COVID spotlighted the question that is at the back of everyone’s mind – who will be there for me when I need someone the most? Devdutt Pattanaik tells us an ancient story from the Vedas of a young boy who was abandoned by everyone he trusted.  Hinduism’s most ancient texts, the Vedas tell the story of a young boy...

Trishna was eighteen when she left Dhakara and swore never to come back. But twenty years later, as a widow with two children, she returns to the home in which her family was torn apart by a terrible secret in the basement. The basement beckons, but she resists. Nevertheless, It waits – here’s an excerpt from this...

Are you ready for the trip of a lifetime? Here are the states and stories we are visiting in the first week of #AroundIndiaIn30Days! SUN TAMIL NADU Cured of Prince by Nirupama Subramanian In this extract, P. Rajagopal, the founder of Saravana Bhavan catches a fleeing Jeevajothi and her husband Prince. He abducts them...

Sachin Tendulkar’s last Ranji Trophy game inspired little Shafali Verma to take up the game. Nobody would have expected her to break Tendulkar’s record which had remained unmatched for thirty years. Check out this excerpt from our story this week from Haryana! In the dusty, small town of Rohtak, Haryana, girls don’t...

Rajagopal, the founder of Saravana Bhavan catches a fleeing Jeevajothi and her husband Prince. He abducts them in an attempt to make Jeevajothi his third wife. Check out this incredible excerpt from ‘Cured of Prince’ in this week’s story from Karnataka! When Jeevajothi and Prince returned home from Marina Beach,...

Wed to Kasturba at the tender age of 13, Gandhiji recounts the day of his marriage and his internal turmoil at the time. Read this excerpt from A Love Imposed by Mahatma Gandhi, this week’s story from Gujarat! Let the reader make no mistake. I was married, not betrothed. For in Kathiawad there are two distinct rites...

The Nawab of Rampur is known for his fancy dinners and winsome cooks. He is also ‘secretly’ known for his interest in young boys… Check out this excerpt from Dum-cooked Desires in this week’s story from Uttar Pradesh. I am Shaukat Ali, twenty-four-year-old, henna-haired owner of the hole-in-thewall eatery Shaukat...

‘Get away from the ball, you Paki!’ Azania, a young student of Vasant Valley School heard a rival football team member scream during a match. Nazia Erum, author of ‘Mothering A Muslim’, recounts experiences of Muslim children and mothers to begin a conversation that is both urgent and timely – about how bigotry...

‘Who Moved My Cheese’ has helped millions of people learn to deal with change. We break it down to understand exactly why change is important.  A Gathering The story starts with the gathering of former classmates, who find that they have all changed a lot over the years. One of the attendees, Michael,...

With soaring numbers and rampant lockdown violations, it’s obvious that India is not a country that can be truly shut down. But what if it once was? Indira Gandhi declared a state of Emergency in 1975 and plunged us into the Last Indian Lockdown. The Bangladesh victory and the creation of the Durga...