Apala of Sonagachhi
This is a poem about the plight of a young girl, Apala, who was forced to work as a sex worker in Kolkata’s red light area, Sonagachhi. Forced into...
Supermoon
A 25-year-old roadie, Nalin, meets a witch, Maya, an elderly widow. It’s a full moon night. Tapan takes us through many twists and turns, with sparks flying. Was Maya...
A Walk in the Park
Humourist Soumya talks about the many sights and sounds of morning walk in Mumbai, in the weekly column, exclusively in Different Truths. The gentle musical notes of the...
Carrying the Past: The Story of Two Zen Monks
In an inward looking, reflective piece, Shameena asks, what is the use of carrying the unnecessary baggage of the past? She retells a well-known story of two Zen monks....
The Other Side of Silence: Documenting Oral History – I
Continuing with the literature on Indian Partition, Basudeb examines an important treatise, The Other Side of Silence, by Urvashi Butalia, in two parts. In the first part, he tells...
A Different Saraswati
Like many other victims of rape and molestation, Shobha was also denied of an identity, mistreated and misunderstood by her neighbours and her relatives. As a journalist, this scribe was given...
The Costly Trade off!
The adage, “Power corrupts absolute power corrupts absolutely,” is indeed true. Here’s the modus operandi of a senior bank manager – not all are like him – unscrupulous and wily. Tall...
The Tyranny of WhatsApp
Our life is more and more dependent on social media sites and apps. Here, Nilakshi verses about the pulls and pressures of WhatsApp tongue-in- cheek, for Different Truths. The dancing...
Reality and Intervention of Witch Hunting: A Crime against Human Dignity
The easiest way to grab a woman’s property in rural hinterland is to brand her a witch. Unbelievable but horrifically true in 21st century India, women in the interiors of states are beaten, paraded naked, disgraced, ostracised and then robbed of...
Strength is My Weakness
In this love poem, Elsy talks about the paradoxes of life and her calling as a poet, in Different Truths. An evocative poem that would linger on. Strength is my...