To provide a glimpse of India’s metal scene, Nidhi Lodaya interviewed some of the country’s top bands, shared personal experiences, and expressed hope for a genre beyond its traditional stereotypes and misconceptions.

Four poems by Amit Shankar Saha: ‘The city awakes / / from the depths of sleep / and beyond the walls / their minds are released / from quarantine.

The nihilistic poetry collection Black Verses (2018) by Sarvesh Wahie offers a call for pure meditation, of accepting oneself in a vacuum. Review by Karan Madhok.

An existential homage to the Coen brothers, the Indian web-series Afsos emerged as surprising, surreal, and - despite its flaws - a must-watch. Review by Prateek Santram

India’s economy has failed the most-vulnerable half of the population. Shefali Saldanha argues that the pandemic could be an opportunity to change the system.

Aiming for transcendent commentary on female sexual power, the Netflix series SHE fails in providing true agency to its heroine, falling instead in a powerless trap - Sabah Virani writes.

Personal essay: Anant Mital, drummer of new Delhi-based Nowhere Station, shares the story of the band’s origins and ambitions on the eve of their debut release.

From the school basketball courts to international cricket tournaments, how India’s diversity and divisions can be united under the umbrella of sports - by Adit Joshi in Student’s Corner.

In the comparisons between Sita and Draupadi, Urmi Bhattacheryya argues how the trope of ‘the other woman’ has hurt feminism in Indian mythology.

How a collaborative effort of designers and weavers have produced a distinct—and evolving—artistic vision on Indian-manufactured rugs - by Karan Madhok.

Irrfan Khan was both subtle and mesmerising, performing with words and with his eyes, embodying characters we would never forget. Jamie Alter analyses the five crucial roles that helped define the art of the acting legend.

Extensive research in recent years helped Surbhi Agarwal discover an unlikely sojourn between Mahatma Gandhi and Mussoorie. Here, she presents a brief account of the details she gathered of Gandhi’s trips to ‘The Queen of the Hills’ between the 1920s-40s.