Darshanika Panda is an Indian poet, lawyer, socio-legal researcher, and classical dancer. Drawing from the intersections of art, academia, and advocacy, her work explores themes such as womanhood, patriarchy, belonging, vulnerability, and the contradictions of contemporary life through emotionally rooted and culturally textured imagery. Much of her writing reflects an ongoing attempt to make sense of the vastness of human existence while navigating the confines of rigid social and professional structures. She often jests that she is the “2 a.m. Seneca,” trapped inside the body of a functioning member of the capitalist society.
