Translucent Thoughts

  • Vishakhapatnam on Film

    These are some film photos I took during my trip to India. Visakhapatnam, lovingly referred to as Vizag by many, is a part of India that feels especially beautiful. The locals are kind and giving; the beach is warm but its water is ferocious, the fish is fresh and always made spicy. The list goes…

  • Kingdom Nightclub: SXSW 2026

    Photographed by Nirvika Dhanasri These are photos I took at Kingdom Nightclub in Austin during South by Southwest.

  • Don’t Kill The Party

    Photographed by Nirvika Dhanasri As I am writing, I have already graduated from University. It’s hard to not feel like life ends after college, especially the life of drinking and partying and stumbling into these busy and sweaty house parties. These photos are my way of remembering how I used to have fun before I…

  • GUPPY’s brings Indian Flavors to perfectly cooked chicken

    GUPPY’s Indian Fried Chicken By: Nirvika Dhanasri Raj Bandi’s goal is not to remind you of something you already had. Instead, the chef and owner of GUPPYS Indian Fried Chicken wants to bring flavors of India to your taste buds with a southern classic as the vessel. Case in point: topping fried chicken with curry…

  • Chef Deepa Shridhar and the Third Culture

    Chef Deepa Shridhar reimagaines south indian cuisine in Austin with Thali Omakase and more.   By Nirvika Dhanasri Chef Deepa Shridhar doesn’t want to own a restaurant. What she wants, and has spent the greater part of her life building, is something more obscure and arguably more difficult to pull off: dining experiences so intimate and…

  • Machine Girl brings relentless energy to Emo’s

    Machine Girl Brings Relentless Energy to Emo’s Machine Girl, a ​​New York-based electronic rock group, brought hardcore energy to Emo’s on Friday for their PsychoWarrior Tour. The three-person group, composed of vocalist and producer Matt Stephenson, percussionist Sean Kelly and guitarist Lucy Caputi, took the stage at 9:45 p.m. The trio brought with them a…

  • Brent Faiyaz’s “Icon” marks a turn toward maturity

    https://thedailytexan.com/2026/02/15/brent-faiyazs-icon-marks-a-turn-toward-maturity/ Three years after his last album, and following a couple singles and a slew of features, Christopher Brent Wood, widely known as Brent Faiyaz, released his fifth studio album Icon on Friday the 13th. Icon departs from the toxic lyrics and persona the singer traditionally adopts, opting for something lighter and more mature. The…

  • Austin’s anime fans find community at Kōmori Con

    https://thedailytexan.com/staff_name/nirvika-dhanasri/ Artists, maid dresses and colorful wigs crowded the rooms of the Edder-Harbin Alumni Center on Saturday, Feb. 7, for Austin’s annual Kōmori Con. Cosplaying as their favorite anime characters, students and eventgoers purchased merchandise and bonded over their love for anime and manga. Emily Nguyen and Hanming Li, UT graduates and current medical students,…

  • Mercy provides lackluster take on AI’s future

    https://thedailytexan.com/2026/01/26/review-mercy-provides-lackluster-take-on-ais-future The use and implications of artificial intelligence remain a hot topic of everyday debate. Past media such as “RoboCop” and “The Terminator” suggest the years ahead of us lack humanity and justice.  Released Jan. 23, Timur Bekmambetov’s latest film, “Mercy,” presents an incredibly interesting future where artificial intelligence acts as a judge, jury and…

  • Zootopia 2 amounts to a successful Disney sequel fit for the whole family

    After almost nine years since the original “Zootopia,” Disney released the long-awaited “Zootopia 2” on Wednesday and successfully broke the company’s habit of releasing underwhelming sequels.  “Zootopia 2” brought back what worked from its former: relevant humor, an interesting universe and a digestible understanding of humankind through what may be the only thing more diverse…