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Why Azeem Banatwalla Feels So Different in Indian Stand-Up Comedy

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One of the most recognisable names in the Indian stand-up circuit today, Azeem Banatwalla has quietly built a reputation as one of India’s smartest and most distinctive comedians. Over the past decade, he has created a space for himself through intelligent observational humour, political satire, and an unmatched ability to turn everyday urban frustration into comedy gold. With two stand-up specials to his name — Out of My System (2017) and Problems (2019), both Amazon Prime Video exclusives — Azeem has performed across the globe, including at prestigious platforms such as the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He is also an integral part of the comedy collective East India Comedy, whose sketches and videos have collectively crossed over 100 million views on YouTube. But what truly makes Azeem Banatwalla stand out is not just what he jokes about — it is how he approaches comedy itself. We are currently living in a stand-up ecosystem dominated by...
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Jaane Pehchaane Anjaane: Three Words That Capture the Human Experience

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In a world where we all seem so familiar with one another, do we really know each other? Exploring human connection through a moving musical play starring Anupam Kher and Swaroop Sampat, Jaane Pehchaane Anjaane poses a question to us all: how well do we truly know the people we call our own? Through relationships spanning different generations and stages of life, the play explores an unsettling reality that while people may appear familiar on the surface of it all, many carry an unspoken loneliness within them. Navigating companionship, emotional distance, separation, friendship, and silence, the play reminds us that even the closest relationships can sometimes feel strangely distant and perhaps even lonely. What makes the experience even more powerful is the sincerity of the performances. Anupam Kher, returning to the stage after nearly fifteen years, brings warmth, vulnerability, and emotional depth to his character, making every pause and expression feel deeply personal. Swaroop ...
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The Joy of Book Hopping

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Have you ever heard of book hopping — the art of wandering from one book to another, letting different stories find you instead of you finding them? Very similar to channel surfing, it’s easy: you simply pick up one book, read a few lines or maybe a few pages, and then move on to another that catches your eye. One moment, you could be reading a self-help book, and the next, you might switch to a romance novel just to transport your mind somewhere else entirely. We have to admit that we live in a fast-paced world obsessed with finishing things quickly. So here you are, book — or rather, books — in hand, acting rebellious with that smirk on your lips. You’re not going to finish the book immediately, and you know it. You’re not even going to stick to one genre. Instead, you’ll read as much as your mind can grasp in the moment before switching to another book, moving back and forth until they are eventually read. Reading doesn’t really need structure; it just needs a curious mind. You h...
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When Poetry finds Music: Why Priya Malik and Tanmay Maheshwari’s performances feel so Human

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Some performances are loud and demand applause, and then there are performances that quietly pull you in — soulful, immersive, and almost magical. That is exactly what happens when Priya Malik and Tanmay Maheshwari perform together. Always accompanying Priya’s live poetry performances, Tanmay’s music feels deeply harmonious with her words. Their collaboration often feels like poetry being sung and music being spoken. Priya’s poetry explores heartbreak, longing, love, old Bollywood nostalgia, and emotional storytelling — themes that blend seamlessly with Tanmay’s soft, melodic compositions. What makes Priya Malik’s performances stand apart is that, instead of creating conventional singles or stage acts, she and Tanmay create emotional live experiences where poetry and music flow effortlessly into one another. I experienced this first hand during Dard-E-Dil – A Trial Show at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, where I witnessed both Priya Malik’s poetry and Tanmay Maheshwari...
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UneRase Poetry – The Collective That Made Spoken Word Feel Personal Again

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Founded by spoken-word poet Simar Singh, UneRase Poetry emerged during a time when spoken-word poetry in India was still niche and largely underground. Inspired by global slam poetry movements yet deeply rooted in Indian emotion and multilingual storytelling, the platform created a space where vulnerability was not seen as weakness, but as an art form. Blending Urdu, Hindi, English, and conversational storytelling, UneRase Poetry gave young audiences a language for emotions they often struggled to express. The collective focused on relatable emotional truths — failed relationships, parental pressure, mental health, self-worth, gender expectations, nostalgia, and urban loneliness. Their performances did not feel like rehearsed stage acts; instead, they resembled deeply personal confessions spoken aloud. Over the years, UneRase Poetry became home to some of the most recognised voices in contemporary Indian spoken word, including Yahya Bootwala, Aranya Johar, and Priya Malik. Each poet...
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The Human Cost of the Israel–Palestine War

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One of the most emotional and misunderstood conflicts in modern history is the Israel–Palestine conflict. Discussions surrounding it often lead not only to anger, slogans, and misinformation but also reflect deeply unresolved tensions connected to history, politics, identity, and human experience. Every few months, the conflict returns to global headlines. Social media becomes flooded with arguments, emotional videos, political slogans, and simplified narratives. Yet behind these reactions lies a long and complex history that many people around the world are still trying to understand. At the centre of the conflict is a piece of land claimed by both Jewish Israelis and Palestinians. For Jewish Israelis, the story is deeply connected to survival, historical persecution, and the desire for a secure homeland after centuries of antisemitism and the horrors of the Holocaust. For Palestinians, the story is connected to displacement, military occupation, restricted movement, loss of land, ...
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Jasmine Babbar – A Voice Redefining Poetry and Storytelling in India

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In a world overflowing with noise, poet Jasmine Babbar creates moments of silence that make people pause, reflect, and feel deeply. A storyteller, poet, and spoken-word performer, she has steadily etched her mark on the landscape of contemporary Indian poetry. Her work is marked by honesty, emotional depth, and striking vulnerability. Writing primarily in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, and English, Jasmine explores themes of love, loss, heartbreak, healing, identity, mental health, and human connection. Her poetry is not merely meant to be read—it is meant to be experienced. Every performance carries an intimacy that leaves audiences deeply moved. What distinguishes Jasmine Babbar is her ability to transform deeply personal experiences into emotions that feel universally relatable. Her poems often explore loneliness, emotional conflict, self-discovery, and the quiet ache that lingers within relationships. Her poetry carries the rhythm of lived experience: “Some wounds don’t ask for healing. ...
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