"From the start, we made it clear that we weren't looking for a specific agenda. It is whatever dissent means to you. This is a collection of 19 stories and poems of going against the tide, as seen on the cover. It's not only the kind of dissent that is political, but also dissent in our lives," the editor, Arun Kale, says. After receiving several entries from across India, the pieces were hand-picked by Meena Kandasamy and Eunice de Souza, who passed away last year, a month after she made her selection. "This is special because it is probably one of the last things she has worked on and we're really glad to have had a chance to work with her. She has been an amazing right-hand person," Kale tells us.

Arun Kale

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With contributors including young writers such as Harnidh Kaur, Shreya Ila Anasuya, Dyuti Mishra and Tejaswini Apte-Rahm, artworks for each of the pieces were also commissioned by illustrators Mira Malhotra, Tanya Eden, Sonali Zohra, Osheen Silva and Appupen. "But, the writer and the illustrator never talk to each other. Even though the art is derived from the written word, the illustrator is free to interpret it their way. That makes this process interesting," Kale says. For emerging writers the anthology is a new platform that offers mentorship as their work is screened by experienced professionals.

Harnidh Kaur

Contributor Harnidh Kaur says, "It's always astonishing to read Indian poets write about their own contexts. Things finally click in your head, from the cadence they use to the words they deploy. It's a feeling of being heard and seen, and this anthology amplified that emotion manifold. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to submit and see this entire process from the front lines. I hope someone, somewhere reads these poems and feels a little more belonged."

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