In a quiet corner of Uttar Pradesh, a retired government employee runs the Mann Ki Baat Radio Museum—featuring the world’s largest radio collection—striking a conversation between generations through sound and memory. By Arsalan Shamsi and Siddharth Sharma

Last year, a road-widening project for access to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple upended the lives of many residents and traders in Varanasi’s historic Dalmandi area. On Eid al-Fitr, Karan Madhok visited the alleyways among the rubble of demolition.  

Photo Essay: From the historic lanes of Chandni Chowk to the healing sarovar of Bangla Sahib, devotees reaffirmed the timeless message of equality, service, and oneness of humanity on Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary. By Aditya Sharma and Sana Kauser

Photo Story by Quamar Equbal and Sumit Singh: Rohtang is a vibrant artery of travel, adventure, and survival, pulsing with stories of resilient people who call this rugged pass their lifeline. But unchecked tourism, pollution, and rising environmental concerns have left it under siege.

Photo Essay by Karan Madhok: ‘I’m still feeling the nasha of this place the next morning; it’s a glow of inner joy, a celebration of each scintilla of being alive. I feel the feathery wafts of mountain breeze, see the clear horizon appearing after the night’s downpour, and watch farm animals grazing on grass, soaking in the morning sun.’

Photo Essay: In a visit to the Serendipity Arts Festival in Panjim, Goa, Deekshith Pai explored the political complexities of contemporary art while rediscovering his own ancestral lands.

Photo Essay by Pranava: ‘These modern fossils speak a different language from the Market, and are an out-of-place eye sore. They only remind us that the municipal corporation has failed to consider who is really served by this supposed beautification.’

Personal Essay by Poornima Laxmeshwar: ‘Closed doors mean abandonment… only houses where no one resides must be locked. Doors are like hearts... They must let the sunshine and the storm enter, because life is such.’

An overpopulated trip to Kedarkantha made Aman Panwar reflect on the dangerous rise of ‘tourist-trekkers’ in the Himalaya, where unprepared throngs are destructing the natural habitat and profits are being made at the cost of environment.

The pandemic presented fraught challenges to our connections with the rest of humanity, the people and acquaintances in our world. In her personal photo-essay, Sufia Khatoon attempts to forge links with the strangers with whom we share our breaths.

‘I missed the recklessness of youth and wanted to prove to myself that I could still test my limits—if only for a weekend.’ Unguided, unprepared, and unfazed, Karan Madhok recalls the horrors and hope from a fateful Himalayan trek to Nag Tibba.

Photo-essay: In long walks across Kolkata, Sufia Khatoon comes across lives in motion, lives continuously moving forward, each person an immortal story that fuels the city and adds to its history.