A Souvenir from The Taj
Personal Essay by Sreelekha Chatterjee: The monkey’s mouth parted and tufts of brown hair bristled wildly on top of its head. Had it come to finish the job, I wondered?
A Cape of Memories: Three poems by Bharti Bansal
Poetry by Bharti Bansal: ‘My house has always been a little too ambitious to become a home / People came and went, like whiffs of air’
Foregoing the bygones
Poem by Shirsh Sanstuti: ‘A plethora of emotions come spilling / from a package labelled ‘handle with care’
Arrested Eyesight: Three poems by Vasundhara Parashar
Poetry by Vasundhara Parashar: ‘I used to know my conscience, I used to see the world, / But now I read, Byron, Browning, and Burns, / Only to find myself lying on kitchen floors.’
A Profound Slow Burn
Netflix’s Trial by Fire (2023) explores the true story of the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire and its long aftermath, presenting a heartbreaking narrative which shines brightest in its exploration of human intimacies. By Karan Madhok
‘Saw Eternity, Eroded’: Six poems by Dion D’Souza
Poetry by Dion D’Souza: ‘I’ll make up another song. / Another doozy screamhowl / or lullaby. Tease / out a plastic tune.’
Comings and Goings: On the beauty of Amitabha Bagchi’s HALF THE NIGHT IS GONE
Sakshi Nadkarni on Amitabha Bagchi’s Half the Night is Gone (2018), a tale of stories withing stories, both dense and sparse, a glimpse across many Delhis, a meditation on sorrow, fatherhood, self-reflection, and literature itself.
A Compassionate Dissent: The poetry of Madhu Raghavendra
Madhu Raghavendra’s poetry confronts issues of contemporary Indian politics and culture, verses that hold a mirror to our faces to witness our responses to our reflections. By Satarupa Bhattacharya
Ordinary Masons, Who Paint a Sun on the Sky
Poetry by Shivangi Mishra: ‘Icarus’ airplane crashed squarely into forsaken humanity, a pit, / In future was shown history.’
THE MENDICANT PRINCE: A Women-centric retelling of the Bhawal Sannyasi Case
In her latest work, Aruna Chakravarti revisits the early 20th century ‘mejo kumar’ story, now allowing all its characters—particularly its females—to speak in their own voices. By Saurabh Sharma