Essay by Srishti Sharma: ‘Love has a stinky feeling… It comes around only once a year. You can try all you like to recreate it, inject it, grow it in laboratories, package it better, sell it faster, but it will still smell and taste odd. It resists standardisation.’

In Kashmir, many rare and lesser-known forms of craftsmanship are slowly disappearing. The work of skilled and committed remains unseen, unsupported and increasingly undervalued in a changing economy. By Ayat Adil

As the promises and threats of artificial intelligence signal a radical economic and social upheaval worldwide, Vipin Labroo argues why India may need to consider a fanciful UBI programme.

The dejhoor had been an ornament for Kashmiri Pandit women for thousands of years, narrating a story of continuity under pressure, womanhood refracted through history, and identity surviving the corrosion of displacement. By Prerna Bhat

In religion, politics, and mainstream pop culture, there is inexplicable hypocrisy and stinging prejudice surrounding the subject of menstruation in India. It begs for more proactive activism around the same. By Nivedita Dey

In the ecologically-sensitive Himalayan regions, the regularity of natural disasters and the scale of damage have increased rapidly in recent years. The two most-significant factors behind this phenomenon have been overdevelopment and climate change. By Vipin Labroo

As a generation of Indians move from living in houses to apartments, Vipin Labroo argues that we must envision our new spaces to reflect better synthesis with the rhythms of nature, the way that our traditional homes once were.

Films like Chhaava have highlighted the valour of Sambhaji and the tyranny of Aurangzeb; the final word in that film, however, is less concerned with history and more with the ideology of the country’s current rulers. By Mozid Mahmud

Media literacy is an urgent need in a country as diverse and complex as India, where the unchecked spread of misinformation carries profound consequences for the very fabric of democracy and social harmony. By Arsalan Shamsi

For over a decade, the wildlife biologist Purnima Devi Barman has committed herself to the preservation of the greater adjutant in Assam, and has led a community-driven initiative with local women to work towards stork conservation. By Vinita Agrawal

Deities like Shitala represent a specific premodern response to disease. Paromita Patranobish explores what Bengal’s pox goddess could teach us about social ethics in Anthropocene times.

With the participation of women in the workforce telling a sobering story, the journey toward true equality in India remains unfinished. Palak Singh and Paritosh Sinha discuss the magnitude of this ongoing plight.