A ‘Janus-like’ Being: The Long Shadow of “Vande Mataram”
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.
SHADOW CITY and ORIENTING: On the Road with Two Indian Women Across Asia
Two recent travel books by Indian women—Taran N. Khan’s Shadow City and Pallavi Aiyar’s Orienting—bring a unique, gendered perspective to the social and cultural complexities of expat life in Afghanistan and Japan. By Nileena Sunil
Poetry by John Copley Alter: ‘In the proximity / of other gods—other sutras— / we muttered our creed—you // pecking / away at your manual typewriter— / carbon copies of personal letters / home—to the diaspora—we // noodling on the keyboard of happiness’