Celestial Broadcasts
Sanket Mhatre poems in A City Full of Sirens address and interrogate the relations between ‘the eternal’ and ‘the transient’ in a nuanced manner, tearing into the expansive multiplicities of singular moments. By Ankush Banerjee
House of Quiet
Fiction by Anannya Nath: ‘Prosenjit forgets to react. What would he do now? How should he talk her through this? Is this what happens once you forget about being a father?’
In the Unifying Language of Verse
Published in India’s 75th year of Independence, Converse: Contemporary English Poetry by Indians (2022) presents unique and diverse voices from the diaspora, with poems that are a sustained discussion with history, oneself, the environment, myth, science, and relationships. By Dustin Pickering
Two Fridas: Two Poems by Shreya Sharma
Poems by Shreya Sharma: ‘‘i will make for you one and a hundred popsicles in each flavour you can think of. pink bubblegum big collective miracle evening and so on.’
Kolkata Feasts or Firewood: Three Poems by Shome Dasgupta
Poems by Shome Dasgupta: ‘take me back / to the moss and crawfish, please / Krishna—take me back to moonlit / moss and claws red like tandoori / curry, soft and savory.’
Obsession and Namelessness in Devibharathi’s THE SOLITUDE OF A SHADOW
In The Solitude of a Shadow, Devibharathi presents a complex picture of a vengeance-seeking narrator fractured by trauma, caste, and identity crisis. By Sneha Pathak
A Way of ‘Happening’: Amitava Kumar’s THE YELLOW BOOK
Amitava Kumar’s The Yellow Book: A Traveller's Diary (2023), conceptualizes the journal itself as an art object, where the act of journaling becomes a form of artistic practice. By Pranavi Sharma
No Monkeying Around
Despite its acclaim abroad, the fate of Dev Patel’s Monkey Man still hangs in a limbo in India. Afreen Kabir writes about the certification board’s controversial decisions and the Indian state’s larger attitudes towards artistic dissent.
‘Afraid of Feeling So Great’: Green Park’s Moody Melodies of Separation and Growth
Newly Aged (2024), the debut album by Green Park, is an experimental, cross-cultural rock project that responds to the uncertainties of transition, joy, and the life ahead. By Karan Madhok
“Sometimes silence works”: Words and Withdrawals in Kiriti Sengupta’s Oneness
Kiriti Sengupta’s Oneness (2024) is a condensed capsule of poetry, one that weaves multiple strains of being into an organic unity. With his vivid and sonic juxtapositions, the compositions in the new collection both obfuscate and enlighten the reader. By Ajanta Paul
“Did you shave off your moustache?”
Personal Essay by Diyaa Jyothilal: ‘For the first time in my life, I would feel beautiful. I felt like a girl. I felt like I was worthy of becoming a woman one day. I spent hours staring into my bathroom mirror, gaping at my reflection, and imagining myself on the cover of Vogue.’