Personal Essay by Namrata: ‘Language is meant to bring us closer. To help us say: I see you. I want to understand you. I care enough to learn your words. And when we turn language into a line in the sand and use it to exclude, to shame, to assert dominance, we forget its most sacred purpose: to connect.’

Debut novelist Atharva Pandit discusses why he chose to render the true-crime story as fiction in Hurda, the polyphonic nature of the narrative, and his uninhibited portrayal of the investigation and the actors involved in the case. By Saurabh Sharma

Through a tight focus in the sphere of the Indian classical music subculture, Chaitanya Tamhane’s 2020 film The Disciple asks larger questions about the relentless pursuit of art and excellence in the face of existential crisis. By Karan Madhok