Much of the novel Legal Fiction is about the facts only understood as fiction, and the fictions that should never interfere with facts. Chandan Pandey’s story shines in the uncomfortable confluence of the real and imagined in a dangerous New India. By Karan Madhok

Poems by Kashiana Singh: ‘meanwhile, you stir life / into us, our faces cupped / in the folds of your / turmeric stained / hands – / held by a firm wrist / draped / in a beaded rosary’

In Patna, Bihar, a community-led art installation Khud Se Pooche highlights the urgent need for women seeking access and dignity in healthcare. By Priyanka Sacheti

Rachita Vora’s ‘The Mumbaikar’ art series pays tribute to Mumbai and its people, in a homage to the iconic magazine covers of The New Yorker. By Medha Dutta Yadav

‘I simply mean: our image of forever / Is not forever, the way a painting / Of an ocean is not wet.’

The sixteen-year wait between Bunty Aur Babli and its sequel projects the face of a new, millennial Indian generation and their aspirations—even for the latest brand of the film’s con-artists. By Toonika Guha

What’s The Chakkar? Episode 14: This special end-of-year episode features our favourites of 2021, including music by LIFAFA; novels by S. Hareesh and Yaa Gyasi; and a roundup of the year’s best film/TV, including Sardar Udham. Featuring Ady Manral, Shaista Vaishnav, and Prateek Santram. Hosted by Karan Madhok.

In another difficult year of the pandemic, many of us leaned deeper into the contemplation of literature. From Rijula Das and Josy Joseph, to Amitava Kumar and Shrayana Bhattacharya, Saurabh Sharma presents his twenty favourite Indian books of the year.

‘The ground is shifting… It is symptomatic of a tension, a threat.’ Writer, academician, and filmmaker Anubha Yadav spoke about the process behind her book Scripting Bollywood: Candid Conversations with Women Who Write Hindi Cinema, feminism in the Hindi film industry, and much more. By Shibani Phukan

Contemporary retrospection—an attempt to comprehend not the distant past but the present day—was the central theme of Episteme, an exhibition in New Delhi featuring ten emerging Indian artists. - By Karan Madhok.

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.

Short story by Aishwarya Khale: ‘When I thought about the past, I thought about memory. I wondered if Mr Shinde would forget us, like shattered dolls collapsing through the broken chambers of his mind.’