by Vasundhara Singh Rauchak, my tuk-tukwallah has started a chatty streak and within the first few seconds, he has already introduced himself: His name is Rauchak and he lives with his wife and two children, a few kilometers from the hotel. He thinks the hotel’s decor has improved since its […]
Fiction
How did the Forehead of a Deer become Wrinkled
by Tshering Lhendup Once upon a time, there lived many animals in a big beautiful forest. The forest had all the necessities in abundant for the animals. One day, a deer and an elephant happen to come together to drink water from a spring. They found the water in the […]
Katsudon
By Swati Moheet Agrawal “I know it sounds preposterous, but you’ve got to believe me,” Yuko says, her lips twitching nervously, her voice shaky with fear. We are sitting in her study and her hands tremble as she narrates the incident to me. “You are taking it a bit too […]
Not Just Another Halloween
by Adrian Fisga Luague Dark clouds cover the once blue sky. There was a moment of deafening silence and a restless stillness. Not a single leaf seem to rustle as if it was frozen in time. Not even a shrill chirp of birds can be heard. The temperature drops and […]
Barkha
by Swati Moheet Agrawal She pretends to be sanguine, but she is beset with anxiety; she pretends to be self-assured, but she spends her days wondering what people think of her; she pretends to be feisty, but she’s really very fragile. As the day begins to wane, Barkha feels afraid […]
Perceptum Dictata
by Anantinee Mishra ‘Et suspectior ad magica, et gloria, et maior est tanto in pretio exhoribant,’ ‘Perceptum Dictata,’ The darker the magic, the greater the glory-and the more exhoribant the price. Learn the lesson well. The old Egyptian monk who had given him the spell had taught him the ritual, […]
Autumn Leaves
by Mehreen Ahmed Quasu was growing up really fast. He was now five years of age and was able to enjoy the wedding. The next day, after the wedding, Mila was in her in-law’s house. Prema, Lutfun, and Nazmun Banu sat with their tea, at teatime in the orchard. Autumn […]
Three Cups of Tea
by Rrashima Swaarup Verma The early morning sunlight was pushing its way through the edges of the thick drapes. Divya sighed and opened her eyes. Her sleep had been fitful and she didn’t feel rested. Glancing at the clock, she snuggled back into bed. Five minutes more. It was only […]
Storm Sisters
by Chitra Gopalakrishnan Vimla and Kanchan’s world in the old part of Delhi in northern India is one where the streetscape is continuous and the street ecology complex. Theirs is a universe of a long, dense warren of narrow, potholed streets with no sidewalks, irregularly shaped blocks penetrated by yet […]
The Bamboo Wind Chimes
by Steve Carr Prisha arose from a tangle of sheets and placed her bare feet on the straw mat next to the bed. The early morning sunlight that streamed through the slats of the shutter that covered the bedroom window glinted from the gold ring she wore on the toe […]