Articles

Mum + Dad + Beta + Beti: Why Are Indians Obsessed With the Idea of a “Complete Family”?

The minute a couple tie the nuptial knot, their relatives descend upon them and start demanding a baby. When they’ve had one, the family begins chasing them for the second one. Thank God for the “Hum do, humare do” slogans and overpopulation problems, or else this would continue ad infinitum.

Gargi Mehra June 21, 2016

Pop Culture

Pappu Ki Jhappi, Priya Prakash Varrier’s Wink & DeepVeer’s Shaadi: The 2018 Photo Album

We wept after watching Hima Das on the podium after her historic win, had our hearts swell with pride on witnessing the selflessness of Kerala’s fishermen, and were left seething over the #MeToo testimonies. 2018 has been an emotional rollercoaster. Here are the images that will stay with you long after the year is over.

Arré Bench June 21, 2016

Pop Culture

How David Fincher Hijacks Our Imagination in Mindhunter Season 2

Eliciting discomfort from viewers is an art that David Fincher has mastered over his decorated film career. With Mindhunter, a true-crime show on serial killers, he uses this art to swap gratuitous violence and gore with conversations about it. The result is horrifying and suspenseful in equal measure.

Ronak Gupta June 21, 2016

Pop Culture

Hank Moody is My Writing Hero, But My Life’s Not Californication

American TV portrays real, challenging careers as vague backdrops in the lives of their characters. Some of us fall for this mirage. Hank Moody’s effortless spewing of punchlines and black T-shirts has succeeded in convincing so many of us that writing is our true calling, that we must fashion ourselves as budding Bukowskis.

Nihal Bambulkar June 21, 2016

People

My Closeted Husband: The Marriage that Lasted 46 Days

In the conversation surrounding forced marriages, the halo of the victim is very firmly placed on the gay spouse. And the wife suffers in silence.

Kripa Krishnan June 21, 2016

DisArré

EXCLUSIVE! Bad Santa Behind Satna Carollers’ Burning Car

In Madhya Pradesh’s Satna, a group of carollers was arrested for trying to convert people. W&B found out that the only thing it was trying to convert was an MP3 backing track to AAC.

Weedward and June 21, 2016

Earth

Activists Can’t Stop Climate Change, Only a Good Business Model Can

With raging bushfires, melting glaciers, and toxic air pollution, our immediate future is looking a lot less like Rivendell and a lot more like Mad Max Fury Road. But along with activists like Greta Thunberg, we need companies to comply. Until someone finds a great way to profit from climate change, it’s unlikely to have the kind of impact we are desperate for.

Adhirath Sethi June 21, 2016

POV

Why We Need the ₹2,989-Crore Statue of Unity

You can’t put a price tag on memorials like the Statue of Unity. They could serve as a starting point to anyone who wants to discover our history in the future. I just have one question here: What great structures have we built in the last 50 years that will stand the test of time? Orion Mall? Lodha World Towers?

Devaiah Bopanna June 21, 2016

Gender

The Great Indian Sex-Ed Scam

In school we were shown a mandatory “feminine hygiene” video that was delightfully ambiguous. The only real take away from that entire exercise was, “Don’t pay attention to boys.”

Deborah Grey June 20, 2016

Pop Culture

The World Needs More Newtons

At a time when most of us have been conditioned to complain about the dismal state of the country, Rajkummar Rao’s Newton succeeds in doing the impossible: Making idealism aspirational again.

Poulomi Das June 20, 2016