Sonepur Mela: At the Festival of Beasts
Photo Essay: 13 years ago, Siddharth Jain visited the largest animal fair in the world in Sonepur (Bihar), discovering the contrast of mythology and trade, and life and death, under the auspicious full moon.
Short story by Vishnu Bagdawala: ‘Sometimes, I would lie in bed waiting for the tears to come. Sometimes, I would wonder how it was strange that we needed to sleep in order to be awake for the rest of our lives. Until the day when, like my grandfather, we fall into an eternal sleep.’
Set against the landslide-prone terrain of Kinnaur, plagued by environmental collapse and infrastructural neglect, the short film Tenfa (2026) provides a vision of hope through memory, ecology, and community. By Sohini Sengupta
Photo Essay: 13 years ago, Siddharth Jain visited the largest animal fair in the world in Sonepur (Bihar), discovering the contrast of mythology and trade, and life and death, under the auspicious full moon.
Q&A: Ruchir Joshi speaks about Great Eastern Hotel—a novel of changing times and changing minds—about Calcutta, and his inspirations from art and memory. By Amritesh Mukherjee