Karina Pandya

Writing is perhaps the most liberating thing I engage in — whether I’m reviewing movies, plays, or books. Yet one question always lingers in my mind: who truly deserves the credit for a story? Is it the writer of the play, the author of the book, the filmmaker behind the movie, or can any of us claim a part of it as our own? A playwright writes a script, a director transforms it into a film, an audience interprets it through their own experiences, and sometimes a son or daughter inherits the legacy of the creator. A studio may even own the rights to a film adaptation. So, who can really claim ownership of the writing? And what about the critic who dissects every plot and uncovers layers of meaning? A writer may spend years drafting a book, a screenplay, or a play. Logically, the answer appears simple: the work belongs to its creator. However, once a story is released into the world, it no longer belongs to just one individual. A play may have meant something entirely different to its...

Helly Shah is an Indian spoken-word artist who has been making ears perk up and heads turn with her crisp, relatable, and soul-soothing content. Her poetry revolves around modern relationships, friendships, growing up in your twenties, gender expectations, loneliness, nostalgia, and identity. She gained immense popularity through her collaborations with Unerase Poetry and has now become a widely recognised voice in the spoken-word scene. Some of her most loved pieces include Dosti Ki Breakup, What Society Says No to Men, Mujhe Abhi Shaadi Nahi Karni, 25 & Single, and Marriage Material. She has shared the stage with artists such as Priya Malik, Yahya Bootwala, Amandeep Singh, and Nidhi Narwal. Calling herself an “accidental writer,” Helly draws inspiration from books, conversations, and her observations of people and everyday life. She has also performed at events such as YouTube FanFest and NH7 Weekender. Her performances, usually delivered in Hinglish or English, feel natural, ...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...