Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri (1680-1757), popularly known as Bulleh Shah, was a Sufi poet and philosopher. His verses have long been rendered into song by popular musicians across the borders in India and Pakistan.

Abu’l Hasan (1569-1627) was a prolific artist under the Mughal emperor Jahangir who was honoured with the tile of “Nadir uz-zaman” (“wonder of the age”). Throughout his career, Abu’l Hasan painted a myriad of

The realm of science seems far removed from the subjective shades of grey that mark our existence. We think of scientists as rigid, cerebral figures who are married to process, definition and outcome.

What we

For a confessional poet, it is difficult to maintain an air of mystery. Like her predecessor Kamala Das, Gauri Deshpande bared it all in her autobiographical poems and stories: experiences of womanhood, tensions and

Mulla Muhammad Tahir Ghani, known as Ghani Kashmiri, is one of the foremost Persian language poets in the subcontinent and possibly the most popular Persian poet of

The famous legend of Kotai-Andal tells us the story of a girl who resolves to marry Lord Vishnu and no one else. In this quest, she appropriates a garland meant for him – an

There are countless Mughal miniatures of women engaged in different activities. However, these portrayals, and subsequently, the gaze with which we are forced to look at them, have almost entirely belonged to men. While

We may find ourselves decrying the current state of politics in India, however, a quick peek into the pages of erstwhile poets reveals that the tides of time have only darkened our festering political

In our imagination, we rarely, if ever, see artists as mechanical, office-going common folk. And yet, it is sometimes the most ordinary people who live the most extraordinary lives beneath this veneer of normalcy.

Eighteenth century Kashmiri romantic poet, Arnimal was a path-breaker in her own right. Born in a conservative Kashmiri Hindu society, she lived in a loveless marriage, forsaken by her husband. For her, speaking of