Posted inPeople
The Heroes of India’s Black Money Economy
Angadias are the nucleus of India’s rural and urban cash economy. You'd think the demonetisation drive would've rendered them jobless. But that doesn't seem to be the case.
Posted inPop Culture
Bohemian Rhapsody Review: A Lesson in Failure from Freddie Mercury
Knowingly or unknowingly, most of us are uncomfortable acknowledging our failure, because as Freddie puts it, “The human condition requires a bit of anesthesia.” Bohemian Rhapsody speaks to everyone who’s ever struggled to face their own frailties.
Posted inPeople
Inside the Secret World of a Beef Dealer
With gaurakshaks determined to stem the trade of beef at any cost, beef sellers like Quasim walk a fine line every day. Once wholly legit businessmen, they have now joined the ranks of my hash dealer.
Posted inLove and Sex
How to Date a Married Man: Lessons in Infidelity from My Aunt
My Aunt Astrid had an affair with a married man, who finally picked his wife over her. She showed me that carrying bitterness in your heart is counterproductive, especially when you know what you are in for once you agree to be the “other person” in a relationship.
Posted inVice
Why Indian Uncles Shouldn’t Mix Drugs and Parties
Cocaine certainly is one hell of a drug – if you aren’t Indian that is. Actually, barring weed, any narcotic is a disaster when it comes to Indians. If our use of alcohol is any indication, drugs and Indians just don’t mix well.
Posted inLove and Sex
Apna Haath Jargon-naath
Human beings have come up with a plethora of terms to describe the simple act of pleasuring yourself. We scuttle about inventing a series of shorthand signs that all sound distinctly violent.
Posted inLove and Sex
How The Middle-Class Makes Love
Over 9.5 million humping and heaving bodies officially live in one-room homes with paper-thin walls, and sniggering aunties. This makes sex pretty awkward to say the least.
Posted inPOV
What Mumbai Stands to Lose When Chawls Turn to Skyscrapers
As Mumbai undergoes redevelopment, skyscrapers are taking the place of the city’s old chawls. For the people living in these 10x10 pigeonholes, it means moving into apartments with a toilet inside the house. It also means giving up the bonhomie and security that living in a chawl affords.
Posted inAnimals
Goan Gladiators
It’s not the size of the bull in the fight, it’s the size of the fight. And in Goa, government might makes right.
Posted inBollywood
Bole Toh… Jackie Shroff, the OG Gully Boy of Bollywood
There was once a little-known kid who grew up in a chawl, worked a couple of dead-end jobs, and rose to fame as Bollywood’s poster boy of the ’80s and ’90s. Jackie Shroff, was your everyday next-door mawali, a tapori through and through, which is why his appeal endures today.