Title: Fabric(ated) Fractures: Challenging the ideas of nation and state (see link)

Goal: To write a piece on the Fabric(ated) Fractures exhibition in Dubai, which brought together the work of artists from Bangladesh, South Asia and Southeast Asia

Execution: Based on an interview with curator Diana Campbell Betancourt, highlighted Bangladesh’s threads of connection with Southeast Asia and the Rohingya crisis

Title: Elemental Connections

Goal: To gain insights into C. P. Satyajit’s photography exhibition ‘Heavenly Bodies’

Execution: Explored the question of photography as both an art and an act; and how Satyajit’s classical dance background has influenced his work as a photographer

Title: Drawing Bridges

Goal: To write a piece on the Manga Lab, a unique space within Louvre Abu Dhabi

Execution: Explored how traditional Japanese manga is interpreted by Arab artists to produce a fascinating hybrid of sensibilities and cultures

Title: Community Sketches

Goal: To gain insights into graphic artist Orijit Sen’s non-fiction comics workshop, organized by the Kochi Biennale Foundation

Execution: Focused on the workshop’s element of community research, and on comics as a tool for social observation

Title: Know Where to Go

Goal: To write a retrospective piece on a visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi

Execution: Drew a balance between the political and the personal, reflecting on JNU’s ideals of socialism, modern India’s reality of capitalism, and my own experience of the two

Title: Special Ostadi

Goal: To write a feature on Special Ostadi, a family-run Iranian restaurant in Dubai

Execution: Focused on the human element of the story: the proprietor’s journey from Iran to Dubai, and his special relationship with his sons and his customers

Title: Handful of Stories

Goal: To write a feature on India’s rich puppet theatre traditions

Execution: Presented the story through the fictional character of a travelling puppeteer, supported by interviews with local puppet theatre troupes

Title: Post It

Goal: To write a short article on India’s postage stamps, to supplement a photo feature

Execution: Investigated postage stamps as a mirror of India’s colonial and post-colonial history, supported by an interview with a local stamp expert

Title: Sweet Meets

Goal: To bring to the forefront the cuisine of the minority Parsi community of Gujarat

Execution: Stressed on the cuisine as a celebration of the community’s identity

Title: Food Forethought

Goal: To write a piece on the multifarious cuisine of Tamil Nadu in South India; this was part of Culturama’s ‘India on a Platter’ series, based on interviews with regional chefs and experts

Execution: Looked into the role of the cuisine as a powerful indicator of social values