The sixth issue of Umbra explores the notion of a city – in its material, memorial and mythical forms. It takes off – and includes – Charles Correa’s seminal essay, ‘The Mythical City’, and uses its central precinct – that of the distinction between a city as a collective imaginary of its residents or distant dreamers, and the actual, physical space that comes to forge it. It conducts this through an interview with Avijit Mukul Kishore, one of the leading purveyors of the city-space in Indian cinema, a review of Malik Sajjad’s graphic novel, Munnu, and a discussion of other media objects: Abhay Kumar’s Placebo, the Save Patna Collectorate, and a report of the Urban Lens Film Festival.
In this Issue
Article

A reprint of 'Ideal City', an essay by the legendary architect, Charles Correa, excerpted from his book of essays, 'A Place in the Shade', in which he discusses the difference between actual cities and their mythical conceptions.

Interview

A review of Abhay Kumar's acclaimed documentary, 'Placebo', and a contemplation of its acknowledgment as a yield of a popular, contemporary culture that is self-reflexive, formless and often, transitory.

Commentary

An exchange with filmmaker Avijit Mukul Kishore about his unique film, 'Vertical City', a study in urbanity, and an exploration of the tendency to always be on the watch over a world under siege.

Review

A report from the Bangalore edition of Urban Lens, a film festival about cities, on the ambivalent celebration of what 'urban' stands for.

Essay

A conversation on Malik Sajad's graphic novel, 'Munnu: A Boy from Kashmir', wherein he goes beyond the popular perception of 'the Kashmir issue' as a post-Partition phenomenon.

Umbra 6 | 'Cities' | September 2016

  • Product Code: 06092016
  • Availability: In Stock
  • $2.00


Available Options


Tags: Umbra Issue 6

Umbra 9 | 'Our Gods: Part II' | December 2017

Umbra 9 | 'Our Gods: Part II' | December 2017

The second part of ‘Our Gods’, a special double-issue, that studies the various forms and methods by which a divine figure is cultivated and then contoured within Indian popular culture..

Umbra 8 | 'Our Gods: Part I' | June 2017

Umbra 8 | 'Our Gods: Part I' | June 2017

The first part of ‘Our Gods’, Umbra’s special double-issue that focuses on and contemplates the various representations of divinity in Indian popular culture: film, television, stage-plays and graphic novels. It then examines their role in the cultivation of a popular consciousness..

Umbra 7 | 'Others' | February 2017

Umbra 7 | 'Others' | February 2017

‘Others’ exists as a condensation of medial representations of individuals, communities or groups whose experiences or lived realities are often excluded from a mainstream narrative that is homogeneous, conventional and cultivated through a consensus that veers towards a bland conservatism..

Umbra 6 | 'Cities' | September 2016

Umbra 6 | 'Cities' | September 2016

The sixth issue of Umbra explores the notion of a city – in its material, memorial and mythical forms. It takes off – and includes – Charles Correa’s seminal essay, ‘The Mythical City’, and uses its central precinct – that of the distinction between a city as a collective imaginary of its residents or distant dreamers, and the actual, physical space that comes to forge it..

Umbra 5 | 'Spaces' | April 2016

Umbra 5 | 'Spaces' | April 2016

The fifth issue marks a significant turn in the journey of Umbra: it is the point at which the magazine begins to develop tendencies of speculation, poetry and the anecdotal – an upheaval that marks a radical reformation in its earlier, stated mission of cold, bureaucratic reportage..

Umbra 4 | 'Exile' | May 2015

Umbra 4 | 'Exile' | May 2015

What is the cinema of a people in a state of perpetual movement? Do they stall for the camera, or must the camera accommodate their kinesis? How does a medium based in subtle shifts and gradual decay respond to a situation marked inherently by these phenomena? ..

Umbra 3 | September 2014

Umbra 3 | September 2014

The third issue of the magazine includes interviews with filmmakers whose work centers around mobilization and then reconciliation (as opposed to, resettlement): Rajesh Jala, with Children of the Pyre, Sourav Sarangi, with Char, and Pawan Srivastava, with Naya Pata..

Umbra 2 | January 2014

Umbra 2 | January 2014

An issue that explores the sector of documentary cinema in the country through the conduct of a roundtable that includes some of its leading practitioners and commentators..

Umbra 1 | August 2013

Umbra 1 | August 2013

The inaugural issue of the publication and one that outlays its concerns – screen culture, the dynamics of the film society movement, their active documentation – most actively..