By Aayushi Rana. Rakhi has always been described as a thread of protection, of love, of belonging. But what happens when the ritual remains, and the emotion feels absent? This year, I found myself asking that question.

By Rakhshanda Jalil. Read this book, maybe not from cover from cover, but dip into it in no particular order, perusing the stories included here one at a time at your leisure allowing their full import to sink in. Read it for its affirmation of the ‘idea’ of India that is under threat, yes, but is not fully effaced. Read it also for its robust assertion that the Urdu language is alive and well, and yes, Urdu is not the language of the Indian Muslims, alone.

By Aditya Nigam. Well, the upshot was that I had to tell them that I would not be able to do what I was expected to do by the ‘German public sphere’ -- that is, dance to the tune of the German and the Israeli states.

Raju Mansukhani. 60 rich years of the Museum Society of Mumbai: Knowledge, culture, aesthetics. An intense labour of love. A report.

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 Seema Mustafa. A new, emerging political phenomena, routinely defiant, and extremely popular (along with, of course, Zohran Mamdani). With differing styles, they might change the landscape of American politics in the days to come.

By Tathagata Chatterjee. Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt once said, nations aren’t built by borders -- they’re held together by stories. And Sholay is one of those stories.

By Uttara and Sudarshan Shidore. To mark 50 years of the greatest entertainer, blockbuster, and the most successful Hindi film ever made, here's a quiz on the film, designed by Uttara and Sudarshan Shidore.

By Ramsharan Joshi. Let the apex court’s ruling prevail. Let Hindutva hate politics go pale!

By Amit Sengupta. No food, no milk, no baby formala, no mother’s milk, no medical care for thousands of orphaned children with entire families wiped out, no nourishment, no maternal care – the babies must die.

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.

By Monita Soni. If you’ve ever held on to someone longer than you should have, this narrative will feel achingly familiar.

By Avinash Kumar. Just a cool evening, a small pond and two friends gazing at it, arm in arm.

The Ambassador of Palestine in India, H.E. Abdullah Mohammad A Abushawesh, writes to Editor, Amit Sengupta.

“Heart-smashed” by her mother’s death, Arundhati Roy began writing the memoir to process her grief and understand her complicated feelings...

By Annapurna Devi Pandey. Caregiving doesn’t always come naturally, especially in a culture that expects children to care for their parents as they age. In India, parents raise their children with the belief that, in their later years, those children will take care of them.

Short Story by Ajith Pillai. Journalist J’s chilling account detailed the diabolic plan devised by the construction conglomerate and several governments to decongest Planet Earth of the human population. It entailed transporting unsuspecting men, women and children in mega spacecrafts, outside the solar system. This was considered “safer, less messy and evidence-free” than culling by injecting a killer virus or releasing deadly toxins into the air and water. 

By Janaky Sreedharan. Atreyakam, a novel in Malayalam penned by R Rajasree (2024), in its 25th edition now, is the latest entry into the world of contemporary Mahabharata retellings. She discovers that equations of male virility in bed, with manliness in war, make honour a key word around gender identities.

By Amartya Acharya. What we have thus is one of the most gorgeous and visually striking outings the Marvel Cinematic Universe has offered as of yet, and that automatically elevates it a touch above usual mainstream or superhero fare.

By Puja Bhakhoo. This piece explores what happens when divine rage collides with human emotions. It’s not about the thunder we hear, but the storm we feel — the tension, the anticipation, the unraveling beneath the surface.