By Basudhara Roy I open the heart’s cage and let fly a hundred pigeons into the endless sky, the impatient beating of their wings a reminder that under the shroud of silence, life’s restlessness still lives and the flesh, flawed and frail as it is, is wooed to raptures by a single spell of rain….
Three Poems by Sayan Aich Bhowmik
In Her Sleep Your shirt buttonsIn my handsTurn like the planets.Around themA ring ofAll my evening skies.I can only see thingsThrough cracked window panes.The rains wait for meBy blinking traffic lightsAnd have left the carsWaiting for the policeTo rescue them from the flood.In your cityThey auction off summer eveningsAt the behest of thoseWho gaze at…
Bollywood’s Twisted Love Stories: Misogyny in Disguise
By Sohini Kumar Imagine a woman traveling alone when a stranger approaches her on the street. Insisting on having lunch with her, he starts making suggestive comments during the meal. The woman clearly expresses her disinterest in him and leaves. But she keeps running into the man after that. Even when she leaves the country,…
Motherhood: A Socially-constructed Virtue of Patriarchy?
By Zeba Kazi Biological claims are often used to explain motherhood as a fact and an experience. Feminists have shown that the concept of motherhood is socially, historically, legally, and politically constructed. Many of them have refuted the claim that motherhood is innate to women. Associating motherhood as inherent to women coalesces biological and sociological…
Landing a Punch on Sexualized Conventions in Sports
By Vidya Rajagopalan It is not uncommon for women to be objectified, it is done in every sphere of life. When it is concerned with sports, the sexualisation of women athletes dehumanizes them and downplays their talent. The male-dominated sports institutions want women’s bodies to cater to the male gaze. They are viewed as attractive…
“The Curse: Stories”: tales of thousand choked voices
Reviewed by Abhra Roy “Writing is extremely political” – states Salma, the prolific Tamil writer and the author of “The Curse: Stories”, published in October 2020. So those who don’t hesitate to choose a not so ‘cozy’ reading, “The Curse: Stories” is definitely a perfect pick for them. Though based on the lives of rural…
TWI Interns Corner
Editorial Assistants: Vidya Rajagopalan Bhavana Kunnath Ananya Sankar Nafis Shariar Video & Podcast: Shreya Jha Campaigns & Lit Fest: Sohini Kumar Snigdha Jain Tasnima Yasmin Web Design & Social Media: Bijuri Dey Anushka Paul Domestic Violence, Children, and LGBTQ+ Issues: Kajal Jha Anandita Ralli Chanda Rani Mental Health, Woman Authors, and Publishers: Arundhati Rai Chaudhuri…
Sach Kahun Toh: An honest reckoning of a remarkable life
By Rituparna Roy Towards the end of ‘Sach Kahu Toh’, in Part 4, Neena Gupta begins a chapter (Bloody Mary) thus: “When I look back on my past, I see a recurring theme. Neena gets shot down. Neena rises from the ashes. Neena overcomes her obstacles. Neena reaches great heights (though still not as the…
Rejection Scars
by Roudri Bandyopadhyay The first time I got my nose pierced, my body rejected it. The body’s first reaction to anything alien is usually to reject it. People’s bodies reject blood or medicines; mine rejected a piercing. It was gold, supposedly suitable for my skin. My skin doesn’t react violently to gold and yet when…
What They Said
by Jonaki Ray They said that you look like your mother, but you are shorter and have a darker complexion. She was a catch in her heyday. Even now her hair and skin are so good. You, on the other hand, are running around on the sports ground all day as if a bull is…
The Woman Inc. 