essay

ESSAY / Aparna Sanyal and the burden of representation in South Asian literature

Aparna Upadhyaya Sanyal’s 'Instruments of Torture' is a powerful literary collection that delves into the psychological and societal torments individuals endure, particularly focusing on themes of beauty standards and the representation of women. Each story in the collection is named after a medieval torture device, serving as a metaphor for the emotional and societal pressures faced by the characters.

ESSAY / 'A terrible beauty is born' in Gaza and West Bank

Pre-occupation Palestine had, to use Anglo-American poet WH Auden's words, "marble well-governed cities" full of "vines and olive trees." But Israel and its allies have turned it into "an artificial wilderness"

ESSAY / Desire, Identity, and the boundaries of silence

Saikat Majumdar, a professor of English and Creative Writing at Ashoka University, is a writer whose works delve deep into the intricacies of identity, desire, and the tensions between personal yearnings and institutional expectations.

ESSAY / Spectacularised rape

In the psyche and schema of the average transnational Bangladeshi, rape is visible and legitimate only when it takes spectacular forms—violent, brutal, deadly.

16 Days of Activism / On invisibilised violence

In classic Bengali fiction, the kitchen is a central site for conflict and community bonding.

ESSAY / The vampires of Bangla literature

Pale, aristocratic, seductive forces lurking in the dark—when we think of vampires, we often perceive them through a western lens

ESSAY / On the national anthem of Bangladesh: An apologetic discourse

The recent attack on “Amar Shonar Bangla” stems from this type of attempt to categorise the national anthem, leading to further allegations against it

ESSAY / Falling through the cracks of the ‘normal’

There is something to be said about the innate process of otherising a person with disability, and pushing them out of the group of the ‘norm’ and into the group of the ‘exception’.

ESSAY / Evil never looked this good

Even without a full-blown sympathetic backstory, a villain’s motivations can be complex.

April 17, 2025
April 17, 2025

Aparna Sanyal and the burden of representation in South Asian literature

Aparna Upadhyaya Sanyal’s 'Instruments of Torture' is a powerful literary collection that delves into the psychological and societal torments individuals endure, particularly focusing on themes of beauty standards and the representation of women. Each story in the collection is named after a medieval torture device, serving as a metaphor for the emotional and societal pressures faced by the characters.

March 13, 2025
March 13, 2025

'A terrible beauty is born' in Gaza and West Bank

Pre-occupation Palestine had, to use Anglo-American poet WH Auden's words, "marble well-governed cities" full of "vines and olive trees." But Israel and its allies have turned it into "an artificial wilderness"

February 16, 2025
February 16, 2025

Desire, Identity, and the boundaries of silence

Saikat Majumdar, a professor of English and Creative Writing at Ashoka University, is a writer whose works delve deep into the intricacies of identity, desire, and the tensions between personal yearnings and institutional expectations.

December 21, 2024
December 21, 2024

Spectacularised rape

In the psyche and schema of the average transnational Bangladeshi, rape is visible and legitimate only when it takes spectacular forms—violent, brutal, deadly.

December 7, 2024
December 7, 2024

On invisibilised violence

In classic Bengali fiction, the kitchen is a central site for conflict and community bonding.

November 16, 2024
November 16, 2024

The vampires of Bangla literature

Pale, aristocratic, seductive forces lurking in the dark—when we think of vampires, we often perceive them through a western lens

October 12, 2024
October 12, 2024

On the national anthem of Bangladesh: An apologetic discourse

The recent attack on “Amar Shonar Bangla” stems from this type of attempt to categorise the national anthem, leading to further allegations against it

September 26, 2024
September 26, 2024

Falling through the cracks of the ‘normal’

There is something to be said about the innate process of otherising a person with disability, and pushing them out of the group of the ‘norm’ and into the group of the ‘exception’.

May 26, 2024
May 26, 2024

Evil never looked this good

Even without a full-blown sympathetic backstory, a villain’s motivations can be complex.

May 21, 2024
May 21, 2024

William Blake: Pioneering psychoethnography in art and poetry

As we continue to grapple with questions of identity, meaning, and societal change, Blake's visionary oeuvre serves as a guiding light