It’s 1am, pouring heavily on an overcast monsoon night, and I’ve been waiting to talk to Sebastiao Frias for almost two hours. But he’s still elbow-deep in his work, dusted from brow to toes in wheat flour, and moving with the distinctive balletic grace that master craftsmen acquire after decades of practice. A seemingly endless … Continue reading The Pão of Love by Vivek Menezes
Catastrophe by Prashila Naik
As she snapped off the roots of the red amaranthus, Gulab wondered how her husband could undergo such a drastic transformation at this age. Since his retirement as a peon at the local bank where he had worked for thirty years, all he did was read the newspaper; his glasses perched up on his nose, … Continue reading Catastrophe by Prashila Naik
Dandelions in the Sky by Rochelle D’Silva
Under coconut trees swaying like dandelions in the sky, red earth and stones and dirt absorb my shadow. I am testing out this new identity. Embracing my Goan-ness in ways that aren’t as obvious. I roast cashews on an open flame, unsure of when they will be done. I smell my fingers, it … Continue reading Dandelions in the Sky by Rochelle D’Silva
The Dance of Love by Jane Borges
This is an excerpt from Borges’ novel ‘Bombay Balchao (Tranquebar, 2019) On her twenty-first birthday, Annette Coutinho— daughter of Karen and Alfred Sebastiano Coutinho and sister of Michael—the most sought-after belle in Cavel, was finally getting engaged to her beau of three years, Joe Crasto. Every living person in the neighbourhood, those known to the … Continue reading The Dance of Love by Jane Borges
Slice by Rochelle Potkar
It was during a school break one afternoon, in grade seven when the thing between my sister, Janet and me first took shape. I was revising a history lesson, ‘The Siege of Leningrad. September 1941.1944. Germans bombarding their target city by planes and artillery...’ when a clatter sounded off the far floor. I tiptoed to … Continue reading Slice by Rochelle Potkar
Our Lovers by Rochelle Potkar
Back then in the 80’s, I had just one lover. My beauty could afford only that much. Malaika's beauty afforded her many lovers. We lived as paying guests then, when jobs were scarce and the pay low, unlike now at these call centers where you get everything. Malaika was a charmer. At that time, a … Continue reading Our Lovers by Rochelle Potkar
Offertory by Dion D’souza
through hurried hosannas we slip the boxes as if worried at any moment the organ and hymning will stop we will be caught the sentry at the altar commanding us to perform some ungodly penalty
Making Out by Dion D’souza
‘Where are the chicks, men?’ said Teenu. He looked impatient, his eyes darted about. He was wearing a fitted T-shirt and cargos with more pockets than he could be bothered to count or use. Using copious amount of gel (his tongue sticking out between his teeth in front of the mirror) he had shaped his … Continue reading Making Out by Dion D’souza
Sestina for the Guideless by Janice Pariat
In a new month, early in the morning, the colonist and you step onto shore; now you must walk, leaving the river and the small boat behind. You are here to inquire after a guide, a Laplander. But finding an empty hut, you proceed to the next—also empty, almost a mile distant, seemingly mourning a … Continue reading Sestina for the Guideless by Janice Pariat
So Far, So Good by Aditi Angiras
The first thing I do when I wake up is put some coffee on the stove. The first thing I think of is either hum an old song or you. Sometimes it's a new poem too, but really it's usually just a stray word pretending to be a poem like the half-size tennis ball in … Continue reading So Far, So Good by Aditi Angiras