The Indian Quarterly - July - December 2021

In this issue

For this issue, we got writers and illustrators, graphic storytellers and photographers to think hard about borders. What does it mean to be on one side or the other? Literally or metaphorically.
Thus, while Susan Smith documents the suffering of migrants on the US-Mexico border, Parni Ray wonders about all the men who defy the boundaries of their lives to disappear and create new ones. Pushpinder Singh Jamwal’s research on wetlands illuminates the absurdity of human-drawn borders—at least as far as migratory birds are concerned. Vidyun Sabhaney’s graphic essay is a report from a literal border, outside Delhi, where women farmers from Punjab have been protesting what they believe are unjust laws. Ranjita Ganesan tells the fascinating story of a man who lives on the fringes of society—a member of a former ‘criminal tribe’. Latika Nehra’s ceramic works push the boundaries of artistic convention while Thokchom Sony’s art is poised on the cusp of traditional expression and modern technique. Sukhada Tatke tells us about the multiple lines crossed in an interracial marriage while Preksha Sharma discusses what ‘her land’, located near a contentious international border, means to her. Jai Arjun Singh pays tribute to a man who inhabited his household but lived a world away, separated by class boundaries. And finally, Yahin RK’s photographs of the wild remind us humans to not trespass when we visit the jungle. As usual, there’s lots more, including cinema-focused pieces by Rochona Majumdar and Shrayana Bhattacharya, a graphic piece on a great cartoon figure by Bharath Murthy, an extract from architect Ramu Katakam’s memoir… And too much compelling fiction and poetry to list—because this is a special issue again, a particularly special one because it marks IQ’s entry into its tenth year.

The Indian Quarterly Magazine Description:

The Indian Quarterly (IQ) is a national and international magazine. We hope that just as The New Yorker exhibits a distinctly Manhattan sensibility and always contains articles about New York City, IQ will manifest the fact that it is edited and published in Mumbai through its cosmopolitan and open-minded perspective on the world and on India.

In fact, we hope to provide a unique way of interpreting our ever changing culture, and to define our own experiences through the strength of thought, ideas and imagery, be it in the form of fact, fiction, poetry, illustration or photography. IQ is therefore a paean to the polyphonic nature of reflection and the creativity that is its outcome.