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...
BLOOD
1
I see the blood
in hands of others
faces of others
smeared like fog
or smog,
I lift myself from clouds
a thin line wavers
as I walk into the existence
of blood
2
I ask questions
the voice is silent
asks questions
can you rape an eight
year old, six months
the voice is silent
of course, only at
the cost of blood
3
I saw a...
Translated from the original Rajbangshi language by Jyotirmoy Prodhani
A Poet You Are
Poet,
come down to the dust
and watch the shades of the setting sun.
Poet,
walk down that path
and watch the lives lived by men.
I Want To Become A Sky
I want to become a sky
a sky I do want to become—
broad and...
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...
THE LIGHT SINKS LOW
Here, the light sinks low
as a meandering river,
into the threshold of my windows
when I bake half-grown weeds.
My nails are black with smoke.
I clean the air around me
with my overgrown hair.
My kitchen sink is on the other side
of the green balcony.
It tells me the story of a...
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...
Wargame
Speak. Seek. Advance. Retreat. Say a word. A thought or two. Sing for me. You know you want to.
Canoe down the river. Climb up the waterfall. I’ll be here when you get back. Waiting to give it all.
Or maybe I’m not here. I’m deep-sea diving somewhere. I’m searching for...
Russ Bickerstaff
A woman’s feet had come to rest in front of an intersection. A sports car drove by followed rapidly by a semi-truck with an advertisement for beer on the side of it. She didn’t notice it because she was looking at the glowing screen she held in her...
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...
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...
Jalebi of Mani’s Shop
These semi-precious ornaments
Of liquid golden hue, they filled it with the sweet sap
Of sugar—the very outlook causes watering in mouth
That melts and crackles under the tongue and dissolves
A forgetful evening. Home-bound passengers from local trains,
As they return, all in a hurry like with a puff of...
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...