Presenting our April issue themed ‘While on a Walk’! Even if you live in a place where a leisurely stroll (or a brisk walk) is not quite possible, we hope the issue helps you think fondly of those times, so that they are even more meaningful when things take a turn for the better.
Zach’s piece of flash fiction is about an elderly couple who take a stroll through a zoo and ponder the future.
Mandira’s poem is a personal narrative that moves beyond a walk to encompass the past, present and possible future of the people of Darjeeling, a name synonymous with the finest tea in the world.
Chandramohan Nair reflects on his brief morning walk, which is the only time each day he opens his eyes to the world around him, and which puts him in the right frame of mind for the rest of the day.
Sudeepta’s Solvitur Ambulando, a Latin phrase which translates to ‘It is solved by walking,’ is an endearing tale of how a father seeks solace in his evening walks, and his daughter’s understanding of it. The evening walk becomes a family heirloom.
Mohankumar’s poem is about a strange experience in which, while the narrator is taking his evening walk in the park, he is detained by a man with ‘large, smouldering eyes’ who speaks to him in a mystical strain even as he listens in stony silence.
In Mandira Pattnaik’s prose poem, the narrator, while on a real and metaphorical walk, trudges through the labyrinthine passages of the mind of an older woman struggling with age-related memory issues.
In these poems of longing by Samreen Sajeda, absence is neither a feeling that surges in during moments of seclusion, nor does it make you a recluse. Rather, it walks right beside you as you return to familiar locales.
As we get ready to mark International Women’s Day, let’s take time off to explore the world of women’s words. Our theme for the issue is ‘Women and Writing’, which we have explored through fiction, non-fiction and poetry, as well as an interview and a public poll.