At Spark this month, we decided to explore the human side of things—stir it up with people! Presenting to you, Spark’s July issue, themed ‘We, the People’! The issue is a mélange of interesting art, poetry, fiction and non-fiction and The Lounge segment chips in with something on spirituality and day-to-day life. We also have a lovely photo essay on the diversity in its peoples that India can proudly claim. We hope you enjoy this edition of Spark—we’ve been around for over three and a half years now, and we’re delighted that you’ve been a part of our wonderful journey. Click here to access the July 2013 issue on the ereader, ISSUU.
While there is the constant cry of growing junk and garbage in the world around us, do we realise that there’s emotional garbage and pain piling up within us, humans? Ullas Marar writes a poem that makes us ponder over the darkness that fills our lives.
Vinita Agrawal pays tribute to the glorious diversity of India through photographs that capture people from the west to the east.
We fancy collecting different things but here’ someone who is different. Meet the ‘Shoe Millionaire’ in a work of flash fiction by Shikhandin.
Loreto’s poem is about survivor’s guilt – a mental condition in which a person feels guilty for having survived when others have died. It summarises the longing of the protagonist to be in the company of a certain set of people who inspired him at some point but are now all dead. Here’s one facet of human nature.
Was the splendid madness of creation engendered by a Creativity Principle millions of years ago? Tirna Sengupta ponders over creative extravagance and the various forms in which it manifests itself.
Anupama Krishnakumar writes to two very important people in her life about the joys associated with love, relationships, family and bonding.
Most traditions around the world encourage people to remember ancestors on many designated days throughout the year. In Sanskrit, this ritual is known as Tarpan. Bakul Banerjee writes a poem themed on this ritual.
Selina George, an avid reader and reading club member, calls The Last Goodbye to help her draft a decent suicide letter as she decides to bid adieu to the world. Philip John tells us her story, set in 2023, in a world where depression is driving up suicide rates and a group of charged people are reaching out through the internet to add meaning to their lives by creating theme-based groups.