In a famous verse, Kabir wrote, “The river that flows in you also flows in me.” Inspired by this grand uniting spirit of humanity, transgender artists of the Aravani Art Project presented their artwork in front of the Ganga in Varanasi. By Karan Madhok

Nishant Injam’s debut story collection The Best Possible Experience (2024) features a cast of characters between India and the United States who are often homesick for another world: a world that could be a physical or a metaphorical distance away, a world they aspire to with the burdens of a life unfulfilled. By Karan Madhok

In a lengthy conversation, A.M. Gautam, the author of Indian Millennials: Who Are They, Really? (2024), speaks about the many anxieties and opportunities of the Indian millennial, themes of romance, employment, politics, and commerce, and discovering his own self while exploring the larger generation. By Karan Madhok

With an electrifying, viral video, Hanumankind’s “Big Dawgs” has become Indian hip hop’s biggest global smash. In an email exchange, Karan Madhok and Nakul Yadav discuss his unlikely breakthrough, the future of Indian rap, and Baba Sehgal’s “Aaja Meri Gaadi Mein Baith Ja”.

Told through the prism of a Shakesperean comedy of errors and mistaken identities, Kiran Rao’s Laapata Ladies (2024) explores the various paths to female self-determination in rural India. By Karan Madhok

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

In the run-up to the 2024 elections, the films that hit the big screens, the books showcased on the windowfronts, and the music crawling into our ears, has mostly sung the songs of propaganda. It’s art without dissent; art that rages for the machine. By Karan Madhok

In a new collection, Goan artist Harshada Kerkar paints intimate portraits to celebrate the lives of locals and villagers around Mussoorie. By Karan Madhok

Despite an uneven recipe, Abhishek Chaubey’s Killer Soup has enough strong performances and intrigue to make for a palatable—and entertaining—main course. By Karan Madhok

Poetry by Karan Madhok: ‘couldn’t i unsign the social contract, / a sunbathing vampire, a genie unshackled, / a pair of eyes that awake to starry nights painted / on the bedroom ceiling?’

Vivek Shanbag’s novel Sakina’s Kiss (2013) features a protagonist obsessed with possession, uncomfortable in the evolving role of his masculinity, searching for meaning in a life where every answer presents a series of more confounding questions. By Karan Madhok

Photo Essay: Over 250 years since its inception, the Ramlila of Ramnagar—a ‘play’ dramatizing Rama’s story from the Ramcharitmanas—still exists as a faint time capsule of the past. by Karan Madhok