Intimacy
By Ramaa Sonti
It happened.
The warmth of the rising sun along with the flames within created a blazing passion.
“Unto that Element”: Water Imagery in Nabina Das’ The House of ‘Twining Roses: Stories of the Mapped and the Unmapped’
By Malsawmi Jacob
In these four stories particularly, we see the image of water as a means of life and death, physical and (according to some beliefs) spiritual cleansing, and of unification of ideas and identities.
Fifty Shades of Stupidity
By Riti Das Dhankar
Fifty Shades of Grey is a stereotypical love story with a supposedly “normal” girl being a complete nut-job and the “troubled” Mr Grey being the only consistent, non-weird thing in the movie.
River Deep: The Pain and Dance
By Lopa Banerjee
She floated alone like a weightless bubble in space. The moon became her pilot light; she danced to the softest of music, a quiet, unperturbed dance in her dreams, hand-in-hand with her unloved little girl. Together, they swirled and twirled, a wild fury of light, till the wake of daylight burned their fire away.
Thwak! Ouch! %@%! Ugh! That felt good, thanks!
By Achyut Dutt
BDSM goes as far back as slavery, the first recorded instance of the practice for sexual pleasure being a miniature bedside table sized sculpture found at Giza, dating back to around 2500BC Egypt. This was possibly during the reign of the legendary Pharaoh, Khufu, builder of the great pyramid of Giza. Seeking dominance and submission has been in our DNA all along.
Caged
By Lopa Banerjee
Being born a girl, I should have sensed when invaders had pushed through the padding of closed doors, throwing me back into the irredeemable domain of bruise and hopelessness. By now, I should have learnt to focus on my own life as an outcast, to thrive in my madness and be pleased to walk alone amid the crowded city streets with impetuous fools.
Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy: Celebrating Life Through the Vision of Death
By Lopa Banerjee
Exuding a raw energy and supreme power of art, the entire Apu trilogy, on the surface level, traces the epic journey of the protagonist, Apu, from his impoverished rural boyhood to his years in Baranas and Calcutta and, finally, to his marriage and fatherhood. On a more metaphysical plane, the three films depict the unique life of the protagonist in various stages, repeatedly facing deep spiritual questions centered round the vision of death.
The alternative ending: Stepping over the line (Part-5)
By Achyut Dutt
Oblivious that the traffic had now started moving once again and some very angry folk were blaring their horns behind him, Arjun kept his foot jammed on the brake pedal and stared back at the lovely face of Nandini Shyamrao. She had known he was in Pune but hadn’t told him she, too, had connections with Pune. Far as he knew, her folk were spread over Bangalore and Chennai.
The last encounter: Stepping over the line (Part-4)
By Achyut Dutt
This time, he waited till he saw a cyclist approaching the bike path that ran along the length of the bridge. He wanted his death to be witnessed. He did not want to make Shalik and Sparsh suffer the agony of not knowing, not having a closure that would help them move on.
Shalik’s story: Stepping over the line (Part-3)
By Achyut Dutt
He had then taken her by the hand, up the grassy slope, onto the narrow walkers’ path that ringed the lake. Exactly ten years from that day, they were married. He had a few conditions that she had respected. That she’d walk into his home with only one suitcase filled with just the things dear to her.
The day after: Stepping over the line (Part-2)
By Achyut Dutt
In the beginning, she’d been reserved, hesitant about talking of herself. He was just an unknown strange man who wrote outrageously funny notes that made her burst into laughter. As the days went by, though, the levee she’d hurriedly constructed seemed to look like it was made with cotton candy.
Mother’s Day: Stepping over the line (Part-1)
By Achyut Dutt
The meltdown came in what seemed like a flash. Two months into their friendship, she’d expressed that she wanted to talk. He called her up the following weekend. It was to be their one and only phone conversation. And a delightful conversation it had been.
Cafe Dissensus Everyday 