Windows

For short fiction titled ‘Act 2 Scene 2 (The Balcony Scene)’

By Rabia Kapoor

The background is a large map representing moving to a new city and trying to navigate your way around—more geographically but hints at emotional navigation as well. For the main image in the middle, it's meant to be a gateway into a window frame that would give the viewer a bizarre feeling. It shows navigation in some way again with the boat in the middle, trying to reach a destination perhaps or simply experiencing the journey. It's looking into a frame that is in some way not part of your usual life but appealing - like looking into other people's homes. The plant figures in the back represent how you talk about the significance of plants, in relation to how your mum loves them and your memory of that. There's a sense of winter in there with the falling snow and a wintery castle. The window balconies around the main frame explicitly reflect the concept of windows and looking in that's prevalent across the written story.

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Mehfil

For short fiction by Jessica Jani

About a child lost in domesticity of his mother, home, and suspicious surroundings. An environment that tries to hide what the women do, and at the same time, a world that takes pleasure in what the women do. Themes of music, indoor architecture, prostitution, entertainment, secrecy are prevalent across the story. The imagery highlights these aspects with archival images of women in India part of this ‘secret’ world – which is unfairly judged yet enjoyed. Colour here is key here because it represents what the lost boy sees amidst utter confusion when trying to find out who his mother really is.

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