Platform Magazine - May - June 2018

In this issue

Every year when we start putting together the literature issue, I get transported to places unseen, start reliving emotions buried deep down and find myself immersed in plots, identifying with characters and situations. But most of all I get inspired by the creativity, by sentence construction, by the inconceivable stories. There is something about books that lifts the spirit and gives me the drive to continue writing and more importantly, continue reading. For this year’s literature issue, we decided to shine the spotlight on those individuals that help give a wider reach to books that are not in English. The Translators bridge the gap between writers and the world, making their books more accessible and widely read. Translation is an art form that requires impeccable skill and heart. Jessica Cohen, Maureen Freely, Arunava Sinha and Tess Lewis are all about that. Their craft and immaculate detailing have helped them garner awards and reach.
Our Cover Story focuses on a very interesting author, Mohammed Hanif, whose much-anticipated book, Red Birds, will soon be hitting shelves. A prolific writer, Hanif shares the journey of his last 15 years, his evolution as a writer and the inspiration behind Red Birds.
We also interact with veteran designer Ritu Kumar as she takes us through the last 50 years of her practice, her craft and how her travels shaped the designer that she is today. Hansal Mehta takes us behind the scenes and shares his close connection and partnership with Rajkummar Rao on his powerful film, Omerta. Manish Arora, on the other hand, gets up close and personal giving us tiny details of his life that otherwise go unnoticed.
And lastly, photographer Rohit Chawla juxtaposes his photography with poet Tishani Doshi’s words in a beautiful photo series.