Hello fellow travellers into the dark! As a writer who dwells in the realms of horror, folklore, and the intricacies of the Indian occult, I often encounter questions about the fine lines – or sometimes, the gaping chasms – between different facets of the strange and unsettling. Two terms frequently used, and often confused, are […]
The realms of dark fantasy and horror constantly evolve, with readers hungry for fresh nightmares and unexplored mythologies. In the vibrant landscape of contemporary Indian genre fiction, author K. Hari Kumar has carved a powerful niche. He masterfully blends ancient Indian folklore and deep Indian mythology with the anxieties of modern life, creating chilling narratives
As a bestselling author spanning both fiction and non-fiction genres, I’ve spent years honing the craft of storytelling. Beyond compelling narratives and engaging characters, the often-underestimated power of punctuation plays a crucial role in impactful writing. Recently, a curious claim has emerged: the suggestion that frequent use of the em dash (—) is a hallmark
There are stories that come with thunder, and there are stories that arrive like a sigh at dusk. The music video adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s He Sakha Mama Hridaye Raho is one such sigh—gentle, almost silent, yet carrying the weight of lifetimes. He Sakha is also rendered as Hey Shokha, and that’s how it is spelt in the music video that came out in 2024. In this hauntingly evocative retelling, the sacred Rabindra Sangeet becomes more than a hymn. It becomes the pulse of a man torn between two women, two kinds of love, and ultimately, two versions of himself.
When I write women, I don’t create them as symbols or archetypes. They are people, shaped by the worlds they inhabit. Some fight against their circumstances, some carry wounds that refuse to heal, and some embrace the darkness that has been thrust upon them. A reader who read Dakhma once told me that Anahita gave
