TVF’s continuing ‘Aspiration’ as the voice of India’s Youth
With coming-of-age series Aspirants, streaming platform The Viral Fever continue to tell stories close to the heart of the Indian youth, serving as an evolving meme of our times. By Raunaq Saraswat
‘In fiction, one finds the opportunity to utter the unsayable’ – An exploration of Queer Literature from India
Through a selected, personal exploration—from Ismat Chughtai to “Ugra”, Jerry Pinto to Megha Majumdar and more—Saurabh Sharma traces the evolution of queer narratives in Indian fiction.
Pride & Poetry
Poem by Amya Roy: ‘You rested in our rainbow, / too many silences sit across us, / staring in our eyes, / waiting for us to speak.’
Ramya Pothuri, Peter Wohlleben, and Pagglait - What's The Chakkar?
What’s The Chakkar? Episode 8: We’re listening to Ramya Pothuri; reading Peter Wohlleben and Viet Thanh Nguyen; and watching Pagglait. Featuring Ady Manral, Shaista Vaishnav, and Harshita Murarka. Hosted by Karan Madhok.
The Ballad of a Superpower Lost
Superpower 2020, the new album by Indian genre-bending artist Lifafa is an instant classic, a creative mishmash of techno and Bollywood classical, all packaged tightly in a musical vision of defiance, a satire of a national superpower gone wrong. - by Karan Madhok.
Golchakkar: Graphic Narratives from India
Golchakkar Series - The June panel of our virtual literary talk features Sharanya Manivannan, Varud Gupta, and Devapriya Roy: Graphic Narratives from India.
Selective Scarcity: A Queer Lens at India’s Health Care Imbalance
Survival in the pandemic continues to favour the powerful and privileged, while those in the margins face a scarcity and failure of the health care system. Aryan Somaiya and Sadaf Vidha confront this imbalance from a queer lens.
Kolkata Hiraeth, A Longing for Home
Photo Gallery: Images of a Kolkata left behind, as another Kolkata paces ahead. By Amal Shihabudeen
“When you train hard, the fight can be easy”
Now aiming to become a boxing world champion, 24-year-old Karthik Sathish spoke about the ins and outs of the sport, its growing popularity in India, his experiences in the ring, and more. By Akhila Damodadran
A Tale of Two Pandemics: COVID and Disinformation
Narratives of pseudoscience and ‘alternative’ remedies have proven to be extremely harmful during the pandemic in India. With many refusing to take the vaccine, Shefali Saldanha argues that the worst may be yet to come.
Pardesi Pahadi: Splendour and Survival at Sahastra Tal
‘I was overcome with fear and awe, witness to a power I could feel but couldn’t comprehend’. In another account of his adventures in the Garhwal Himalaya, Zachary Conrad recalls a treacherous trek to Sahastra Tal.
Men, Inclusion, and Feminism
‘At a time when women have owned up to their narratives, are telling their stories, and forming solidarity, is it essential we enquire after male poets’ perspectives on feminism?’ Shamayita Sen discusses various aspects of the feminist struggle in her introduction to the collection Collegiality and Other Ballads: feminist poems by male and non-binary allies.