Whimsical, not physical

What if you had been on a promising first date and then couldn’t follow up because of the lockdown?  Here’s a tale of lust in the time of Coronavirus In March, I went on a date and this guy showed up wearing a mask. Masked men neither fascinate me nor turn me on. The only […]

‘Time to rethink, reboot’

After making his mark in Bollywood and south Indian cinema, Rahul Dev is showcasing his considerable talent in web series  Best known for playing tough-looking baddies in Hindi cinema, Rahul Dev is set to complete 20 years in the film industry in 2020. Dev, who is exploring new avenues on the web nowadays has been […]

Caught between a rock and a hard place

The culturally rich Gadia Lohar Community has been historically marginalised and the lockdown due to the Coronavirus is increasing their suffering Mamta, 25, holds her one-year-old daughter close to her chest as the police van passes by.  From within the van, a policeman can be heard announcing that nobody should venture out of their homes […]

Anxious wait for precious cargo 

Mortal remains of 150 Indians working in countries in the Gulf are stuck due to red tape and lackadaisical attitude of embassy officials   Vinod Kumar, for most of the growing up years of his two daughters, lived in Kuwait, earning enough to see his children through their schooling in Kerala’s Kozhikode. Eighteen years of working […]

Village life during lockdown  

From the local gossip corner to farmers worrying about a fair price for their crops, villages in India are facing the lockdown with resilience and faring better than their urban counterparts   A hundred-metre walk from my home is Babu Kaka’s grocery shop, one of the major sources of news for villagers. Standing outside the shop, […]

Homesick, stranded in Kota 

As the lockdown continues, students from across the country stranded in Kota, Rajasthan are requesting state governments to facilitate their return home On 24 March when news of the lockdown reached Rajpreet, a medical aspirant from Dhanbad, Jharkhand studying in Kota, Rajasthan, he was not worried. He thought he would spend the 21 days prepping […]

New life in the middle of the pandemic

Amid nationwide lockdown, Delhi’s expectant parents struggle to reach hospitals for delivery. Where there is a will, there is a way The pandemic has not locked down babies in their mother’s wombs, they are making their way out into a world of uncertainty. With the country under strict restrictions of movement and no public transport, […]

When charity gets locked down

As funds run low amid the global pandemic, NGOs find it hard to stay afloat, even to pay their staff The lockdown enforced to arrest the spread of COVID-19 pandemic has left many jobless, penniless, leading to immeasurable suffering. The Central government itself is now depending on donations via the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and […]