Cover Story

Kraków: Living in a Metaphor

Sabin Iqbal

Like a well-crafted novel, Kraków reveals its secrets slowly, inviting repeated visits, rewarding careful attention. Sabin Iqbal gets into the city’s literary soul

The Buddha Smiles Again

Amita Shah

Padum in Zanskar was a small, isolated Buddhist town accessed in winters only through an arduous trek over a river of ice. Today, Amita Shah finds a new highway offshoot that has brought the world to it

Vitamin R in Tobacco Land

Ullekh NP

The Cuban cigar is coveted worldwide but what does it mean to the country itself? Ullekh NP ventures into the tobacco heartland of Pinar del Río and finds a connection with Kerala and the beedi

The Eternity of Art in Hampi

V Shoba

In the shadow of its hallowed ruins, V Shoba finds the legacy of the art and handicraft of Vijayanagara living on in ancient and modern forms

Zoroaster Shows the Way

Lhendup G Bhutia

Zoroaster Shows the Way: Retracing the earliest Parsi settlements in Sanjan, Udvada and Navsari, Lhendup G Bhutia explores the rich tapestry of myths, history, and modern challenges facing the community

Finding Begum Akhtar

Kaveree Bamzai

Every city has at least one legendary icon who embodies its spirit. Kaveree Bamzai goes to Lucknow in search of the Queen of Ghazals who personified Awadh

Never the Twain Shall Meet

Suhel Seth

Until it learns to appreciate and nurture its cultural heritage, India will not be in serious competition to attract travellers

The Cultural Traveller

Madhavankutty Pillai

To really know a place is to know its stories. It is walking without hurrying. Maybe seeing something in part but with immersion

Modi leads the big pushback against efforts to divide Hindu society

PR Ramesh

Defender of the Faith

Kamala Harris: A Loser All the Way

Dipankar Gupta

Abortions are no longer worthy of devotional attention as there are much better contraceptive methods today than what was the case in the 1980s when Kamala Harris was just beginning to break out of political puberty