fiction

BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / Betwixt and between: Tales from a Nepali-Indian girlhood

Ravindra's prose is brisk, smooth, and detailed, with numerous stories from traditional Nepali and Hindu folklore chipped in, adding layers as the story unfolds.

#Fiction / It doesn’t rain in Shukhno Gram

In dry, forgotten Shukhno Gram, a station master’s dull routine shifts when a runaway bride in blue arrives. Their unexpected bond, painted with longing, art, and fleeting rain, transforms solitude into a moment of magic.

FICTION / The importance of being imperfect

Now, an automated metro-rail glides silently through the city. Conversations have become clipped, calculated. Efficiency replaces spontaneity. They call it peace. Rahim calls it absence.

FICTION / The thief

Farid Shaheb earned a fair bit at the office today. These days, because of the Anti Corruption Commission and newspaper journalists’ incessant pestering, he can no longer directly take the money offered to him.

Fiction / When they look away

“Do you think they think about us?” Asgar muttered.

Hair

I love the texture of your hair and I wanted to tell you about it in far too many words than either you or I are comfortable with.

Book review: Fiction / A tapestry of traditions, joy, and growth

Beyond the celebration of Eid, this book also explores themes of love, loss, and the grief of spending a special occasion without a loved one.

Tangerines and marmalades

I stared at the row of pre-peeled and packaged tangerines sealed tightly under plastic wrap.

FICTION / The heart remains a stone that does not skip through water

You tell me stories of the sea—of its waves, of how it speaks to you in a language only you can understand—whenever you write back to me.

February 26, 2023
February 26, 2023

5 children’s books to find at Boi Mela this year

As a pioneer, the publishing house has ensured that the quality of their books is unparalleled; I was amazed by the colourful animations at this year’s Boi Mela.

February 23, 2023
February 23, 2023

5 mystery thriller books to look out for at Boi Mela

Police officer Mirza Sharaf is hardly convinced of the evidence found and the discovery of the victim's journal leads to a series of unnerving revelations

February 23, 2023
February 23, 2023

Rushdie, and the victory of words

The story begins with an unnamed battle where all men of the tiny principality of Kampili die. Their wives commit mass suicide by lighting a massive bonfire on the coast of the river Pampa and immolating themselves in the pyre.

February 22, 2023
February 22, 2023

Ekushey Boi Mela decor: A blend of old with the new

Be it the use of vibrant shades, taking inspiration from rickshaw art, or relying on the simplicity of monotone, the stalls this year feature a variety of artistic styles and innovative concepts.

February 21, 2023
February 21, 2023

5 books to read this year in observance of Ekushey February

The landmark event not only united the nation to speak up against oppression but paved a new direction for what ultimately led to our independence.

February 20, 2023
February 20, 2023

What makes Professor Shonku so special to us?

As Bengalis, we have grown up reading Satyajit Ray. Who does not remember the clever, witty, and adventurous detective, Feluda? Or the highly revered Professor Shonku, an eccentric scientist, inventor, explorer, and polyglot? Today, we celebrate one of these characters, Professor Trilokeshwar Shonku, paying a humble tribute to the Bengali maestro that is Satyajit Ray. For many of us, Ray was the entrance to Bengali literature, and the Shonku series — an influential work of science fiction in the Bengali language.

February 19, 2023
February 19, 2023

Finding comfort in mythological retellings

Children of the Indian subcontinent grew up listening to the fascinating stories of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Both of these epics are set at a time when the lives of gods and men still intersected and weaved narratives full of great complexity.

February 19, 2023
February 19, 2023

A novel of war and love

50 years pass but Tanes still carries Zohra's photograph and letter in his chest pocket. 

February 18, 2023
February 18, 2023

La Marionette

She wakes up suddenly from her unnatural beeline posture, slowly and ever so gently, like a chained demon would after just hours of calculated slumber. I never look.

February 16, 2023
February 16, 2023

Ice in the veins

Filled with rage, his fast-paced strides switched to a quick sprint.