What's keeping me warm this winter apart from my heated blanket, are online firestorms, the recent one being around Divija Bhasin and her 'Proud R-word' campaign. In a viral reel, she declared that the Hindi slur traditionally hurled at women for sexual autonomy or supposed promiscuity, no longer has hold over her because men called her that word every day. In trying to disempower the harmful effect of that word, she reclaimed the word, encouraging other young women to do so as well. This led to a cauldron of debate: teenage girls updating their bios with the hashtag #ProudR-word, backlash claiming it was irresponsible, and even legal threats against the content creator under POCSO for influencing minors.
Many argued, and rightfuly so, that it isn’t her word to reclaim — that the R word has historically been used to target sex workers, Dalit women, and marginalised communities who face far harsher violence, stigma, and institutional neglect because of it. For them, the word isn’t an online insult but a real source of danger, which makes the idea of reclamation by someone outside that experience feel careless and ignorant.
However the outrage wave left me wondering about something else. The Feminist movement , since it started, has always thrived on discourse, leading us now to a place where intersectional critique and accountability are front-and-centre — which is great. But what troubles me is that this outrage seems to land more heavily on the woman speaking against abuse (however wrong her approach may be) than on the men who wielded the insult in the first place. This feels like another patriarchal maze where we end up lateral policing and crucifying women’s gestures of defiance more than we hold the ones who subjegate us accountable. That we’re chasing our own tails while the real attack dogs sit by the sidelines watching us unravel while laughing, leaves me with a deep sense of dread.
In the digital age, watching a culturally important moment like this unfold and gain momentum through the arguments, and the context people bring in, is crucial to understanding how harmful systems are either reinforced or dismantled through our collective responses. And so, even if our rage is our leading instinct, it is important to stay vigilant and watch out for the proverbial fox that's guarding the henhouse.
Here's what we have for you this week:
In his latest documentary, director Jawad Sharif puts the spotlight on the boat-dwelling Mohanas of Pakistan’s Manchar Lake, a community whose way of life is being dismantled by pollution, water mis-management and climate change. The lake, once abundant and generative, is now a shrinking ecosystem forcing families like Akbar’s to decide between staying or seeking land-based futures. The film positions the Mohanas’ story in the broader context of environmental and cultural crisis across South Asia.
Watch its trailer here.
With their new single The Veiler, Mumbai-based band Midhaven take a decisive leap into their heaviest terrain yet: a sludge-metal composition built on raga Todi, steeped in Indian myth and philosophical critique. The piece marries crushing riffs with lyrical images of power, identity and rebirth, while retaining the band’s signature cross-current of classical textures and progressive noise.
Listen to the track here.
Designer Divyam Mehta’s latest collection, 'Gardener', uses the Japanese resist-dye technique of shibori as a generative principle for silhouette, texture and craft. The palette of olive, whiskey blue, coal and plum grounds the pieces in natural references, while the relaxed forms like lungi trousers, quilted jackets, draped dupattas, reflect Mehta’s interest in letting fabric and process dictate shape than the other way around.
Check out the collection here.
The latest edition of the environmental-cinema film festival ALT EFF has shifted into a multi-format ecosystem: hosting hybrid screenings, DIY “host your own” watch-parties, and immersive installations such as GIANTS, while opening up development platforms like the Green Stories Film Fund for early-stage non-fiction film projects. Rather than being a single-city, passive festival, the series is now positioning itself as a year-round civic network of environmental storytelling.
Check out its program here.
In this Homegrown feature, five leading Indian chefs reflect on the dishes and family tables taught them their first lessons in taste and technique — weekday rice-and-dal, a mother’s tamarind chutney, the rhythm of grinding spice pastes at dusk, or the small improvisations that stretched a homely meal. The article looks at how those repeated, practical routines trained their palates and taught them how to balance heat, salt and acid; and maps their professional identities that grew from their household food habits.
Read it here.
The inaugural Kolkata Art Weekender taking place from 21–23 November 21-23 transforms the city into a multi-venue cultural field by linking studio visits, heritage walks, print-making workshops, and museum exhibitions across institutions like Experimenter, DAG Museums and Kolkata Centre for Creativity. The event privileges not only viewing art, but narrowing the gap between creators, institutions and younger urban audiences.
Learn more about it here.
Interdisciplinary artist Devadeep Gupta's latest installation presented by Alkersal Avenuel ooks at how a century and a half of extraction has reshaped Assam’s Dehing–Patkai rainforest and the communities within it. Through film, sound, and installation, he gathers stories from Soraipung village — moonlit brine-springs where animals gather, a resident who communicates with hundreds of bird species, and the lone elephant Tempu drifting through the forest — to show how land, memory, and more-than-human life remain intertwined despite sustained exploitation.
Learn more about it here.
If you enjoyed reading this here's more from Homegrown:
Inside Apsara Cinema Lies A Workspace Rooted In Care, Community, and Craftsmanship
Grounded's 'Toybox' Is Where A 160-Year-Old Goan Home Learns To Play Again
Conscious Collective 2025 Will Explore Design As A Tool For Climate Survival