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Saturday, January 3, 2026
TopicPop culture

Topic: Pop culture

Is there an Indian way to be gay? Most of us learn about queerness from American TV

We’re sad about drag bans in the US, but don’t care about horizontal reservations in India. Stonewall remains our frame of reference, and AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan is unheard of.

Luigi Mangione changed how we view murder suspects. It’s all about his digital footprint

Luigi became a folk hero overnight, across the political spectrum. But his personality being deciphered from his online presence left me feeling disconcerted.

Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain is still shaping pop culture. Here’s how

Nirvana were everywhere at the start of the 1990s, much like Taylor Swift’s omnipresence today.

After K-culture boom, Indian women loving Thai queer drama. ‘We can see 2 handsome men’

A legion of new fans has bolstered the BL fandom in India. They have sent gifts to the actors in Thailand, sent food trucks to their shooting locations, & put up billboards in India.

On Camera

Savitribai Phule made space for radical women misfits. She pioneered Satyashodhak modernity

The distinctiveness of her writing is evident in her compositions—women, shudras, and atishudras are at the center. Her poetry challenges the aesthetics of 'modern' Marathi literature.

India’s urban co-op banks are turning the page—crisis to cautious revival, one metric at a time

With bad loans shrinking & capital buffers stronger, urban co-op banks’ new umbrella body NUCFDC is now prioritising rollout of digital transformation.

Greece looking at TATA’s WhAP infantry combat vehicle for army procurement

If deal goes through, Greece will be 2nd foreign country to procure vehicle. Morocco was first; TATA Group has set up manufacturing unit there with minimum 30 percent indigenous content.

A year-end Mea Culpa in National Interest—The Army-Islam combo doesn’t kill democracy

Many of you might think I got something so wrong in National Interest pieces written this year. I might disagree! But some deserve a Mea Culpa. I’d deal with the most recent this week.