By: Khemendra Kamal Sarwan was cremated three days ago. Tonight, a well-known singer came to sing kirtans. The makeshift shed was full of people. A group of women encircled Sarwan’s widow, who sat lifelessly. Men formed small circles around yagona…

By William T. Hathaway Amazing but true: The first European settlers in what is now the USA weren’t English Puritans or French fur trappers but Sephardic Jews. Before the Mayflower sailed to America, Jews had fled the Spanish Inquisition and…

By: Turoob Rustling leaves, swishing wind, and the chilly sightHeart bumming and bursting with echoes of delight Of goes the little boyscreaming and exulting full of joy Stunned by the alluring scene with the beautiful treesthe leaves dancing and flapping…

By: Bruce Levine I look at your pictureYour eyes glowYour smile brightensYour beautiful countenanceFrozen in the time of a photographThe apples of your cheeksLighting your eyesWhich search deep into my soulAnd still revealThe wonder of yoursFilled to the brimAnd waiting…

By Ramlal Agarwal Jhumpa Lahiri, born of Bengali parents in England and brought up in America, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for her debut collection of short stories Interpreter of Maladies, has also won the New Yorker Prize for Best…

By: Ramlal Agarwal Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children won the Booker Prize and has generally been highly acclaimed. Rushdie is a representative of the post- modernism. Which David Lodge called ‘crossover fiction’ and ‘aesthetics of compromise’.  The critics and readers were impressed…

By: Ramlal Agarwal Shashi Tharoor’s The Great Indian Novel has come in for high praise in India and abroad and is already in its fifth edition. Khushwant Singh called it one of the most significant books of recent times. Washington…

By Domonique Cocoa Butter Kiss: A Play 1. SCENE: A caucasian wife (MARY) and husband, fully clothed, hop into bed, telling one another unaffectionately “sweet dreams”. The alarm clock reads 9:30 PM. MARY falls asleep instantly. BLACKOUT. 2. SCENE: MARY,…

By: Renee Williams Midnight HourAfter midnight the dogs roam the yard,our well-traveled road gone quiet.Barking,maybe other dogs, perhaps coyotes,their cries carry over miles.Stars glisten from onyx heavens.Meteors cascade,burning, burning, burning to the ground.Why are they in such a hurry to…

By Karen Lee Stradford Picture This A simple “Hello” can be spokenas we pass each other.I promise you.I want nothing more. A glance.A nod.A grin can make a differencein our day. Life is too shortto pretend we’re invisible.Never know if…