Features

Swadeshi

Swabhimaan Gone Wrong

There is a need to reclaim notions like Swadeshi and Swabhimaan from jingoists and rid them of their unnecessary historical baggage.

The noble lungi

The Case for the Lungi (and Against Pants)

Nothing epitomises ‘casual’ more than a free-flowing lungi.

Illustration by Nirupa Roy

Sex, Stories, and Power Trips

We are being told a story; one that elevates downright misogyny to the revered status of Indian Culture.

Man of Steel

A God to Them

In Man of Steel, by shifting the focus to the essential human conflicts faced by Superman, Zack Snyder automatically draws viewers closer to the superhero.

Shrunken Heads

The Tourism of Grief

Dark tourism—travelling to places associated with death, pain, and suffering—is the dirty little secret of the tourism industry.

Kama Sutra

Kama Sutra Lost

My mom has thrown away my Kama Sutra book. At least that is what I think happened to it.

The Power of Pie

The Power of Pie

Do we love the idea of cooking more than the act of cooking itself?

Photograph by Jaideep Unudurti.

Northern Lights

“Welcome to Sweden, you lunatic,” says Karl. I’ve just landed in Stockholm, where the temperature is a bracing -19 degrees Celsius.

Sacred Cows, Indispensable Women

Sacred Cows, Indispensable Women

Even in a country as inherently classist as India, a lower class man has far more power than an upper class woman.

Cigars in Cuba

Rolling Cigars in Havana

A cigar festival is held in Havana every year and cigar tasting tours, as well as tours to nearby tobacco plantations, are extremely popular.

Nandita Das's Between the Lines

Play a Little Harder to Get, Playwrights

While Between the Lines tackles the gender divide in the context of a married, well-to-do couple, Class of ’84 flirts briefly with homophobia.

The Moral Policeman's Guide to Spotting Immorality

The Painfully Noble Origins of Moral Policing

Apart from what it dresses in, one needs to constantly monitor where the body goes, who it is seen with, and when it can appear in public places.