Soul wears no clothes

The experience of sketching more than 200 people in the nude made me aware of how fluid the boundaries of our world are Sketching people in the nude has been my most enthralling interface with humanity. We are a bundle of complex identities, some of them mutually antagonising, sexuality is one of them, which shapes […]

Biology cannot decide destiny

There is a difference between sexuality and gender—the two words should never be confused or used interchangeably Before we dive into the visibility regarding gender complexities, I would like to reiterate two differences in two different discourses that are significant in order to understand the points raised in this article, which also hold the potential, […]

Slotting women

From being a mother who single-handedly looks after the house and spends the day cooking and scrubbing utensils to being an object of desire for men who can entice them with deodorants, women are either domesticated or commodified in Indian advertisements Ensuring that the child grows up to be ‘taller, stronger and sharper’ by having […]

Same sex and sensibilities

Advertisements are there to capture our attention in a snap — if they don’t convey the message, and the brand, they’re called out as ineffective When it comes to advertising about sexuality itself, one has to be sensitive and yet deliver a powerful message. If they’re not filtered through various lens, customers may react adversely […]

Reporting patriarchy

Journalist Priyanka Dubey’s new book, No Country for Women, documents rape cases across India. In an interview, she talks about reporting on rape and why the media needs to be more sensitive Priyanka Dubey, a journalist with BBC, has come out with her first book that documents rape cases across India. It took her six […]

Shush! It’s India!

In India, where sex and sexuality are such hush-hush subjects that parents hardly ever discuss it with their children, many teenagers tend to develop a skewed understanding of it. Here is a look into how most Indian teens learn about sexual intercourse It is no secret that the list of things we cannot talk about […]

#MeToo whirlwind & its after effects

The last thing women in India need is for the perfect storm of the #MeToo movement to become a storm in a teacup The #MeToo movement has become pop culture. Sounds too frivolous? No, because pop culture is serious too. Caitlin Moran writes, “Pop is the cultural bellwether of social change. Because of its immediacy, […]

Perpetually under construction

The tale of two flyovers tells you in a nutshell why traffic bottlenecks occur and what lack of planning is doing to make driving around the city such a nightmare On a bright winter Sunday, you may feel the warm sun beckoning you. It seems to say: Take your car out and enjoy my glory […]