Lustre

Cover illustration for Lustre By Abdus Samad
Translated by Syed Anwar Ali
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As the news of a henious gang-rape of seven girls by a group of upper caste men quickly spreads, their village comes under the national spotlight; everyone trying to get to the bottom of the truth. Long oppressed, the girls from the minority community refuse to utter the names of the men; feigning ignorance and burdened by shame.

Lustre offers a glimpse into the true situation in some parts of India as well as the collective psyche of a community-their thoughts on propriety, violence, subjugation, and, most importantly, revolution.
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Trying to capture the disturbing extremities of our social reality for this cover was an immense experience. A light facing a raging storm. A silent youth caught in the whirlwind of worldly atrocities. Deafening silence standing against a screaming chaos. I had to find a way to bring it all out on the cover. Working on this project during the first month of the first lockdown in 2020 would be one of the most unique moments of my life.