The Swains and the Sea

The Swains and the Sea What is a sea to a fisherman’s eye? A giving friend? A savior? Or a killer in disguise?
6 September 2019

THE MUSE

Each writer born must have a muse, Or so I’m told, for if they do, And if they should, do they know how To let it in or haven’t found
6 September 2019

Abul Mansur Ahmed’s Ayna: A World of Satire in the Light of Art

Ayna, a collection of seven short stories by Abul Mansur Ahmed was published in 1935. Written through the span of 1922- 1929, these pieces were published in Saugat edited by Muhammad Nasiruddin. The stories were satiric in structure, reflective in observation,
6 September 2019

Adieu, Perpetual Migrant!

The virtuoso with the pen Rizia Rahman has ended her terrestrial sojourn on 16th August, just a few months shy of entering her octogenarian phase. A prolific writer treading most of the domains of creative writing, she has left an indelible personal mark on our literary landscape.
6 September 2019

Nation, Identity and Alternative Bangla Cinema: Conversing with Tanvir Mokammel (Part II)

SH: In 2011 you made a mega-documentary on 1971. What research on governmental policy documents went into the use of firearms by the Muktijoddhas as shown in your film, or as generally shown in films on the Liberation War?
6 September 2019

Angels and Monsters

One late afternoon, dragging his injured leg Kamal finally stood in front of a particular door of a shanti. For some strange reason, he could not enter the house as he used to even five months ago. He called out in a trembling voice, “Nuru! Where are you, my son? I’m home.”
30 August 2019

Two Poems

I was led to delusion,
30 August 2019

When She Misses Him (2009)

A sudden stillness!
30 August 2019

Searching for the Loved One: From the pen of a bereaved father

It was on August 25, 2018, an evening just after the Kurbani Eid holidays, when Mr. Kamran, 66, a returnee from Dubai, went to Banani graveyard, Dhaka to visit his mother’s and father’s graves. After saying prayers he asked the caretaker of the graveyard “Do you have any empty grave?”
30 August 2019

Nation, Identity and Alternative Bangla Cinema: Conversing with Tanvir Mokammel (Part 1)

Tanvir Mokammel hails from Khulna, which is also the workplace of Prof. Sabiha Huq. This past February, when he was in Khulna for the launching of his partition novel Kirtinasha, the English Department of Khulna University became the privileged venue for a
30 August 2019

On loving childhood reads as an adult

I have been recovering from a very long and arduous block in my reading life, a block that could not be broken by the fattest or
29 August 2019

The Beggar

Though I called out to the shopkeeper a couple of times, he didn’t heed me. He was too busy rearranging the products on the rack. As I was waiting for him to respond, a middle-aged beggar woman turned up on my left and begged for money from me. At first, I
23 August 2019

The Fifteenth of August

The crimson hue is still in the morning sky.
23 August 2019

Why Is Writing So Difficult to Accomplish?

Writing is a struggle for everyone. If it seems easy, a writer is not doing it right. Because writing is mired in myths and misunderstanding, most writers – aspiring writers, in particular – consider the essential difficulty in writing as a pathology. They feel
23 August 2019

Ghoulish Sentiments

Slumped with our luggage we got off the train looking apprehensively at the quaint sight before us. Saplings and balding grasslands carpeted serenely with occasional trees of variety here and there. The scenery struck me with great unfamiliarity in contrast to the city
23 August 2019

Dsc Prize for South Asian Literature, 2019

Instituted by Surina and Manhad Narula in 2010, the US $25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is one of the most prestigious international literary awards specifically focused on South Asian writing. It is a unique and coveted prize and is open to authors of any
23 August 2019

Daughters of the sun

Rehana takes hesitant steps towards her house. Her Niqab renders the landscape a transparent shade of black smoke.
10 August 2019

Memoir of a Serpent Woman

I am Ranire, the serpent woman who lives in the rubbles of Al-Hammar Palace. Yes, you heard right—the accursed and legendary half woman and half snake that wanders in the desert land of Ukh-Tarar.
10 August 2019

Life Theft Auto: Vice City

“CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER”—the instruction pops up on the brand new 32-inch curved monitor’s screen. “Hmm… Which one? Which one should I select?” Genghis Khan murmurs.
10 August 2019

Of Itching and Scratching

I, an itching palm? —William Shakespeare
10 August 2019