Propaganda films force upon us the grand question, writes Sanjay Basak: Are we loudly applauding the breathtaking production on screen, or are we quietly absorbing the idea that someone, somewhere, deserves to be feared, hated, or erased? 

Short story by Debi Mukherjee: “Unlike the little girls I see outside temples, draped in their pano bhaju’s stringing garlands of Marigolds, I dare not play with the flowers in our garden. Papa cautions me against the rows of Mogras, Shoe-flowers, Frangipanis and a multitude of others. He says that I must not be lured by a flower’s fragrance.”

Poetry by Priyanka Aravind P.: ‘I too had a mother, / Who fed me with knowledge so ancient, / And called me her brightest star, // until I misspelt a note from the sacred chants.’

Interview: On “Float with Boatcast”, Zahir Mirza takes his guests on a cruise through lakes, rivers, and seas to discuss topics of interest on Kerala and beyond. By Nileena Sunil

At the Student Protests in Jantar Mantar, Dikshit Sharma turns his lens to the moments of collective solidarity—the trash collectors, the food delivery workers, the volunteers, the living community—to reveal the architecture which quietly carries history forward.

Singer-songwriter Ady Manral introduces his music documentary from Landour, a visual EP rinsed with the lush sights and sounds of monsoon in the Himalayan foothills.

With brutal carnage presented with celebratory beats, Dhurandhar: The Revenge pushes viewers towards a stony insensitivity, creating a sense of heightened tempo and exhilaration without moral recoil. By Abin Chakraborty

Poetry by Sindhuri Rao: ‘Keep everything you bought here— / your eager dreams, / hanging garments, / obedient smiles, / unpressed rages, too. / “Be our guest.”’

In a detailed interview, Karan Mahajan spoke about exploring the uneven spaces between love and lust in the characters of The Complex, the prism-like perspectives of an extended Indian family, and how Delhi inspires his literary work. By Karan Madhok

Photography: In a monochromatic study of labour, dignity, and the tactile reality of survival in New Delhi, the photographer Danny presents a visual archive of the silent architects of our capital.

An excerpt from Falah Faisal and Spud’s graphic novel Musalman (2026): Join Musalman as he discovers his reason for existence and battles hateful TV anchors, mythological villains, and prejudice—while landing more punchlines than punches. 

Poetry by Suhana Bhattacharya: ‘i measure distance / not in miles / but in the way my mother says “beta” / over a lagging call / where her voice arrives before her breath’