Tehreem Hassan in her poem ‘If Insanity were a Poem’ traces the outlines of insanity in her mind. She highlights how her physical self adds to her insanity and how it is affected by her ongoing thought process. She associates mental illness with hues of different colors, each existing in the same person and adding to the misery of the taboos prevailing in the society. (Feature)

“X’s jaws still moving after the jump from the 14^th floor balcony. In grade 6 or 7, he explained to me that it was called potential energy –energy possessed by a body on account of its position being relative to other objects around it.” – Read Scherezade Siobhan’s words visually describing mental illnesses and issues that may affect one from the perspective of a psychologist and a WOC writer. (Feature)

A childhood that was snatched by a trusted one, lifelong gossips and a misunderstood woman – perfect ingredients for mental illnesses that are swept under the carpet in the names of attention seeking, girl’s puberty and hormonal changes… in a lifelong challenge to live up to the terms of this world. Priyanka Das discusses all these in her brilliant write-up “An Abated Mass of Flesh”. (Feature)

Four captivating stories by Anu Kay; Pratima Sutar; Chaganti Nagaraja Rao; Revathi Raj Iyer with different storylines... mystery, humanity, love of animals... that will appeal alike to children, youth and veterans. (Fiction)

A tribute to the late VS Naipaul (d. 11 Aug 2018) renowned Nobel laureate… by a wreath of articles by five competent scholars. (Literary Section)

Ajay K Chaubey presents a moving and very personal obituary to commemorate the sad demise of Sir V.S. Naipaul. The account is personal as well as informative, showcasing the author’s life and works, as well as bringing to the fore Prof Chaubey’s expertise on Naipaul and his works. The obituary sets the tone for the present issue: a tribute to the Nobel-laureate. (Literary Section)

Aby John presents a comparative study of two seminal postcolonial novels—Thiong’o’s A Grain of Wheat and Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians—from a colonial/postcolonial perspective of criticism. By showcasing the colonial aspects of the two novels emerging from two ends of the same continent and involving a similar past, the author gives us an interesting concept that is comparative as well as elaborative. (Literary Section)

With a sharp and piercing expressions and diction, A Kayalvizhi kindles the minds and emotions of the readers. Poets like her with an aesthetic urge to share their thoughts on life, do it with élan of expressions, phonetic elements and beauty of content to draw attention quickly and fully. (Poetry)

The poetic perceptions of Upasana Saraswati force the readers to turn the gaze within and outside to see the existential debates that pervade all around. In a very transparent method, she showcases her feelings and thoughts in her poetry. (Poetry)

Three gripping novels – 1. The Mogul (Vish Dhamija); 2. Satisar: The Valley of Demons (Ayaz Rasool Nazki); 3. The Legend of the Wolf (Andaleeb Wajid) – reviewed by Atreya Sarma, Gopal Lahiri, Gagan Bihari Purohit. (Book Reviews)

Six books of short stories – 1. Bridge across the Rivers (A fictional anthology of partition memories from the two Punjabs); 2. Moisture Trapped in a Stone (Anthology, trans. from Telugu); 3. A Firefly in the Dark (Shazaf Fatima Haider); 4. Timeless Tales from Bengal (Anthology); 5. The Other – Stories of Difference (Paro Anand); 6. Eternal Art (S Sundar Rajan)... Reviewers: Tejwant Singh Gill; Rittvika Singh; Semeen Ali; Deepa Agarwal; Hema Ravi. (Book Reviews)

1. Rereading Tagore (Essay/ Amiya Dev); 2. She goes to war (Non-Fiction/ Reportage/ Rashmi Saksena); 3. Melodic Mélange (Poetry collection/ A Annapurna Sharma). Reviewers: Gopal Lahiri; Purabi Bhattacharya; Sushmita Mukherjee. (Book Reviews)

The multifarious urban folk tradition of Kalighat Painting of Calcutta which suddenly disappeared in 1930s, has got revived over the last 3 decades thanks to the pioneering efforts of artists like Kalam Patua... he is engaged in conversation by Pinaki Gayen of our Art Gallery section. (Art Gallery)