The pandemic presented fraught challenges to our connections with the rest of humanity, the people and acquaintances in our world. In her personal photo-essay, Sufia Khatoon attempts to forge links with the strangers with whom we share our breaths.

Short story by Aishwarya Khale: ‘When I thought about the past, I thought about memory. I wondered if Mr Shinde would forget us, like shattered dolls collapsing through the broken chambers of his mind.’

Streaming music giant Spotify’s ad campaign blurs the line between fact and fiction, a meta conversation that offers the listeners less annoyance with more upgrades. Does it work? By Shambhavi Gupta

For his collection “Poetry of Impermanence”, Sanoop P.C. turned his environment in Anchangadi, Kerala into his inspiration, allowing the profound experience where the site of observation is also one of creation. By Reema Kurikkalot

Despite some negative stereotypes, there are the wonderful ways in which nearly 14,400 species of fungi, specific to India, live, breathe and slay. Babli Yadav explores this fantastic, beautiful world with young naturalists from around the country.

‘Theatre is a collaborative art form. It has that mongrel quality. We take from everyone, and finding community is key.’ Greeny Francis discusses her calling towards the theatrical arts, crafting immersive and experiential theatre, and stories from the production process. By Varud Gupta

With viral videos like “I Come from Two Indias”, Vir Das and other modern comedians can afford to be more biting in their attacks against the ruling class, as they don’t receive direct patronage from them. But they are now bound to the attention economy, desperately pushing for extremes instead of striving for meaningful cultural critique. By Aditi Murti

What’s The Chakkar? Episode 12: We’re reading books by Wendy Doniger and Sophia Naz; watching Lagaan; and listening to Dot. Featuring Saurabh Sharma, Prateek Santram, and Ady Manral. Hosted by Karan Madhok.

It’s impossible to watch the biopic Sardar Udham without identifying how the past still haunts India’s present, how old imperialism continues in the form of the new state. By Karan Madhok

Personal essay by K. S. Subramanian: ‘For the first three months of severe lockdown everyone was getting used to the eerie silence on the roads and the breeze blowing with an inherent message—stay put where you are.’

Poems by Rahana K. Ismail: ‘they say you could / map out migration by how / games change hands—hands tiny in hope, / searching a piece of it in the other’.

In his Booker-shortlisted novel A Passage North, Anuk Arudpragasam masterfully uses stream of consciousness to meditate upon longing and desire, in a country where war and violence slowly recede against the humdrum of everyday life. By Priyanka Chakrabarty