Studying 19th Century Bengal’s Civilizational Conflicts in Michael Madhusudan Dutt’s Ekei Ki Bole Sobhyota?
Manisha Bhattacharya
“Civility is claiming and caring for one’s identity, needs and beliefs without degrading someone else’s in the process” (The Institute of Civility in Government).
The idea of civility is about disagreeing without disrespect, seeking common ground...
PLAYMATE
As kids, you and I
Loved red paper lanterns
And exquisite Japanese dolls.
In winters, we decorated
Our flower vases
With chrysanthemums the color
Of tiny pink cakes.
In summers our fathers
Took us to drink
Green mango sorbet
At the same quaint little joint.
Springs and autumns were
The times for new clothes
During festivals as even trees
Turned fashion-conscious
And flaunted their...
Fakrul Alam
One of the earliest memories I have of my father is of him coming out of his bedroom, transistor radio in hand, eager to share his delight about a Tagore song being broadcast in Dhaka or Calcutta radio with someone else in our family. “Aha!” he would say,...
Birds
Every star has a crack
This is how the flash
releases the radiance
of living things
To make sense of this
is to know that
a bird’s migration is
the stars magnetic draw
the conveyor from North
to South and back again.
This generates a bright effect
on our lives
because birds are a testament
to the lightness of innocence
to the graceful...
Tia Paul-Louis is the pen name for a fiction writer and poet from Florida. She’s the wife of a U.S. Army sergeant who also happens to be a preacher and philosopher. She’s a mother to a four-year old girl and works at an army Child Development Center. Through many battles...
the authenticity of my butt
i now hear that
the authenticity of my butt
is in question
who are these doubters, these trolls
naysaying, behind anonymity
well, i stand here today
and tell you my butt is authentic
unadultered, genuine american male ass
this is not some cheap foreign knock off
no booty magic here, no $5000 enhancements
no fat...
Welcome to Ethos Literary Journal (ELJ). Here is the inaugural issue and for this volume we have an eclectic mix of short story, review, nonfiction, memoir, interview and poetry. I’m blessed with extremely efficient genre-editors (Amit, Utsab, Koushik & Pramila), who have picked the right pieces for the best...
THE FINAL DRAFT
I've started living after my death!
I was killed
Some four years back—
Stabbed and drowned!
’Twas a shallow stream;
I quivered out,
(Ah! Blessed ghoul!)
Was yet again
Earth-bound
With the hope
Of new love
And assassins
For my carcass soul!
I've lived and died
Many times
In my secular half
And your non-religious (w)hole!
Faced umpteen deaths,
Say, in Mohenjodaro,
And in the Mayan...
Title: After Dark
Publisher: Vintage Books, London (2004)
Author: Haruki Murakami
Translator: Jay Rubin
Pages: 201
Format: Paperback
Reviewed by Pinaki Dewan
In After Dark by Haruki Murakami, the two sisters—Eri and Mari show a different mode of deviation from normal sleep habits. The elder, Eri, sleeps away all of her time, by ‘all’ I assert...
Mallika Bhaumik
Arindam's Diary
7th July, 2012
I watched the rain from behind the glass window, as it fell softly, silently on a warm July night. The wet brooding darkness gazed at me from the other side of the glass. There was a sense of loneliness akin to us, me and...
from DARKLING (1)
The sea is one nocturnal emphasis:
I speak to you across distances like a code
in war. The mothers of the universe are your whores.
I am your daughter, and you are roses in bloom.
I know this because I was an empty blossom
holding your tongue in eclipse. Science doesn’t attempt.
I...
Sea-Smart
Lion has your tongue
A fool sold you pride
Buyer’s remorse
when eagles scratched three eyes
If you only have one bullet
better make sure that it’s pure silver
If you’re bound to draw your sword
just promise me that you won’t drop it
Tiger has your tell-tale
A spell cast your path
Sweetest reward
when whales do higher math
If...