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@Paperclip_In

19 Nov

Humour finds a way even in the most difficult of times. It survived under the nose of Nazi police, across prisons, ghettoes and concentration camps. A short thread on ‘Whisper Jokes’ that once challenged the Third Order. (1/10)
(Illustration by Lucas Varela)

Under the Nazi Germany government from 1933 to 1945, Hitler had controlled almost every aspect of life in Germany. In 1934, the new Nazi government enacted a law that essentially termed telling and listening to any anti-Nazi joke as an act of treason. (2/10)

Between ‘33 and ‘45, 5000 death sentences were executed, a chunk of them for anti-Nazi humour. Regulations like Gleichschaltung and Reichskulturkammer were formed to control the work of all artists – including comedians. (3/10)

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The Paperclip

@Paperclip_In

18 Nov

The Forgotten Revolutionary: When Bhagat Singh hurled bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly in April, 1929, his chosen companion was #BatukeshwarDutta, born #OTD 111 years ago (1/6)

He was also Singh's partner in the historic fast in Lahore jail in demand for better treatment & living conditions of political prisoners. Batukeshwar was born in Bardhhaman district of Bengal and did his schooling in Kanpur (2/6)

An important member of the HSRA and Bhagat Singh's close associate, he played a major role in the independence movement. For the bombing of CLA, he was sentenced for life & deported to Cellular Jail, Port Blair (3/6)

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The Paperclip

@Paperclip_In

18 Nov

May 1857. Mutinous soldiers from Meerut cantonment march into Delhi. The soldiers proclaimed allegiance to Bahadur Shah Zafar - the last Mughal sovereign - and pleaded him to provide leadership in the quest to end British Raj (1/15)

The old monarch, who was a king practically only in name, did not show much enthusiasm. However, several of the royal princes reacted with vigor and soon, embers of the rebellion spread across the subcontinent (2/15)

Fast forward to August. The East India Company, initially taken aback at the swiftness of the revolt, was now trying to reclaim power. English forces were camped outside Delhi near the ridge (present day North Campus, DU) (3/15)

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The Paperclip

@Paperclip_In

17 Nov

In late-1938, Nazi Germany's occupation of Czechoslovakia began. Jan Opletal was a student of medicine at Charles University, Prague. On 28th Oct, 1939, Opletal was among the students who decided to commemorate the anniversary of Czech Independence (1/6)

The students called for resistance against German occupation and distributed flyers & leaflets. Across the nation, anti-occupation sentiment was swayed. People stoned German-owned shops and sang the national anthem publicly (2/6)

As the Czech police opted to remain pacifist out of sympathy, German forces opened fire on the protesters. Opletal was shot in the stomach and hospitalized. His death, two weeks later (11th Nov) put fire to the fuse (3/6)

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The Paperclip

@Paperclip_In

16 Nov

175th birth anniversary of poet Syed Akbar Hussain, better known as Akbar Illahabadi. One of his most iconic creations was the song "Hungama hain kyun barpa", immortalized in the voice of Ghulam Ali & recently used as the title in an OTT series (1/5)

There's an interesting backstory to this song. The Muslim League was born in 1906 & voices for a separate Islamic nations began to be heard. Akbar Illahabadi was someone who was vocal against this attitude (2/5)

He was a firm believer in the idea of India and brotherhood among different religions. He was also fond of the tipple & for that, disliked by many of his religion. A whisper campaign thus started that the Congress Party was sponsoring his alcohol (3/5)

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The Paperclip

@Paperclip_In

15 Nov

1st death anniversary of the doyen of Bengali cinema - #SoumitraChatterjee , seen here signing autograph at a charity cricket match at Eden Gardens in the 60s (Image: The Telegraph). Here's an interesting anecdote related to Chatterjee & his handwriting (1/4)

Chatterjee was prepping for his role in Satyajit Ray's Charulata. Ray told his leading man that the film was based on Nastanirh, a Tagore novella from 1901 which depicted Bengali society from late 19th-century (2/4)

Ray explained that the dominant time period association for viewers will be the late 19th-century hence Chatterjee's handwriting should reflect that. Chatterjee immediately started practicing handwriting styles of the period (3/4)

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