In India, language doesn’t just describe relationships, it shapes them. Every region has its own way of saying “husband,” and behind each word sits a story: of history, hierarchy, or quiet affection.

I wrote my first book in my mother tongue, Chikaranga — a dialect of Shona spoken in Masvingo.It was a poetry collection titled Inanga, and I had hoped to publish it through a Zimbabwean publishing ...

At Ishaara, the North Indian restaurant where one signs to dine, service runs smoothly. Mukund Magar, a manager at the ...