They were eighteen, dark and green. Yet, they seemed as untold legends for me. Eighteen in all, gracefully they stood, erect and tall, in a row sprouting luxuriously. Such was the beauty commanded by the seventeen Debdarus and one Nageshwar in front of our quarters, in Arundhutinagar, that they evoked in a heart many a tranquil thoughts for reflections. A man without a name planted them within the police compound. And for seventeen seasons, our officer Shri B. K. Ray attended to them. Expansion of roads led to the retreating of the compound wall. So, they moved outside and stood as guard, proclaiming their gracious presence. No electric cable dared to pass overhead, so glorious were they. The majestic strength creates an awe and makes the hands tremble that think to harm them. These eighteen guard us and guard themselves. A day ago, a glance forty feet high as they…
Prize winning story by the Caribbean Regional Winner of the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize My mother voice growing old over the telephone. First…
A silent house sat there, full of people who did not hear each other, so the house was silent It also felt empty, as…
I was given a five-minute slot for my interview with God. St. Luke ushered me into the Artists Waiting Area and briefed me. “When…
Rosemary Fell was not exactly beautiful. No, you couldn’t have called her beautiful. Pretty? Well, if you took her to pieces… But why be…
He used to tip the scales at a hefty seven pounds. These days, he weighs less than five. His hearing deserted him first, his…
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time…
The soft clay that felt so clammy and velvety against the feet in those paddy fields…Urvija thought in herself while feeling the splashes of the…
In the nineties, Singapore’s Mount Faber park had another name—lover’s park. In between evening breezes, the air sweltered, the young couple’s faces became enveloped…
The 10th Anniversary Edition of the Goa Arts & Literature Festival in association with Goa Writers & Directorate of Art & Culture, Government of…
