Fiction & Poetry

Three Poems: ‘Untitled’, ‘Alchemy’ & ‘Third date’
A photograph depicting two hands reaching towards each other, but not touching, in a darkened backdrop
Three Poems: ‘Untitled’, ‘Alchemy’ & ‘Third date’

He said ‘tender’ today/in such a way/I thought/I’d definitely like him saying/dirty things to me
By Carol D'Souza
February 1, 2022
Three Poems: ‘Untitled’, ‘Alchemy’ & ‘Third date’
Three Poems: “I dreamt…”, “The day…”, and “Wedding Album”
A blurry, stylised image of people walking down a street
Three Poems: “I dreamt…”, “The day…”, and “Wedding Album”

I always thought I’d get married in a white mekhla-sador, the paht soft and warming, so in cool weather please.

By Unmana
October 17, 2024
Three Poems: “I dreamt…”, “The day…”, and “Wedding Album”
Three Poems
a plant with green leaves on a black background
Three Poems

You made me breathe
The fresh air of freedom
By Swetha U.
November 17, 2025
Three Poems
Things other than maths I tried doing, and failed miserably
Close up photo of makeup brushes with gold metallic bodies and white hair.
Things other than maths I tried doing, and failed miserably

Waxing my body for the first time last year to have silky skin like the women on Veet’s box but ended up with rashes instead.
By Greeshma
June 1, 2023
Things other than maths I tried doing, and failed miserably
There I sat down and wept
There I sat down and wept

“Be yourself, Sarah. Awkward smiles, empty silences, weird laughter, and all. It’s just a part of being human. Loving someone physically is never not awkward. Even if it’s a monogamous relationship. It’s only the comfort of familiarity that makes you think otherwise.”
By Anna Lynn
April 19, 2021
There I sat down and wept
The Two Worlds of a Bi Poet
A painting of colourful birds and butterflies on a white background.
The Two Worlds of a Bi Poet

In my flesh, I must pass
for straight…
But in the digital world,
I can be me.
By M.A. Dubbs
December 18, 2023
The Two Worlds of a Bi Poet
The Tree on Which Orchids Grow Safe
Sunlight pours in through a forest thicket
The Tree on Which Orchids Grow Safe

I’ve never known the answer to childhood questions…
By Lavanya Arora
August 19, 2025
The Tree on Which Orchids Grow Safe
The Touch
solitary green plant on parched and heavily cracked brown soil.
The Touch

That day, in bed, Aymen and Ruben hugged each other like Siamese twins in their mother’s womb. Vulnerable, yet whole.
By Andy Stephen Silveira
April 18, 2024
The Touch
The Feast
Brown and white ceramic container with mango pinkle in it.
The Feast

For everybody was more interested in the welcome sounds of cooks at work and the aromas wafting from the huge community kitchen, adjoining the hall, than in the puja.
By Sailaja P
July 17, 2023
The Feast
The Banyan Tree
A group of trees that are standing in the grass. The photo is taken at the temple grounds of a temple in Kasaragod, Kerala where Peepal and Banyan trees are common.
The Banyan Tree

It’s clear Ms. Nisha is not here to shame them or lecture them. She’s here to give them words when they have none. 
By Taarina Therese Chandiramani
December 18, 2024
The Banyan Tree
The Anatomy of a Queer Body
Slightly blurred close-up of someone’s unclothed back
The Anatomy of a Queer Body

I smell the judgement
and the disappointment
of my parents as I enter the hall;
it stinks of their silence on my sexuality.
By Gokul Prabhu
June 16, 2023
The Anatomy of a Queer Body
Sins that can’t be washed away
Shower cubicle with a black showerhead and textured white ceramic tiles. The basin with a mirror is also visible.
Sins that can’t be washed away

Like some perverted Pavlovian desire,
the wafting smell of fresh soap
that fills up the air in the bath
has my pupils dilate when walking out.
By Hritvika Lakhera
June 1, 2023
Sins that can’t be washed away
Poems by Nhylar
A watercolour image of a woman
Poems by Nhylar

1. A Certain Type of Life  since the age of 16 I idealised a certain type of life involving certain…
By Nhylar
July 1, 2020
Poems by Nhylar
Poems
an abstract painting of various shades of green and blue
Poems

Girl, when you blow your boy, or boy, when you go down on her, or when both of you use…
By Akhil Katyal
October 1, 2014
Poems
Poem: Age 7
Black and white picture of a child covering their face
Poem: Age 7

tender lips that had forgotten, momentarily, the taste of mother’s milk and couldn’t tell the silence of the womb from…
By Mukesh
February 1, 2014
Poem: Age 7
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