Matchmaking can be a tricky exercise, especially for cats. In a poignant essay, Barnali Ray Shukla shares the story of Zorro and Ginger, and the complex fissures of politics and morality that tug apart a pucca rishta.

The book Our Freedoms: Essays and Stories from India’s Best Writers confronts the challenges of the present, with remarks on religion, caste, sexuality, politics, and more. Saurabh Sharma argues that the collection has the elixir to inspire the soul of the nation.

Last year, 21-year-old Saraf Bhat became the first Kashmiri author to bag the Global Reader’s Award. Akhila Damodaran explores the young writer’s work, inspirations, and path ahead.

Golchakkar Series - The April panel of our virtual literary talk features Anuradha Kumar and Rochelle Potkar: Imaginging Place in Literature.

Megha Ramaswamy’s What Are the Odds? (2019) is a film unlike any other about Indian young adults, harkening the uncertainty of youth on screen to present an experience that is at once innovative, surreal, and profound. By Paromita Patranobish

Ghazals by Amrit Lal “Ishrat” Madhok, translated from Urdu by Karan Madhok: ‘Are we mere companions, or do we swim / Together in the fountains of heaven, waters blue?’

Two poems by Santasree Chaudhuri: ‘Blissful acceptance / Staring at the moon / with an empty stomach.’

What’s The Chakkar? Episode 5: We’re listening to Abdon Mech; watching AK vs AK and Indian meta-cinema, and reading Annie Zaidi and Yaa Gyasi. Featuring Ady Manral, Urmi Bhattacheryya, and Shaista Vaishnav. Hosted by Karan Madhok.

“These are more than just stories. They are our history.” Veio Pou’s debut novel Waiting for the Dust to Settle (2020) narrates a story drawn from real-life incidents from Operation Bluebird in Manipur, blending the personal and the political. By Saurabh Sharma

After a lengthy lay-off, Indian academic institutions have begun to re-open and welcome students back to campus. In interviews with students from around the country, Sadaf Vidha explores how visible and invisible structures in academic spaces affect their mental health.

Golchakkar Series - The March panel of our virtual literary talk features Benyamin, Pankhuri Sinha, Ramesh Karthik Nayak, and Neelam Saxena Chandra: Mother Tongues in a Global Context.

Jeo Baby’s remarkable film The Great Indian Kitchen (2021) is a critique of patriarchy in Indian households, a delicious recipe of a discomforting, cold dish. - By Deekshith Pai