culture

Reporting Rape

That a woman is raped every few minutes in the country is more than just a statistic for us crime reporters. It is our bread and butter.

The Chaatwalla

Just like an alcoholic’s tragic relationship with his seedy madhushala, my lonely nights had come to be punctuated by sub-standard meals at Kolkata U.P. Chats and Paratha Center.

The Tea Party (Part 2)

This decade has rendered us incapable of facing a gathering on a Sunday without a cocktail or three.

The Virtue of Visibility

As a woman, you are never entirely independent and detached; everyone has a stake in keeping your freedom in check. And they will never let you forget that.

The Haircutwalla

Scissors snip menacingly, the naked razor blade wanders tantalisingly close to my ear, and cheap talcum powder is generously applied all over my neck.

The Tea Party (Part 1)

It was no surprise, then, that I, like the rest of my generation, embraced the coffee culture with a vengeance. It was my way of telling tea to go to hell.

Flights of Fancy

A quick chat with Bidisha Basu, one of the founders of Leaping Windows, India’s first library and café for comic books, graphic novels, and manga.

Pins and Needles

Nascent pictographs created from the controlled symbiosis of needle and ink on nothing but bare skin hold a certain allure for this writer.

Hard Pressed

In a world where everyone with an Internet connection possesses the agency to self-publish, how do we deal with questions of quality?

Not Too Shabby

Sanctum is a lifestyle store that focuses on a more relaxed approach to creating intimate spaces, with pieces that are both comforting and timeless.

Monsoon Express

The story of the monsoons is somewhat like the story of my country, where senses and sensibilities are constantly overwhelmed, and then subjugated.

All That You Can’t Leave Behind

The photographs did not come out of the frames easily. I was naïve to think that I could so simply extricate my pleasant, hopeful memories of India.