![Portraits of Heat](https://cdn.magzter.com/Outlook/1721025501/articles/I8QVufmmm1721043379152/PORTRAITS-OF-HEAT.jpg)
THERE'S a boy. The boy has no legs. He pushes his wheelchair in the molten heat. As the sun punishes us for our industrial sins the boy moves his wheelchair - a product of those industrial sins - towards a kiryana store. Life is cruel, but the boy has a smile on his face. He picks up a small clay pot and empties it. A few drops of water hit the pavement and evaporate immediately. He gesticulates to the shopkeeper who brings a packet of milk. The boy hands him a grimy, sweaty 10 rupee note. The wheelchair rolls, the tyre leaving a black rubber trail on the concrete.
'Come here Kaalu, the boy says.
A street dog with a black fur coat staggers to him, stunned by the heat. The boy in the wheelchair bites into the cool packet and rips out a triangular section.
The milk pours into the claypot. Nectar. An oblation to the brutal sun god. Kaalu bends his neck greedily and starts lapping up the milk. I go to the boy and we talk about the unrelenting heat. He talks about it only with respect to the animals around us. As if the heat does not bother him.
"The birds are dropping dead like flies,' he says matter-of-factly.
This story is from the July 21, 2024 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 21, 2024 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![Criminal Amnesia](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/d52k83cu41725278926751/crp_CRIMINAL-AMNESIA.jpg)
Criminal Amnesia
The focus may have now shifted to the Kolkata gang rape case, but questions about the sexual violence in Manipur since May 2023 remain unanswered
![To Rape A Wife](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/3HGWlQ6881725280687456/crp_TO-RAPE-A-WIFE.jpg)
To Rape A Wife
Survivors of marital rape face twin hurdles: a lack of legal framework to deal with these cases and the social stigma that comes with reporting them
![A City Violated](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/K4CYTlVWO1725278786929/crp_A-CITY-VIOLATED.jpg)
A City Violated
Public outburst of anger over the rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata has left the Mamata Banerjee government puzzled, worried
![The Forest of Loss](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/Hs3uzqv4x1725281539269/THE-FOREST-OF-LOSS.jpg)
The Forest of Loss
From a legal perspective, justice appears to have been served in the 2017 Gudiya rape and murder case at Kotkhai, Himachal Pradesh. But several questions persist
![Here, Nobody Speaks of the Wounds](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/gyA2Dq9gZ1725281415367/HERE-NOBODY-SPEAKS-OF-THE-WOUNDS.jpg)
Here, Nobody Speaks of the Wounds
Muhammad Iqbal Shah's 14-year-old cousin was gang-raped and murdered at Handwara town, Kupwara, in 2007. The family is still trudging along the long road to justice
![She Must Have Been Afraid](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/1S7Zm02QJ1725281313088/SHE-MUST-HAVE-BEEN-AFRAID.jpg)
She Must Have Been Afraid
The 2012 Delhi gang rape is reflective of a systematic failure to cleanse the societal malaise
![The Burning Woman](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/ZBdKSaGun1725281170578/THE-BURNING-WOMAN.jpg)
The Burning Woman
UP has the highest rate of crimes against women, and the district of Unnao has seen some of the State's most gruesome cases
![Naked (vs.) Justice](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/-FD7ccoWk1725281015540/NAKED-VS-JUSTICE.jpg)
Naked (vs.) Justice
On March 14, 2006, Latabai and her son, six, were paraded naked in a village in Solapur. Less than six months later, four members of a Dalit family were paraded naked; mother & daughter were allegedly gang-raped
![Songlines of Chambal](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/6fcv7Vusf1725280830007/SONGLINES-OF-CHAMBAL.jpg)
Songlines of Chambal
How do the residents of Sheikhpur Gudha, Phoolan Devi's village in Uttar Pradesh, remember her: as a survivor, a rebel, a leader?
![Don't You Remember My Story?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/241/1819030/y8z4xX8_f1725280552018/DONT-YOU-REMEMBER-MY-STORY.jpg)
Don't You Remember My Story?
A child gang rape survivor's 12-year long ordeal in Sikar, Rajasthan shows how calls for punishment of perpetrators don't always mean empathy for the victim