Articles

Communitatti: Musings from a Community Toilet

Communal loos are a big part of the daily grind in Mumbai’s chawls. These little cubicles are places where people sneak in to grab a smoke, watch porn, or scribble deep thoughts on the wall.

Damian D'souza June 29, 2016

Pop Culture

Chauvinism Has Met Its Match: Meet India’s Dissenting Women Artists

The last few months have seen the rise of poetry and parody as powerful tools of protest. And leading the revolution are artists such as Megha Rao and Saloni Gaur, popularly known as Nazma Aapi. The emergence of a clear voice by India’s women is a comforting reassurance that their perspective will be recorded.

Nair Da June 29, 2016

Pop Culture

India’s Slumdog Fireflies

Lion’s Sunny Pawar had the night of his life at the Oscars, the biggest stage in the world. The question is, would this be the highest he’d soar?

Poulomi Das June 29, 2016

Love and Sex

Why I Choose Not to Get Off On Porn

In a world where female sexuality isn’t supposed to exist, watching porn is still seen as sexual liberation. But an acknowledgement of the same desires are invalidated by the medium’s treatment of women, both on screen and behind-the-scenes. How can we celebrate our sexuality through porn while condoning a sexist, exploitative industry that functions on men’s terms?

Kahini Iyer June 29, 2016

Pop Culture

Mindy Kaling, the New President of the Comedy Cool Girl Club

Mindy Kaling is everywhere, but despite her laundry list of achievements, she doesn’t fit the mould of the typical comedy “cool girl”. Instead, she explores the awkward hilarity of navigating a world where you very obviously don’t fit in. Her rebellion is against people’s perception of the uptight immigrant girl.

Kahini Iyer June 29, 2016

POV

Could Your 12-year-old Be Asking for Nudies from a Porn Star?

The blatant objectification of adult film actress Nikita Bellucci by 12-year-olds begs the question: Do we need better parental controls and age restrictions for social media?

Jackie Thakkar June 29, 2016

POV

U-17 World Cup and the Loneliness of Indian Football

Being a footballer in India is an exercise in loss. It comes burdened with aggressive cynicism. And the U-17 World Cup might match up to the spectacle of the IPL, but I wonder what it will do for the sport.

Manik Sharma June 29, 2016

Bollywood

Papa Kehte Hain: The Anti-Poetic Anthem for the Angsty Soul

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, which has just completed 32 years, was a first of many firsts. It gave the nation an anthem whose strains we can still hear today. Anand-Milind’s “Papa Kehte Hain” changed the country’s music for good.

Manik Sharma June 29, 2016

Pop Culture

10 Years of Vicky Donor: A Landmark Film that has Grown in Relevance

Released a decade ago Vicky Donor is probably a landmark film in the most understated sense possible. More than headline acts or box-office breaking numbers it ushered in a language to help us as a society to deal with taboo.

B. H. June 29, 2016

Gender

Arré Checklist: Fairy Tales for a Post-#MeToo World

The Disney Princess trope has long been bashed as reductive and anti-feminist, but here are some fairy-tale heroines who are just as #fierce as Beyoncé.

Vidhi Maingi June 29, 2016