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Monday, February 23, 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

Nick Jonas wearing a mangalsutra is validation for many Indians. He’s our favourite jiju

Nick Jonas is not trying to modernise the mangalsutra, but his gesture shows that choices can be equal. If commitment must be flaunted, it need not be gendered.

In the West, there’s anxiety. In India, optimism—Rishi Sunak says India poised to be leader in AI

On Wednesday, the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking in New Delhi at a Carnegie & Observer Research Foundation event on AI.

Suspected brake failure leads to Tejas accident after landing, airframe likely to be written off

The IAF, so far, remains mum on this accident which has led to grounding of the fleet for safety checks.

No country is ever fully sovereign. Cold War era taught India its real meaning

India’s fraught neighbourhood places multiple constraints on its strategic choices. It leaves no time to take a deep breath, lean back and reset.