True Life

The Revenge of the Mithun Fan

Anuvab Pal

After his book on Disco Dancer described Mithun Chakraborty’s acting the ‘worst ever’ in Hindi cinema, Anuvab Pal got a letter from a certain Mimoh. Who took revenge in a way that can only be called ingenious

The Man Who Aced CAT Six Times

Patrick D’Souza

The founder of Mumbai’s Quoin Academy, which helps business school aspirants prepare for entrance exams, has aced the Common Admission Test six times in as many years. He is also the topper of Maharashtra’s MBA-CET. But Patrick D’Souza neither prepares for these tests nor wants to join a B-school

The Man Who Wanted to Wed 500 Times

Guinness Rishi

Holder of world records for the most flags tattooed on his body, most straws stuffed in his mouth and longest non-stop scooter journey ever, Guinness Rishi explains his need to break and set new records

Moby Dick’s Avenger

Siddharth Chakravarty

Once, he sailed on ships that carted oil and timber around the world; today, Siddharth Chakravarty prowls the high seas in search of illegal whaling ships to thwart

The Man Who Wore a Sanitary Napkin

Arunachalam Muruganantham

Villagers saw him cleaning his undergarments stained with goat blood and thought he had a sexual disease. But Arunachalam Muruganantham was only trying to make a smart, cheap sanitary pad for his wife

My Life with Crickets, Frogs and Bees

Vivek Nityananda

The sex life of crickets, the hearing of frogs, the visual capacity of bees. Vivek Nityananda reports on the sleepless nights and surprising pleasures of his arcane pursuits

Joseph, No Last Name

AJ Bryant

His birth certificate read ‘Joseph, no last name given’. An American couple adopted him; 32 years later, AJ Bryant returns to District Three Hospital in Kottayam where the mother he’s never met gave him birth

Tears of a Bang Bang Man

Greg Marinovich

The legendary Bang Bang Club photographers documented the end of Apartheid and the bloodsoaked birth of democracy in South Africa. One of them was killed by peacekeeping forces. One committed suicide. Greg Marinovich, one of only two still alive, bares what it was like in those brutal days

Flaunting the Write Look

Annie Zaidi

In a world inundated with books, a female writer’s sexiness serves as a handy marketing tool. But, Annie Zaidi warns, this can prove counter-productive to a writer who wants to be taken seriously

The Long and Winding Road

Ankur Rahman

Ankur Rahman, along with his brother Rodin and their friend, Akhup Khom, push the idea of slow travel to its limit and decide to walk from Tezpur in Assam to Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh—a good 340 km away. Asked why, Ankur’s answer is “Why not?”