There is a clear disconnect between Indian sports and films about Indian sports. We love inspiring cinematic stories about sports in India—often ignoring the sports themselves. Jamie Alter analyses this dichotomy.

Poetry by Khushi Agarwal: ‘you can’t remember the way your belly hugged / each syllable of your laughter .’

Even assuming a COVID-19 vaccine is discovered soon, past logistical challenges in India show that it is unlikely to be a quick fix. Instead, we need to address the structures in place that are causing the disease to spread rapidly around the country. By Shefali Saldanha

Poetry by Ritamvira Bhattacharya: ‘half burnt cigarettes do the talking /when the sound of the room sleeps.’

A conversation with Virajas Kulkarni, actor, playwright, director, and co-founder of Theatron Entertainment: “Nobody can deny the electricity of a live performance. But we do need to keep changing what is being performed, and how it is being performed.” - by Karan Madhok.

Superfluous, dispensable, and restricted, Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking is as (Un)necessary as arranged marriage itself. An analysis into the flaws of the docu-series—and the deeper flaws it exposes in contemporary Indian culture. By Harshita Murarka.

Senryu and Haiku by Nishi Pulugurtha: ‘there is no joy here / only shrieks and tears of pain’.

Indian Matchmaking: So, why were you rejected? A comic story by Maitri Dore

Two poems by Mallika Bhaumik: ‘The vagueness of love runs down / the steps of a baoli, / we could have been born sometime in future, / time yet to be born to us’.

The soundtracks of several contemporary Indian films and shows have become an unlikely source of poetry. Srikanth M.V. discovers the relief that this poetry can provide in turbulent times.

Over the decade, a number of literary giants have emerged from Bengaluru—including Vivek Shanbagh, Madhuri Vijay, and more—to garner worldwide critically acclaim. Kamalpreet Singh Gill argues that the trend is a sign of the country’s ‘Silicon Valley’ evolving into the new heartbeat of Indian literature.

In her captivating debut novel A Burning, Megha Majumdar reports on the searing flames that ignite the ambitions of aspiring Indians—or destroy them. Review by Karan Madhok.