Picture books are a child’s gateway not only to literature, but art too. Raj Gaurav Verma introduces us to several outstanding picture books that explore a range of topics from mythology to the everyday lives of children with an innovative approach and sensibility. These books reach out to children with their excellent choice of theme and language, humour and enchanting illustrations. (Feature: Children’s Literature)

In “One size doesn’t fit all!” Anurima Chanda explores “books published by small children’s publishing houses that give representation to the multiple voices of multicultural India with its problems of poverty, illiteracy, child labour, crime, and gender, class and caste divides – issues that have been considered as taboos so far”. (Feature: Children’s Literature)

One Foot on the Ground: A Life Told Through the Body is an interesting and uniquely narrated autobiography of Shanta Gokhale, a celeb journalist of self-respecting individuality and values… The other 10 books reviewed include… one of poetry, 2 of travel, and 7 of fiction together with the women-related The Abandoned Daughter (Hyma Goparaju)… …. (Book Reviews)

Among the array of 11 books reviewed, Ganga an Endless Journey (Chanchal Kumar Ghosh) fascinatingly captures the long course of the Ganga along its banks covering all the historic & religious places dotting it with a profusion of colour photos. The other books are 7 of fiction including the women related Breaking Paths: Stories of Women Who Dared (Meera Khanna)), and one each of poetry, travel and autobiography. (Book Reviews)

Nisha Santhosh’s “The Swansong” is a story of misunderstandings—of how suspicions can gain control over the mind and make one act as well as believe in things that might not even be there. How imagination in excess, when it takes charge of one’s mind, can lead to disastrous results, has been skilfully shown through this short story. (Fiction)

Aashna Jamal’s “Just Another Bus Ride” takes one back to the 90s and how difficult lives have been for people depicted in those times and to what extent have things actually changed. The story told through the eyes of a child brings out a chilling narrative of what it was to be growing up as a child in such troubled times. (Fiction)

“A poem should not mean but be” goes a line from a famous poem. True to that, Sangeeta Gupta’s poems reflect that philosophy in their meaning and expression making the reader accurately sense the poetic climate therein. (Poetry)

Vishal Kumar Singh’s poetry deals with multiple touches of melancholy in everyone's life, which often go unnoticed, that establishes a poet as a sensitive human being responding to various life-situations in an empathetic way. (Poetry)

“I don’t think Nagas ever lost sight of what they intrinsically were, in spite of being written about and exoticized both in the past and in the present. I don’t really believe the historical Naga self was repressed either. We write our narratives as insiders.” Says Easterine Kire, the noted writer, ethnographer, and folklorist from Nagaland. Read her full interview. (Literary Section)