There are many entry points in any mythology. Ramayana is also the story of Raavan; the antagonist or the anti-hero. We have seen effigies of Raavan being burnt as part of the celebration of good over evil. But the question of evil is a complex one. In Anand...
In Bihar and particularly, in Mithilanchal, people look at Rama as a son-in-law. In the folk songs, they sing about him being a groom and not about him winning...
In this issue, Outlook looks at the many versions of the mythology that has come to mean so many things to many people and has been appropriated and reduced to...
"In Sakuapani in Netarhat in Jharkhand, I finally met Sushma Asur, a poet and a writer who is trying to save her language and culture. Very few in the...
An ideator and filmmaker on a mission, Bharatbala translates the emotion of his country into films with effortless ease and beauty.
Salman Rushdie, author of famed ' Midnight's children' ( 1981)-- the Booker Prize winner , was gifted majestic colonial era bungalow by his father Maulvi Anees...
A range of writers debate on where humanity stands on the right to dissent freely today
Agyeya is among the giants of modern Indian literature. Ashutosh Bhardwaj in conversation with his biographer Akshaya Mukul about the life, loves and politics...
Delhi-based independent singer-songwriter Pragnya Wakhlu gave up a career in IT in the US to found her company Mousai in 2009, which aims to transform...
Santosh Thorat lives in a tiny tenement in Mankhurd slums. His goal is to explore the hidden talents of the slum. Many gems are lost. Many lives are never...
Dr. Aqsa Shaikh, MBBS, MD (Community Medicine), is an Associate professor, at the Department of Community Medicine. She was appointed as the nodal officer for...
The chef runs a fresh, wet food delivery for dog parents to give their loved ones a healthier, longer life.
As the Indian superstar faces the biggest crisis of his cricketing career, we get experts from diverse fields, including sports, to tell us what they consider...
Simon Oraon was awarded Padma Shri for his forest and water conservation efforts, but his journey is far from over
Than Singh, a Delhi police constable, runs ‘Than Singh Ki Pathshala’, educates the street children and slum dwellers.
For last fourteen years, Dorris Francis has been managing traffic at a Ghaziabad intersection near the spot her daughter was killed.
Pradeep D'Souza rescues troubled birds, and nurses the sick ones, and love is his only motivation.
Raghvendra Kumar won the Asian Excellence Award in 2022 for his hard work on spreading traffic safety awareness.
Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee of Ranchi has been providing medical attention to the poorest. His fee ranges from a smile to rupees five.
Extrajudicial killings go against the very grain of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution. Yet, security forces resort to such tactics with the...
Amongst various oeuvres celebrating the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai a dance video titled ‘Chaturangam — A Dance Depiction’ wins every heart.
Outlook went to a tattoo studio in Hauz Khas Village to meet Bruna Freespirit, a transwoman tattoo artist based in New Delhi. Bruna recounted her story and...
Loving, hating, sharing, caring and being happy together on Friendship Day
Bombay. Bambai. Mumbai. India's commercial capital through the eyes of the native, the migrant worker, the politician, the gangster, the filmmaker. What makes...
In the big debate concerning what has led to the downfall of Shiv Sena, journalist and close associate of the Thackerays, Pandharinath Sawant tells Outlook...
In Bihar and particularly, in Mithilanchal, people look at Rama as a son-in-law. In the folk songs, they sing about him being a groom and not about him winning wars. But there’s also the sadness that Rama’s abandonment of Sita brings upon this region. Sita, after all, was Bihar’s daughter. Parijat lends his voice to this interpretation of Rama.
04 October 2022
In this issue, Outlook looks at the many versions of the mythology that has come to mean so many things to many people and has been appropriated and reduced to a narrative to even suit political agenda.
02 October 2022
"In Sakuapani in Netarhat in Jharkhand, I finally met Sushma Asur, a poet and a writer who is trying to save her language and culture. Very few in the community speak Asuri, she told me. I had grown up with stories about Devs and assure and the battles that were fought to secure earth but these battles always kept us apart like wars always do. It was important for me to find Sushma and listen to her story. After the story was published in Outlook's Many Ramayanas issue, it was sad to see many people post racist comments referring to Sushma Asur. Many also tried to co-opt their identity by saying how Ravana descended from Brahma. But Ravana was also the son of Kaikasa, a demon princess. Sushma and her community mourn the death of Mahisasura during the nine days of Navratri. He was their ancestor. They don't know about gods and demons as we have cast them. They worship nature. That's all there is and that doesn't make them a subject of such racism and ridicule by the society, which has been shaped by reductive narratives, which is always a dangerous thing.
03 October 2022
