Two recent travel books by Indian women—Taran N. Khan’s Shadow City and Pallavi Aiyar’s Orienting—bring a unique, gendered perspective to the social and cultural complexities of expat life in Afghanistan and Japan. By Nileena Sunil

An essay on art and analysis by Dhani Muniz: “Art was never art in the way that food has always been food; or perhaps, rather, it is a vast restaurant at the end of the universe in which we are all picky eaters.”

Short story by Ushma Shah: ‘There was a pale, mouldy smell around him, and then, Abhi smelled himself. He had a stench, too, mouldy, and woody, and old.’

At the recent Van Gogh 360° event in Mumbai, Bushra Satkhed found inspiration in the trouble artist’s keen eye for the beauty in life.

How the music from Qala (2022)—produced by Amit Trivedi—diverged from the flow of mainstream formulas in the Hindi film industry, and succeeded in inhabiting a rare sweet spot of commercial and critical appeal. By Raunaq Saraswat

The fifth edition of the international art residency ‘Chitrashaala’ concluded in Mukteshwar, inspiring over a hundred new artworks by artists from all around the world at the foothills of the Himalaya. By Bindu Gopal Rao

Delhi Crime is a breath of fresh air in its realistic portrayal of police investigation and the heroism of intelligent, emphatic cops. But the crime drama leaves a stunning blind spot about the brutalities, corruption, and systematic failures of the Delhi Police itself. By Karan Madhok

Poem by Nikhat Jonak: ‘On the pedestal I saw her sit, in temple, / With raging eyes and divine comportment, / And I wondered if she too bleeds’

Growing up in fascination of the Taj Mahal, Babli Yadav meditates on the burdens of passing time, in a letter to the Mughal emperor who built the great mausoleum of love.

Poetry by Shamayita Sen: ‘every passing moon screeching upon / every neighbourhood I inhabit is a reminder of // your absence’

Shooting to fame after the critical success of Geetanjali Shree’s Tomb of Sand, Daisy Rockwell speaks about the iconic Indian authors she has translated, Partition-themed narratives, and interpreting language from a visual eye. By Saurabh Sharma

Extreme climate change and the environmental catastrophe in towns like Joshimath are another reminder for the need of a sustainable, tenable, and all-inclusive model of growth. By Vipin Labroo