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

Poems by Arya Gopi: ‘I carry my exile in my pocket— / seventeen reminders that buzz / like electronic prayers / to gods who’ve forgotten / how to synchronize.’

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.

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

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

Acclaimed author Meena Kandasamy discusses the uncompromising and unapologetic resolve in her writing, confronting violence with art, and why activism is a form of love. By Saurabh Sharma

Through her memoir, Arundhati Roy revisits the foundry where her courage was forged, to the mother who didn’t prepare her for success, but inadvertently trained her to withstand both adoration and hatred to determine her survival. By Amritesh Mukherjee

The dejhoor had been an ornament for Kashmiri Pandit women for thousands of years, narrating a story of continuity under pressure, womanhood refracted through history, and identity surviving the corrosion of displacement. By Prerna Bhat

Written with understated, sublime beauty, Sarvesh Wahie’s Mussoorie Daze (2025) is a literary and philosophical text that examines the ontology of a lost Himalayan paradise, and the changing character of memory, self, solitude, and community. By Abhimanyu Kumar

Poems by Agni Barathi: ‘What impossible simile / will suffice, my love, / to sing of my real, utter ruin?’

Tripti Dimri has become the newest face of self-made stardom, paving her professional path with roles ranging from complex feminist heroines to objectified ‘items’ for the male gaze. With her career at a tipping point, can she avoid the industry’s pitfalls and rise to the apex? By Sneha Bengani

Poetry: ‘Things lying around, still, cautious / Tell-tale signs, of nothing / Butter, a knife and a pen / A diary of poems now lost’