Showcasing: Fractured States by Ranjan Roy
Book: Fractured States Author: Ranjan Roy Translated from the Bengali by Ritwika Maiti In a near-future India, the nation has shed the last remnants of its democratic past. The Constitution has been quietly rewritten, surveillance technologies monitor every citizen, and belonging is no longer a right—it must be proven through documentation. The government, through its…
Semeen Ali Reviews Bengali Short Stories in Translation
When you sit down with a collection of short stories, what often takes you by surprise is the depth and intensity that writers can explore through this genre. These narratives lay bare the fragility of the human condition; not confined to a few individuals, but spread across experiences and magnified so that readers can recognise…
New Release
Writing from the Solitary: An Anthology on Loneliness Writing from the Solitary: An Anthology on Loneliness, edited by Priyanka Sarkar andvSemeen Ali, collates twenty-three voices pondering over the feeling of loneliness. Featuring poems, essays, and short stories, the collection brings the daunting subject into the foreground: not as something that needs to be resolved, rather…
The Art of Embracing Life Anew
Coming Out Solo is ultimately a book about giving love its due – love that is not of the romantic and marital variety, but the love of friends, siblings, parents and children. This is the love that builds itself in loyalty and solidarity and yet is not ‘eulogized obsessively in poetry and song and film.’…
Book in Focus: Vanished by Ahmed Masoud
Vanished: The Mysterious Disappearance of Mustafa Ouda is a gripping and emotionally charged novel that blends literary mystery with the harsh realities of life under occupation.
In Focus: Laffaz
Laffaz— by Yogendra Ahuja, translated from Hindi by Varsha Tiwary—is a novella about an elusive, manipulative figure known only by his alias: the word spinner. The unnamed narrator first hears of Laffaz in the 1980s while working as an assistant manager at a small-town bank, where Laffaz’s name appears in the file of a willful…
Book Review
As such, this Reader deserves to be read alongside existing translations, not only as a commemoration of Rilke’s 150th anniversary but as an experiment in the ongoing art of poetic translation. It reminds us that Rilke’s poems, endlessly retranslated, continue to demand and reward fresh attempts to catch their elusive music in another tongue.
Charanbhumi – Echoes from the Grazing Lands
Set during the heydays of the Communist Government in Bengal during the 1970s, it follows the protagonist Munshi as he tries to…
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The Opposite Bank and Other Poems
Poems by Ramchandra Pramanik.Translated by Sreejata Paul Among the poets who had their calibre established right in their first book in the 70’s Bengali literary scene, Ramchandra Pramanik was definitely one of them. While the early days of his writing career were fraught historically with intense political turbulence in the state, his poetry did not…
Book Review by S.Mridha
Somjyoti Mridha reviews Charanik: The Walker by Mohanlal Gangopadhyay, Translated by Jayanta Sengupta. Charanik, originally published in Bengali in 1942 narrates a walking tour undertaken by the author Mohanlal Gangopadhyay (1909-1969) with his Czechoslovakian friend Mirek during the late 1930s just before the onset of hostilities that culminated in the Second World War. The Bengali…
Ipsita Deb in conversation with Portrait Artist Subhojit Bhar
Ipsita : Subhojit, please take us through your journey. How did you first discover your passion for painting? Also, about your techniques, medium, and the colours you use. I am a self-taught portrait artist who likes to work both in traditional and digital media. For the most part of the day though, I am a…
Anshu Chhetri reviews Rebecca Solnit’s A Field Guide To Getting Lost.
Rebecca Solnit begins her book A Field Guide To Getting Lost while getting drunk on Elizah’s wine. The word ‘wine’ serves as a metaphor here, an opening to pass through from the teachings of her conservative Catholic mother. She then shifts her narrative to a backyard door which is left open at night. An uncommon…
Candice Louisa Daquin reviews Brown Girl in the Rain
The six sections of Brown Gal in the Rain, evoke the poet, Indrani Chowdhury’s inner life, through her fascination with themes of love, longing, heartbreak, and intimate relationships. This opening segues into considerations of Hues of Life to include life’s complexities, the development of deep emotions and insights into existence. The section, Peekaboo is a…
Poetry : December 2025 Issue
In placing ourselves — humans — front and centre of everything, we’ve turned into Frankensteins condemned to self-destruct. The scales of justice haven’t merely tipped off balance; they’re on the edge, about to crumble under the unbearable weight of obese human greed.
Editorial : December 2025
The Conundrum of India’s Domestic Workers by Parth Singh The Invisible backbone of Urban Life Before sunrise, millions of women across India wake up to cook, clean, fetch water, and send their children to school—working on their household chores with little rest. Then, they leave home to go to middle-class apartments, where they do the…
December ’25: Films & Pop Culture
Windows to Happy Alleys by Rituparna Sengupta I speak out of the depth of night Out of the darkness I speak If you come to my house, friend bring me a lamp and a window through which I can look at the crowd in the happy alleys These lines, from a poem by the late…
December 2025: Fiction
In placing ourselves — humans — front and centre of everything, we’ve turned into Frankensteins condemned to self-destruct. The scales of justice haven’t merely tipped off balance; they’re on the edge, about to crumble under the unbearable weight of obese human greed.
Emergent Voices: Photo Stories
Photo Essay by Debabrata Mukherjee Debabrata Mukherjee is from the small village of Shrinidhipur in West Bengal. He completed his Graduation from Bolpur College . At present , he is a student of B.Ed teachers training at Tarashankar B.ed Institution . He is a poet and writes short stories and loves to click pictures on…
Emergent Voices: Poetry
Kashmir: A Valley Between Guns by Saniya Naseem In the cradle of mountains, where silence once sang,Now echoes of sorrow and gunfire hang.The chinar trees whisper of blood in the snow,And the rivers run red with the tears that flow.A mother waits by the shattered door,For the son who will never return.A father’s eyes search…
Emergent Voices
Parcham Online would look to feature and showcase young authors, poets, artists to give their words and art a place and a home in a special section in the magazine which we have called Parcham Emergent Voices. We are especially looking for contributors below the age of 25, those who are trying to navigate the…
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