Photo feature/Exclusive: Now that the Israeli murder machine has surrounded some of the ships sailing with essential humanitarian aid, baby formula and medicine, we bring to you the first pictures of hope and courage as the bravehearts started the long journey on international waters from the port of Barcelona.

By Ita Mehrotra. 'Uprooted' invites us to bear witness to the changing relationship that the Van Gujjars and the Taungyas have with the forests around them—as they live, laugh and struggle in the face of exclusionary conservation, state antagonism and encroachment under the guise of ‘development’.

By Anuradha Kumar. In this withdrawing from intimacy, is there also a related fear of loss of masculinity, a loss of control? And what about the women who wish to wander? Will history and the future be kind to them?

By Meher Pestonji. Adil’s existential dilemma took a new twist. You don’t need to declass to have empathy. Yet, significant change can only happen through collective action. His search for authenticity continues.

By Monita Soni. My journey with Devdutt’s work began in 1997 with “Shiva,” a book that stirred conversations at home and laid the groundwork for a personal mythology that continued to grow with “Sita,” “Jaya,” “The Pregnant King,” “Business Sutra,” and “Shikhandi and Other Tales They Don’t Tell You.” As a fellow Mumbaikar and someone with a rational yet culturally curious upbringing, I often wondered what it would be like to meet the doctor-turned-storyteller in person.

By Arjun Janah. This poem is about spiritually surviving extreme adversity, including losses of family, limbs, health, and even the imminent loss of one's own life, as so many have to do, with faith in all that is good, recognizing all that is evil, and understanding that both are in all beings. One way to do this is by reducing oneself to the essence of being, accepting what the moment brings.

By Nargis Natarajan. ‘The Sound Of Silence’ is a powerful metaphor for loneliness and spiritual emptiness in a changing world. It is a gloomy painting displaying a desperate longing for connection, for recognition.

In September 2024, Kirk sparked significant controversy when he posted on social media platform X that “America does not need more visas for people from India”.

By Ashish Singh. To understand Alfred Hitchcock’s genius, one must look beyond suspense as a genre and recognize it as a tool he used to explore possession, control, and desire. Safety, he suggested, was never guaranteed.

By Sarita Chouhan. Like a weaver weaving warp and weft. It's repetitive. Meditative. Mystic.

By Satya Sagar. Rafi Saab. Not out at 100: The voice that taught us not just how to fall in love — but how to live.

By Monita Soni. Love had changed. Become deep. Wistful. Shifting in shape.

By Ramsharan Joshi. The libraries in these schools are extraordinary. Public libraries offer memberships to 6-month-old babies! I saw this in Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, Canada. Even 4th and 5th graders are used to ‘heavy books’. In summer, children are encouraged to read and write, and discover their independent minds.

By Arjun Janah. But, still, be gentle with yourself.

By Murali Kamma. What could go wrong? Everything, apparently. So, what happened?

By Ajith Pillai. In mythology, the unicorn is a horse with a single spiraling horn that sprouts from its forehead. It is a very elusive creature with mystical and magical powers and symbolises purity and grace. In our tech-dominated world, the unicorn is an altogether different beast.

Ayasha Kaur. People have been so afraid of educating their daughters because they would say, “If tomorrow daughters become educated, they will write letters to boys.” This exposes the inherent fears of this patriarchal society. This means that if girls become educated, they will fight for their rights, they will take their rights themselves, they will not need to become dependent on anyone.

By Binu Mathew. Yes, we are Davids facing Goliath with just a stone in our hands. At first glance, we are destined to fail. But if we act collectively, we can win.

By R Kalpana The stance on divorce, however, is slightly different, and creates curiosity. This is because I know many couples who have divorced, then got back, divorced again, and got back. These things are best left unanswered and not analysed too much, because even if you ask the questions, they really do not have any answers.

By Harshit Rana. In this dark world, there is a need of little spark, so as to make a better world where at least two people can love, work, study, play and share, without the fear of age-old boundaries and prejudices imposed on them.