“The wounds smell of dead rats, and when doctors clean them, you feel the scrub down to the bones.” As if an acid attack weren’t cruel enough, victims, not perpetrators, are thoughtlessly shunned.

The ideology of Savitribai Phule, whose birth anniversary we celebrate today, was very simple: To have people treated as equals. In a time when discriminatory laws are being passed and the definition of citizenship is being amended to suit the establishment's narrative, it’s an ideology that demands our attention.

While India’s early struggle for Independence hardly ever, if at all, reflected in Mirza Ghalib’s mainstream poetry, he recorded the events in his Persian diary Dastambu (bouquet) and the letters he wrote. He was dependent on the British for his income, but at the same time he was sympathetic toward his countrymen. In today’s times, he would be labelled a fence-sitter.

Millennials started off their careers as bright-eyed optimists, excited over what the future held. But the past ten years have been an eye-opener. Most of us are burnt out, with visits to the counsellor lining up, debt mounting, and Sunday trips to the office.

Aamir Bashir has been around in Bollywood for two decades now. But it is only in the last two years, riding on the back of stellar performances in Gurgaon, Sacred Games and Inside Edge, that the actor is finally commanding attention.

I was 11 when I first watched Uday Shankar’s Kalpana, an experimental dance-drama, in a Calcutta theatre along with the illustrious Shankar family. I thought it was long and obscure. But as I revisit the film, decades later, I read deeper into the narrative of the artist whom James Joyce described as someone who “moves on the stage like a semi-divine being”.

In film after film, in Chhoti Si Baat and Baaton Baaton Mein, in the universes of Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee, on public transport and in Bandra apartments, Amol Palekar played the man on the street. Who else could essay a white-collar worker with the soul of a poet, who you might meet on a train or a bus, if not him?

For the next 17 months, until April 23, 2021, Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde will be trusted with upholding the Constitution in the highest court of the land. As his tenure begins, it is a good time to look back at the career of the man who will be heading one of the pillars of our democracy.

Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi will go down in history as the man who led a bench of judges to resolve one of the most important cases in India – the Ayodhya dispute. Gogoi, who will retire on November 17, has never shied away from taking difficult decisions: He was among the four judges who revolted against CJI Dipak Misra in January 2018 and was driving force behind the controversial NRC.

In a world, where leaders are insistent on building walls and putting states under lockdown, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali's efforts stand out. He decided to give up disputed border territory to Eritrea, bringing an end to two decades of brinkmanship and ushering in peace after 20 years.

After a gap of a year — triggered by a high-profile sex assault scandal that led to several resignations — the Nobel Prize in Literature was announced, and winners for 2018 and 2019 were declared. The latest recipients of the prestigious accolade, Olga Tokarczuk and Peter Handke, could not be more different.

Falguni Pathak’s live performances in the ’90s catapulted her into the league of larger-than-life superstars. She will always remain one of the great unifiers of Gujaratis from Andheri to America. A little less than Modi ji. But just a smidge above dhoklas.

As it turns out, the title of “Father of the Nation” is not copyrighted. All these years, we grew up believing Mahatma Gandhi was our Bapu. But if Amruta Fadnavis and the Donald are to be believed, PM Modi is our doosre bapu.

Maverick, temperamental, eccentric, non-conformist, the permanent dissenter... There are lots of adjectives used for Ram Jethmalani. In my interactions with him, he was none of it. He was only a man who had utmost belief in himself and what he did.

Even in his 70s, Kiran Nagarkar, the Sahitya Akademi award-winning author and playwright, maintained an active interest in Mumbai and its affairs. He was able to straddle the worlds of the intellectual and the common man, while understanding the pulse of both.

How has singing sensation Ranu Mondal managed to defy the churn of news cycles and stay in the news? Her story endures because we want to believe in it, as much for ourselves as for the singer. Even in the bleakest situations, we think there is hope and beauty to be found. It is a welcome respite from the cynicism of our age, a straw to hold on to in the ceaseless cycle of bad news.

On Gulzar Sahab’s 85th birthday, I can’t help but reminisce on the relationship I developed with his prodigious artistry with words, early on in life. Gulzar Sahab is the reason I can, without trying, use words like aabshaar (waterfall), taskeen (contentment), and ruhaniyat (spirituality) when I want to.

Ravish Kumar exists beyond the TV screen, but speaks as if seated on the couch next to you, rarely talking down to your wisdom. The Ramon Magsaysay award winner has changed Indian news by refusing to perform for it, by declining to withdraw from his image, his roots, his Bihari tongue and identity.

Most people are not used to the idea of peaceful Buddhist nuns practising a martial art popularised by Jackie Chan. But the Kung Fu Nuns are anything but ordinary. They teach self-defence to the women in Ladakh, and go on cycling treks, spreading the word on environmental conservation.

On Kargil Vijay Diwas, the nation celebrates a hard-won victory — and spares a few moments to honour those who made it possible. But two decades after the conflict ended, martyrs like Captain Saurabh Kalia deserve more than just our tribute.

In July, ten months after helping to strike down Section 377, lawyers Dr Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju shed new light on why the historic legal victory was also a personal one for them. They boldly came out as the lesbian power couple who carried the LGBTQIA+ rights movement on their shoulders.

Those who grew up in the ’70s and ’80s, learnt about national integrity and unity through a seven-minute animated film that aired on Doordarshan called Ek Anek Aur Ekta. The woman behind this little film with a big heart, Vijaya Mulay, passed away on Sunday, at age 98.

You can never really judge a book by its cover – or in Keanu Reeves’ case, an action star by his string of blockbusters. Movie stars normally have a reputation for being demanding and narcissistic. Clearly, nobody gave Reeves that memo.

It’s hard to beat the nostalgia that the mountain air brings with it. Maybe it’s the majesty of rolling peaks and valleys. Or maybe we have Ruskin Bond to thank for the romanticisation of these hilly havens with their winding roads, sky-high deodar trees, and rhododendron shrubs

Each time L K Advani sees his chowkidar these days, his BP mysteriously shoots up. He spends most of his time reminiscing over his heyday in Ayodhya, planning a Second Innings home for snubbed netas with MM Joshi, and listening to “Chariots of Fire” on loop.

In Goa, the BJP was synonymous with Manohar Parrikar. As he rose in stature, the fortunes of the party changed. With his demise, the BJP faces a huge challenge, especially with general elections around the corner.

For anyone struggling to survive, pay rent, work 12 hours, and flux toxins out of their body, food delivery boys are our mediums to nirvana. If the MCU had ever employed these delivery boys in the Avengers franchise, then they’d have found and stopped Thanos before his ETA.

Though the half-hearted response of the Meghalaya government in organising rescue operations for the miners trapped in a rat-hole mine in Meghalaya is appalling, let’s not hold the politicians to a higher standard. Our apathy cannot be ignored; in fact, it only highlights the disregard we have for the lives of the poor in our country.

Ali Sayed, a 6-year-old Mumbai boy, does extreme BMX stunts, skates, and hangs out with Emiway buntai. In his free time, he also goes to school. How does he make the time? Check out this video and samajh me aayega.

Rakhi Sawant introduced us to camp, but today – amid the rise of cringe-pop stars like Dhinchak Pooja and the growing popularity of TikTok – we see many versions of her. Sawant’s space in the spotlight is shrinking, as everyone clamours to be on the same stage as her.