Deep Ties

Graphic by Alisha Guenzel Review: Deepti Menon There are some books which evoke a sense of nostalgia, passion and love, of raindrops and balmy breezes, of light predicaments and romantic trysts! ‘When I See Your Face’ is one of those. It is the story of Cathy, who resolves to start life over, “without a husband who didn’t love her and whom she had grown to fear and avoid, if not hate.” Mark is the scheming charmer who treats her like a possession, and thinks it is his right to abuse her, whenever he is drunk. She falls in love with the picturesque little village that gives her sanctuary, as also with the intrepid Mrs. Grindle, who is like a ray of sunshine, wanting to mother and feed the young girl who has suffered so much. When she meets a stranger, Michael, who is the spitting image of her husband, Mark, her heart skips a beat in panic. The story twists and turns in most interesting ways, keeping the reader wondering as Cathy tries to come to terms with new relationsh...

Tibet has always inspired writers and poets with its beauty and inaccessibility, the land among the peaks, the land of spirituality and peace.  ‘Deviant Flames’ by Elancharan Gunasekaran, published by Author’s Ink India Publication, is a paean to this mystic land, whose people have died many deaths over the centuries under a despotic rule. ‘Deviant Flames’ takes inspiration from the hidden and elusive world of a land that yearns to be free, and sings of the daily wars in life faced by the Tibetans in powerfully moving verses that encapsulate the wonder that is Tibet. This offering of verses lauds the fight of the natives who immolate themselves, rather than resort to violence to spill the blood of the innocent. They believe that their lives of privation will forge a path to everlasting peace, and a better world after they die. They offer a supreme invitation to the Saviour to come and punish the wrong doers – “so casually they defile our lands” evoking “anguish on faces” of tho...

Image from Pixabay What is the biggest issue in front of the new government today? If the modern Pandora’s Box is opened, there would be myriad ills flying out in all directions, but the biggest and the most troublesome one of all would be that of outrages against women in our country. The latest shockers from Badaun and Etawah have, once again, proved that, in certain states, women are not even seen as second class citizens. If a woman goes missing, it is not considered significant, for she does not even constitute a ripple in the cesspool of male supremacy. Two young sisters, aged 14 and 15, disappeared in Badaun, and when their family approached the police station to lodge a complaint, they were not taken seriously. Later the bodies of the girls were found hanging on a tree. They had been gang-raped by four men, and as if that were not bad enough, hanged with impunity. The rapists have been arrested, along with a police constable who refused the family aid. It is to ...