Posted inPop Culture
Lessons in BDSM from Barbie Girl
At first pass, "Barbie Girl" is a song set in a plastic world. But scratch below the surface, and you can read its silent messages about BDSM.
Posted inGender
Why Women Don’t Visit the Ladies’ Loo Alone
We live in a world where women are judged for everything from having periods to having emotions. The women’s bathroom is one of the few gender-exclusive places where it can all hang out – a brief but cathartic loosening of corset strings.
Posted inPop Culture
Uncle Pai: The Only One Who Told Stories of Indian Mythology as Well as My Grandma
Every time I leaf through the pages of an Amar Chitra Katha, I feel like I’m back in my grandma’s warm embrace. My grandmother had conjured a fantasy world for a four-year-old through her unique storytelling, and Anant Pai’s comics put that world in print.
Posted inPop Culture
Paddleton is an Affecting Portrait of Loneliness in a Hyper-Isolated World
Alex Lehman’s deeply moving Paddleton, a dramedy about terminal illness and assisted suicide is built on unassuming moments. Moments that challenge the common perception of what really constitutes love and who gets the luxury of being remembered as a couple.
Posted inPop Culture
14 Years of How I Met Your Mother: We Need to Talk About Barney
Despite Barney Stinson’s effortless smoothness with women, he hated them. How can a womaniser hate women, you ask? If you think about it, misogyny is inextricably linked with men like Barney, because how else do you instantly reduce women to mere conquests?
Posted inBollywood
15 years after its release, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna feels more of an opportunity missed to debate infidelity
Karan Johar’s film was ahead of its time in terms of context, but conservative, ultimately in its tropes and education. It could have been so much more had the director not felt apologetic for broaching the topic in the first place.
Posted inPOV
I Like My Phone More Than I Like You
I’ve been berated for being glued to my phone instead of having “real conversations”. But I don’t fancy the phone as a coping mechanism when faced with awkward silences.
Posted inLove and Sex
We Met, We Marched, We Kissed: Love in the Age of Protests
We have a glut of dating apps, but no idea about the political leanings of a person we’ll be hooking up with. A march like the anti-CAA protest can take care of several filters.
Posted inPop Culture
The Aam Aadmi of Westeros
Hodors, Hot Pies, and Hounds: The sidekicks of Game of Thrones are its true heroes.
Posted inPeople
It Takes Two to PhD
The incredible story of Akshansh Gupta, who was born with a severe movement disorder, and Mahajan bhaiya, who helped him get a doctorate.