Our Editor-in-Chief, Arindam, wraps his mind around IWD 2019, the Indian experience and the making of the special issue this year, which was no less than a miracle. A Different Truths exclusive.

If life is a series of binaries, of zeroes and ones, of losing and gaining – we must realise that we have the two most important raw materials that life provides us, nothing and everything. None of us wins all. No one loses all, either.

We lose some. We win some.

And herein lies ‘balance’ – the central theme of International Women’s Day 2019, “Better the balance, better the world.”

At Different Truths, we echo it in Maya Angelou’s words, “A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.” Wise women are everyone’s ‘friend’ and ‘saviour’, by implication.

We need to strike a balance between the enemy-friend and victim-saviour opposites. It’s metaphorically a balance between day and night, light and darkness. At dawn, light (read day) is born from the womb of darkness; at dusk, light prepares to go to sleep in the arms of the dark night.

We need to strike a balance between the enemy-friend and victim-saviour opposites. It’s metaphorically a balance between day and night, light and darkness.

Therefore, twilight is important to the oriental religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It’s a time of meditation, resolve and prayers. The time when light and darkness are equal, no matter how briefly.

It’s a time of balance, growth and betterment.

Last year ended with several challenges for Different Truths. But we accepted the so-called defeats stoically. The silver lining to the dark cloud was that we did not lose hope. We smiled more. We defied defeat much more.

With the dawn of the New Year, we realised that the darkest hour is indeed before the dawn.  It was a humbling experience.

Baptised by fire, we have come out stronger and better. We have revamped our webzine.

Baptised by fire, we have come out stronger and better. We have revamped our webzine. We are much more confident that better days await us. We smile more and more, now.

Testing of various functionalities are on. We were unsure about coming out with a thematic issue on IWD this year.

Different Truths had other plans.

Suddenly, we received a few submissions for the IWD Special. A miracle had begun. All poets rushed poems in response to a pithy message on WhatsApp or FB Messenger, racing against time. We are pleasantly surprised.

This year, our webzine made us bring out this special issue. We humbly realised that it’s Different Truths that owns us. It owns the entire family of DTians – you and me – all writers, poets, editors that are its tributaries.

Together, we shall flow like a turbulent river; like dream; like life!

We are presenting two-day special feature on IWD 2019:

Daw One: Thursday, Mar 7

The top story of the day, International Women’s Day: Responses from a Cross Section in the US and India. Rupa Rao talked to a cross section of people in the US and India to find out what International Women’s Day (IWD) mean to them. It’s in two parts. The second part shall be published on Friday. Mar 8.

The second article of the day is an erudite research paper, Sojourner Truth, First Feminist to Assert Black Identity: Intersectionality and Truth, by Dr. Ranjana Sharan Sinha. We had published it in our Africa Special issue. But that was a time (Sept end last year) when the webzine was hacked. It deserves a thorough reading.

In the next write-up, Ruchira Adhikari Ghosh does some serious soul searching on International Women’s Day. She asks women to rise above petty issues to empower each other, in Women, Wonderous Women!

The agonies of rape and teenage pregnancy have been poignantly recounted in a story that tugs the heart, by Atrayee Bhattacharya. Her short story, A Womb in Exile, will stay with you long after you have read it.

This edit, International Women’s Day 2019: Of Binaries, Balance and Better Life, is the centrepiece of the special issue on IWD 2019, will be the next read.

Day Two, Friday Mar 8

The lead story of the day is by our Associate Editor, Navodita Pandey. She examines the role of women in the many aspects of Indian elections, in A New India for the Girl Child: Are we Equipped?

The second part of Rupa Rao’s story shall continue to grip your attention in the various responses about IWD.

An in-depth research article Black Women Celebrate Africanness: Identity, Rights, Culture and Gender Assertion, by Dr. Nachiketa Bandyopadhyay, examines fragmented families, rootlessness, broken tie of families, victimised by slave trade and later slavery are the experience. This too was in the Africa Special in Sept last year.

We close the celebrations with 31 evocative poems in Anthology of Poems on International Women’s Day.

The theme logo of IWD 2019, is a painting by Rajashree Mohapatra – two Rajasthani women balancing pots of water on their heads. It speaks of their daily toil as homemakers.

Last but not the least, I take this opportunity to thank all our writers, poet, editorial team. Anumita Chatterjee Roy, our Managing Editor, deserves special mention for being a constant support.

Happy Reading.

Happy International Women’s Day!

Arindam Roy,

Editor-in-Chief

Different Truths

©Arindam Roy

Photos from the Internet

#IWD2019 #BalanceforBetter