Fresh Take

Sydney Sweeney’s ad isn’t selling ‘great jeans’, but the body in them — and that’s the problemSubscriber Only

August 5, 2025 09:54 IST

The issue isn't Sydney Sweeney's sexuality, but the commodification of it.

Movie tickets are burning a hole in my pocket. Can we bring back affordable cinema?Subscriber Only

August 30, 2025 17:25 IST

From Friday's 'first day, first show', I now wait for Tuesday's last show discounts and 'Buy 1, Get 1' offers. And that hurts.

Love Island effect: What reality TV teaches us about love and self-worthSubscriber Only

July 29, 2025 07:33 IST

The show is built around the thrill of being desired. Getting chosen becomes the prize. That logic does not stay inside the villa. It follows us home.

Samosa tacos and chai Maggi: How college kids hack hunger with zero budget and a whole lot of jugaadSubscriber Only

July 25, 2025 14:03 IST

A generation raised on YouTube food hacks, Instagram cooking challenges, and Pinterest boards is cooking up a culinary storm in shared dorms.

When love isn’t enough: Why I left my ‘perfect’ relationshipSubscriber Only

July 29, 2025 09:56 IST

Social media and films have convinced us that break-ups need solid, explosive reasons. But sometimes everything is just 'fine', and that is the problem.

Where did all the rock and roll bands go? The rise, fall and rebirth of a genre in IndiaSubscriber Only

July 27, 2025 08:35 IST

Rock and roll may be losing to the Instagram algorithm, but veteran musician and Parikrama founder Subir Malik says the live event space may save the genre.

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Too much, too fast: Is pop culture oversaturated?Subscriber Only

July 18, 2025 13:09 IST

We are cultivating systems that reward repetition. In that model, new voices, especially those without marketing budgets or studio machines, get drowned out.

Where it’s real, raw and restricted: Inside the secret ‘finsta’ lifeSubscriber Only

July 16, 2025 18:09 IST

A generation of social media users is now moving inward with smaller circles, curated chaos, spam accounts, and ‘Close Friends’ lists.

Why I hate sneakers: A sandal girl’s manifestoSubscriber Only

July 15, 2025 16:26 IST

The first time I wore proper sandals that supported my feet and my dignity, I felt like I had joined a secret club.

When the kitchen turned into a time machine: Bonding with my mom, a decade late and 900 km awaySubscriber Only

July 11, 2025 20:30 IST

Between cooking lessons and tech tutorials, a 28-year-old reflects on the quiet rebalancing of roles between a mother and a son

Matcha may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s brewing up a cultural obsessionSubscriber Only

July 30, 2025 10:02 IST

Matcha, the powdered, whisked Japanese tea, rebranded as the holy grail for fitness influencers, has stirred a full-blown lifestyle trend. What’s behind the craze? Dive in.

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The undeniable joy and comfort of rewatching a show: Why we hit repeatSubscriber Only

July 8, 2025 11:38 IST

Rewatching isn't just a quirky habit; it’s a full-blown cultural pattern. Year after year, familiar shows like FRIENDS, The Big Bang Theory and The Office rack up millions of views.

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Waiting for BTS: A love letter to the boy band that saved meSubscriber Only

August 30, 2025 17:25 IST

BTS, the anointed kings of K-pop, have promised a new album and world tour by next year. Anupama Yadav reflects on how the band came to mean something far greater than just music in her life.

How being a little more ‘delulu’ worked for me — and may work for youSubscriber Only

July 3, 2025 10:08 IST

Confidence alone won't get you where you want to be, but being 'delulu', as Gen Z calls it, may just get you to try.

What Zohran Mamdani’s Hinge match story says about Gen Z votersSubscriber Only

July 2, 2025 15:31 IST

Zohran Mamdani’s success offers a blueprint for leaders to allow themselves to be real people with real experiences, even if that means a perfect 'swiped right' story.

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Manifestation and angel numbers: The quiet search for meaning onlineSubscriber Only

June 27, 2025 12:31 IST

As a twenty-something girl coping with a complicated 'situationship', I slowly found myself pulled into the world of manifestation, affirmations, and angel numbers.

Indian mythology is ready for its anime moment. We just need the formatSubscriber Only

June 26, 2025 09:58 IST

Serialised storytelling, especially in comics, allows for emotional depth to unfold over time

Why I feel cheated by the girlhood I subscribed toSubscriber Only

June 20, 2025 16:21 IST

It’s disquieting to see your childhood icons recontextualised as case studies. Piper Rockelle’s story is an embodiment of a system that flattens children into commodities.

Escaping the algorithm: Why young Indians are choosing to log offSubscriber Only

June 23, 2025 13:59 IST

"Now I still go out, take photos and enjoy things, but I do it without feeling the pressure to share it online," says one 20-year-old.

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Missiles and music: What a Beirut saxophonist’s viral video says about these timesSubscriber Only

June 19, 2025 07:53 IST

In times of conflict, music can become a vessel for collective resistance, shared sorrow, and bearing witness.

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In a world on fire, Jagjit Singh helped me make sense of the chaosSubscriber Only

June 16, 2025 12:22 IST

A cultural reappraisal has made Jagjit Singh "cool", but characterising his work as a library of “sad songs” or “breakup-core” ghazals is a lazy and reductive assessment.

Desire, dissent, and the female gaze: Why women write so much fanfictionSubscriber Only

June 23, 2025 13:58 IST

Hand a teenage girl the power to play God, and she will run with it.

Re-reading Harry Potter as an adult: What the magic feels like in your 30sSubscriber Only

August 19, 2025 15:03 IST

Harry Potter is set for a comeback with HBO's new TV series. But does the magic still hold for the generation that grew up with the books and the films? Aishwarya Khosla revisits her childhood favourite.

Too young, too female: At 25, all I want is a doctor who listensSubscriber Only

June 12, 2025 11:10 IST

I belong to a generation that expects to be heard. We seek healthcare that is collaborative, not judgmental and exclusionary.

Why I miss my local kirana store: Confessions of a serial delivery-app userSubscriber Only

June 11, 2025 13:00 IST

Quick delivery apps do what they promise, and they do it well. But when they become our first option instead of a last resort, we end up giving away more than just our money.

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