Indian Art Under the Company’s Shadow
A recent exhibition at New Delhi’s National Museum explored the lives and lifestyles of 19th century Indians, with stories of the resilience of many unknown and known Indian artists. By Bindu Gopal Rao
PANCHAYAT is a throwback that looks ahead
Rural India takes centre-stage again in Season 2 of Panchayat, a series that follows the thread of comic absurdity to stitch up a progressive lens on village life. By Karan Madhok
Dinesh C. Sharma, Goatsmoke, and Panchayat - What’s The Chakkar?
What’s The Chakkar? Episode 21: We’re reading books by Dinesh C. Sharma and Maggie O'Farrell; listening to music by Goatsmoke; and watching Season 2 of Panchayat. Featuring Shaista Vaishnav, Anurag Tagat, and Prateek Santram. Hosted by Karan Madhok.
‘The river falls into a folded slumber’ – Two poems by Debarati Sen
Poetry by Debarati Sen: ‘I sketch bougainvillea with the moon. / The clouds smell of dreams today / assorted as per my mood.’
The Burning Embers of Petrofiction: Ilyas Ahmed Gaddi’s FIRE AREA
As long the coal remains a major player in the neo-liberal globalized world, the metaphorical and literal fires from Ilyas Ahmed Gaddi’s 1994 novel will keep burning. By Sudeshna Rana
Where are the photographs Ma? A ghazal by Pragya Mittal
Poetry by Pragya Mittal: ‘Whatever the heart carries is buried in the jargon of technology. / A button of delete, with a noise of take-off, finishes a gallery.’
In THE NUTMEG’S CURSE Amitav Ghosh gives voice to our ailing planet
In The Nutmeg’s Curse, Amitav Ghosh explores the epistemic gap between Enlightenment modernity’s designation of all nonhuman beings as objects meant to cater to human needs, and the indigenous worldview that identifies these ‘objects’ as active, vibrant, sentient individuals. By Paromita Patranobish
Gardens of the Past: Two poems by Bharti Bansal
Two poems by Bharti Bansal: ‘I believe grandmothers can see through us / As haunting as it sounds, I find relief in the knowledge / That someone will always know this little part of me’
The City Is A Festering Wound: Three poems by Samiksha Ransom
Poetry by Samiksha Ransom: ‘the city is a lacerated arm / hanging loose from a plaster / a red flag made of dupatta’
A city translated through the languages of love
Modern Love (Mumbai)’s greatest realization lies in the offering of the city’s palette: an architectural marvel in the Sea Link, an underlying bedrock in Thane, a warm enclosure in cutting chai. The city is steeped in the love its characters exude towards themselves and others. By Raunaq Saraswat
A colourful passage through time: Photos from Fort Kochi
No place in the world is quite like Fort Kochi—A collage of Indian, Portuguese, Dutch, English, and Chinese cultural and architectural influences, a humming postcard from the past. Photo Gallery by Karan Madhok
Commodity Fetishism—and the crafts to counter it
Personal Essay: Shambhavi Gupta explores why consistent engagement with craft—like crochet—holds the potential to liberate us from the cloud of fetishism, which obscures our vision of the products and services we purchase.