during its 25th annual convention at Burlington Marriott in Burlington, MA. Islam, a confident of President Obama and an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, donated $222,000 in May this year to Aligarh Muslim University in India. This is part of his $2 million commitment for the construction of a new management complex at the 140-year-old … [Read more...]