A list of good reads

• The Guardian has a lovely profile of Casteless Collective—a Chennai-based band that is using the traditional ‘gaana’ style to challenge social oppression.
• Three excellent reads on the targeting of Rhea Chakraborty. Sheebani Sethi writes candidly about her experience as a Bollywood spouse of a screenwriter with bipolar disorder. Ankur Pathak calls out the silence of Bollywood stars like Deepika Padukone—who put the burden of speaking up on a small group of people, and to bear the backlash. Sandip Roy brilliantly links the social lynching of Chakraborty to our contempt for live-in girlfriends.
• Two excellent bits of food writing: Shrabonti Bagchi offers a delightful take on our great love for mithai—and recent attempts to make it cool again. Also asks: Why bother? Tejal Rao in New York Times offers a beautifully written tribute to her grandfather, his devotion to precision, and his kofta curry recipe.
• Brahma Chellaney in Nikkei Asian Review offers a clear-eyed take on China’s strategy of wooing the Taliban.
• Two good reads on the Kardashians: The Conversation looks at the complicated legacy of a show that changed the face of entertainment. Buzzfeed News asks: Is this the decline and fall of the Kardashian empire?
• NewsLaundry profiles Jagdish Singh—the man who has filed an FIR against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair.