"Maiki"

Returning to host the second edition of the festival, Sassoon Docks — a neglected but vital part of the city — provides a compelling narrative backdrop for the two-month-long event that aims to spotlight ideas and issues that require mainstream attention. Artists Parag Tandel, Ayaz Basrai and Amrit Pal Singh walk us through their creative processes, from conception to completion
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Sutr Santati: Then Now Next, an exhibition of textiles held in New Delhi at the National Museum, put the spotlight on scholars, designers, organisations and students keenly immersed in the textile landscape of the nation. And, without the pressures of commerce, the body of work created by artisans proved to be a singular showcase
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Over the last few decades, the IIT-IIM nexus has embedded itself in our collective imagination. We examine how these prestigious technology and management institutes took on a newer significance in the post ’90s economic landscape — one fixated on material achievements as markers of success — and put the obsession with the institutes in the context of the matrimony portal IITIIMShaadi.com, which propagates a similar culture of exclusivity
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It may have been the reason for “Housefull” signs in theatres again, but the first instalment of Ayan Mukerji’s much-awaited fantasy trilogy met with mixed reactions. The dialogues in particular, which were intended to polish the film’s aspirational edge, came under fire because of the purported inauthenticity of their phrasing. We explore the film’s relationship to language and how Dharma Productions, an industry powerhouse that has successfully employed Hinglish in several of its productions, failed to do the same thing in its most globally ambitious project yet
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The recently released Tamil-language film Gargi featured scenes of sexual assault that raised questions about its sensitive portrayal on-screen. Feminist historian and activist V. Geetha speaks to Verve about the ethics of picturising such violence, the function of trigger warnings, the rape-revenge genre, as well as imagining a visual narrative outside of the criminal justice framework
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Tales from the Border, cultural bonding, unexpected windfalls and archival footage. Culture know-all, Anil Dharker, looks at the rediscovery of India with wry amusement
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Vidisha-Fadescha, founder of the New Delhi based anti-caste, anti-racist, trans*feminist art and social space Party Office, reflects on challenging heteronormativity and capitalism through partying and on creating safe spaces for the DBA and LGBTQIA+ communities
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The following is an exclusive excerpt from Nilanjana Bhowmick’s ‘Lies Our Mothers Told Us: The Indian Woman’s Burden’, which takes a closer look at middle-class Indian women and the structural inequalities that frame their lives. The book will be out on July 5
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