“I wanted the book to ‘sound’ and ‘feel’ like the internet” – Ria Chopra on NEVER LOGGED OUT
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
A Nation’s Song: The Early History of “Vande Mataram”
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.
Q&A: Fiction writer Salini Vineeth discusses the experiences and inspirations that shaped her journey
In a wide-ranging interview, Salini Vineeth speaks about profound questions of identity in her work, switching to literature after an engineering background, writing in multiple languages, and more. By Mitra Samal
Rage, Rebellion, and the Beautiful Asymmetry of Human Imperfection
In Lavanya Lakshminaryan’s The Ten Percent Thief, a dystopic Indian future serves as the setting to explore existential dilemmas of human creativity in the face of an authoritarian technocracy. By Karan Madhok
Surrealistic Icarus: Gopal Lahiri’s SELECTED POEMS
“Poetry is the diary I always carry with me.” Gopal Lahiri’s collection Selected Poems (2025) cultivates a privacy that invites readers to the poet’s second self in consciousness. By Dustin Pickering
Found in Translation: K.M. Munshi’s ‘Unfortunate Woman’
In her translation of Gujarati literary giant K.M Munshi’s “Ek Patra,” Rita Kothari uses language to reveal not just the story, but the hidden realities of the lives inhabited by the characters. By Rohee Dholakia
A Call for a Postcolonial Education Revolution
In The Amateur (2024), Saikat Majumdar explores education, humanity, and inclusivity from different perspectives to highlight the major flaws of colonial education. The book asks for intensive correction in institutions and in the people’s psyche. By Kabir Deb
India’s AI Governance Guidelines are here—But what of the Publishing Sector?
Without clear regulatory mechanism against AI data mining, Indian publishers have begun adapting voluntary frameworks. Madhuri Kankipati argues for the urgent need for the AI governance guidelines to set legislation and protect creative workers in a multilingual, digitally expanding nation.
The Politics of Female Longing in Fire and “Lihaaf”
In the art of filmmaker Deepa Mehta and writer Ismat Chughtai, Farah Ahamed explores themes of patriarchy, infidelity, and a testament to the desires of women.
“Storytelling Saves My Life Every Day” – An Interview with Sanjana Ramachandran
Sanjana Ramachandran’s debut Famous Last Questions investigates the clash of the personal with the sociopolitical. The author speaks about masking and unmasking herself, finding comfort in contradictions, and the flawed institutions of marriage, relationships, and work. By Karan Madhok
The Lunar Learning
Personal Essay: Who has access to knowledge? Ph.D. scholar Swathi Priya explores how multidisciplinary lenses of caste inclusion, neoliberal market, liberal ideology, mental health imperatives, and literature inform her larger research goals.
The City That Remains: Guwahati, and the Poetry it Inspires
Through memories, juxtapositions, and observations of the intricate, the poems about Guwahati in The Penguin Book of Poems on the Indian City (2025) portray a city that no longer exists, having metamorphosed into a new ‘synthetic’ space marred by politics and reckless urbanisation. By Ayaan Halder