Contagion, Literature and Other Concerns
By Sekhar Banerjee
Calcutta, a worn out late seventeenth century city of many hyphens fitted with fresh implants on its flanks, has finally come to a halt.
India handles a 21st century pandemic with a 19th century legislation
By Ayesha Fatima
The Indian Government invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 in view of the growing coronavirus pandemic in the country. The only Act which deals with epidemics in India right now was passed on 4 February, 1897 by the British Government, at a time when Bombay was hit by the Bubonic Plague.
An excerpt from the poetry manuscript, ‘Nightwalkers’
By Debarshi Mitra & Goirick Brahmachari
Night then becomes a gateway for memories to flood in, for pause, reflection and more. It is also a way of exploring the so-called ‘underbelly’ of the city, to try and understand the lives of those rendered invisible by the market forces.
Book review: Paulo Coelho’s ‘Eleven Minutes’
By Asif Khan
The author hasn’t said anything new about the philosophy of life, though this book gives such an impression at the beginning.
Gender in the Times of Global Sabbatical
By Aamir Qayoom
These pandemics help us understand the relationship between gender, quarantine and literary production in new ways, articulating the reasons behind the relative lack of a strong female literary tradition.
Book Review: Ananya S. Guha’s ‘I am not a Silent Poet’
By Arzuman Ara
Ananya Guha’s collection of poetry, ‘I am not a Silent Poet’, is a strong criticism of the politics of otherisation, of insensitiveness, of hatred with a plea for love and peace.
Poem: I am almost home, baba
By Umang Kumar
See, your Jamlo is almost home!
I am not going back there anymore, baba.
Short Story: And my life changed forever
By Rimli Bhattacharya
I froze. He waited for five minutes and then walked out of my room. Before leaving he looked at me and uttered, “I am a gentleman.”
Indian Muslims at the Time of Corona
By Mursed Alam & Anindya Sekhar Purakayastha
For the Indian Muslims, corona might have brought in some temporary political respite, but the bigger and continued virus of religious hatred appears to remain unchecked and untreated.
Communalising corona: A planned attempt to execute Nazi propaganda by news media
By Md Israr Alam
These incidents of othering Muslims and brutalizing them denote that the process of mobilizing the army of willing executioners is in full swing by Indian news media houses.
Two Poems by Raeesa Usmani
By Raeesa Usmani
A set-up is ready
Projecting a skeletal child
Lying in the heated desert
Counting the last breaths, all he has
Dying of hunger.
COVID-19 and Gender-based Violence
By Niharika Boro & Javid Majeed
The strict lockdown enforced to check the spread of coronavirus in the country has closed the only avenues to escape violence such as moving to natal homes or contacting local police or NGOs.
Cafe Dissensus Everyday 