I don't think I've so quickly learnt so many new things in a long time. The upside of the downside of COVID-19 is that I've simply been home, online, working, watching films, attending talks, conferences, participating in Zoom meetings for work and fun, and giving lectures and interviews online. I did an online health and detox course by SHARAN India; attended vocalist Dhanashree Pandit-Rai's wonderful thumri session; Dr Sucheta Paranjpe's talk on Kalidasa's Meghdoot; window gardening by horticulturist Anjana Dewasthale, and more.

Above all, there has been an explosion of films online, including free film screenings, that is unprecedented. And I was gobsmacked when watching the Iranian film Baran (Rain, urf Paus) by Majid Majidi, in Persian/Farsi, with Marathi subtitles, in a free screening organised by the Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI), and forwarded by the Prabhat Chitra Mandal. The film is about an Iranian construction worker, Lateef, who falls in love with Rahmat, an Afghan refugee woman who dresses like a man in order to get a labourer's job. Her family is forced to flee to Iran when the Taliban take over Afghanistan, and they are desperate to survive. At one point, Lateef finds a man in the kitchen where Rahmat works, and chases him away. "Gap tujha kamavar nighun za. Nahitar mala Memarla aawaaz dyava lagel." "Ay pora, tu tuzha kaam kar na? Kai natak kartos be tu?" ("Just buzz off quietly and do your work. Or I'll have to call Memar." "Hey kid, mind your own business. Why are you making such a fuss?"). It was fascinating to 'see' Iranians speaking Marathi. Achyut Borgaokar did a good job of the Farsi-Marathi subtitles. When international cinema gets not only English, but even Indian regional language subtitles, it is definitely level 2.0. Congratulations to all those involved, and I hope this spreads to many Indian languages.