Bulbbul: A Hypnotic Ride into the Horrors of Patriarchy
How Anvita’s Dutt film Bulbbul (2020) turned the age-old story of churails into a complex feminist fairy tale - by Harshita Murarka.
Mental Health in India: Looking Through a Filter of Colonialism and Casteism
India has to grapple with both caste and colonisation to get a holistic understanding of mental health issues, stigma, treatment and community interventions. - By Sadaf Vidah
Music from the Hills: Abdon Mech dreams of better days in “Again”
Nagaland-based singer-songwriter Abdon Mech discusses his lockdown-inspired single “Again”, his song writing process, future plans, and more.- by Ady Manral
India's Wait for the COVID-19 Vaccine and Economic Concerns Post-Lockdown
An interview with Analyst & Writer Shefali Saldanha on the COVID-19 vaccine research, logistical challenges for India, promoting hand-washing, fighting disinformation, and much more.
The Somersaulting Cat
Poetry by Sanskriti K: ‘And watching me- / hacking the fruits of / the subconscious / from the tedious branches / of unexposed reality.’
Vishesh Bhriguvanshi: Arjuna on the Hardwood
Basketball star Vishesh Bhriguvanshi won the Arjuna Award this month, joining a prestigious list of sporting greats. Here’s the story of the Varanasi-born baller, and what he represents for the less-celebrated sports in India. - by Karan Madhok.
The Novel and the Nation: How A Burning Translates the News of the New India
Megha Majumdar’s debut novel A Burning is a study in media and myth-making, of an India that is no longer an imagined community with the same news-reading rituals, but a collection of nations, each with their own interpretation of reality - by Kanika Jain.
Where Will You Be
Poetry by Lesley Simeon: ‘Where will you be then? / In books and magazines, where history is mass produced? / In your mind, trapped by your conscience, guilty of slumber?’
Lights, Camera, and Gold Medals
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.
What Happens After the Vaccine?
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
Loneliness
Poetry by Ritamvira Bhattacharya: ‘half burnt cigarettes do the talking /when the sound of the room sleeps.’