An excerpt from Falah Faisal and Spud’s graphic novel Musalman (2026): Join Musalman as he discovers his reason for existence and battles hateful TV anchors, mythological villains, and prejudice—while landing more punchlines than punches. 

Poetry by Suhana Bhattacharya: ‘i measure distance / not in miles / but in the way my mother says “beta” / over a lagging call / where her voice arrives before her breath’

Short story by Ayaan Halder: ‘I could feed my children chicken and rice for a week, without having to shout at them for not wanting the fried bhendi they’ve been eating for the last three days. I could cover half a month’s rent with that money, for god’s sake! And you spend it on a wretched T-shirt that doesn’t even bear the colour of the sky?’

Personal Essay by Jahnavi Gogoi: ‘It was obvious that the word “Militant” was not etched on anyone’s face. My mother kept saying it, late into the night, as if to convince herself that Lohit now had blood on his hands.’

From ancient Hindu traditions of retributive violence as well as history of aid and inspiration from abroad, Abhimanyu Kumar explores the complicated associations of our national song with India’s revolutionary movement.

Personal Essay by Mansi Dhankar: ‘Since 2020, Indian students have faced a pandemic, online classes that turned homes into cages, rising coaching culture, paper leaks, collapsing mental health, inflation, unemployment, and a future that grows more expensive each time the rupee weakens against the dollar.’

Continuing a five-decade-long singing career, Usha Uthup speaks about staying relevant with changing times, meme culture, radical self-love, and covering Miley Cyrus. By Deepansh Duggal

Rahul Bhattacharya speaks about the musicality behind Railsong, the taxonomical motifs at the heart of his novel, cricket journalism, and finding inspiration in Toni Morrison. By Saurabh Sharma

In Never Logged Out, Ria Chopra presents astute observations on growing up online, Gen Z, and the Indian internet, approaching these subjects with a writer’s restraint rather than a theorist’s grandiosity. By Sneha Bengani

From its origins in the 1882 novel Anandmath, the attention of European Orientalists, and the impact on early Hindu nationalist movements, Abhimanyu Kumar traces the complicated legacy of India’s national song.

Despite a promising premise, Anubhav Sinha’s courtroom drama Assi succumbs to formulaic depictions of sexual violence, trading nuance and subtleties for shock value. By Akshita Prasad

Farah Ahamed examines the complexities of motherhood and desire in Saadat Hasan Manto’s “Mummy,” Mahesh Manjrekar’s Astitva, and Deepa Mehta’s Water.