Arefa Tehsin's Blog

Let there be light: This Diwali, let’s embrace the unfiltered glow of community and connection Light has no religion. It simply shines wherever it’s given a little oil and a little heart This Diwali, when we clean our homes and decorate our thresholds, let’s proudly reclaim the messiness of our mingled past, the imperfect but... Continue Reading →

The city’s sprawling republic of the dead offers something we the living struggle with: An unruffled coexistence. Beneath its trees, faiths and races lie together, equal at last.Standing here, you realise Kanatte tells a story, too. A silent epic written in granite and grief, it insists that pluralism is not a lofty ideal but an... Continue Reading →

Arefa Tehsin explores India’s biodiversity buffet in her new children’s book, The Great Indian Safari Arefa Tehsin takes young readers to coral reefs and jungles in her latest book, The Great Indian Safari Published – August 07, 2025 02:48 pm IST  NIDHI ADLAKHA Arefa Tehsin believes every creature tells a story. And in her latest book, The Great Indian... Continue Reading →

Ages: 7 to 107 Publisher: Penguin Random House Illustrated by Mohit Suneja Available at your favourite bookstore and on Amazon. Meet Charred the Bard: Shiny blackis my coatFlap-flap-flap—in air I floatThere are queensand there are kings,But I’m the one and onlyLord of the wings! He soars across India’s amazing forests, introducing young explorers to the country’s... Continue Reading →

The Indian Express: City and I: Why didn’t you teach me about that world, Udaipur? How could I possibly explain that Udaipur taught me to soar, catching the updrafts from the Aravallis? That my family didn’t choose to go to Pakistan, even if they risked losing everything Udaipur has been my Shakespearean stage of life’s... Continue Reading →

Ten lessons I learned from Kaziranga ByArefa Tehsin  Jul 02, 2025 05:02 AM IST The origin of the word ‘safari’ is Kishwahili (Arabic) from ‘safar’—to travel. For a late riser like me, who hasn’t seen sunrises for many years, it can equate to ‘suffer’ too. Our days started when days had not even dawned. We’d... Continue Reading →

Between ‘pawtriots’ and protesters, finding middle ground in India’s dog war From urban colonies to forest edges, India’s canine crisis is no longer about animals alone — it’s about us. What does a solution look like? Definitely not Facebook fights in all-caps, but a reasonable, empathetic and evidence-based approach We are a planet divided. Not... Continue Reading →