Reginald Massey’s review The inhabitants of India were always reluctant to ‘cross the black waters’ but the vast British empire welcomed, indeed enticed, Indians to work in distant parts of the planet, from the Fiji islands to the West Indies, from Natal to Guiana. Hence the far flung Indian diaspora which on the whole has flourished. Mr Biswas started…
She stitched the tricolour from saris and hoisted it from the prison walls Ahilya Rangnekar came from a progressive family influenced by the values of the social reform. The family’s four daughters, and the daughters-in-law were graduates. On 8 August 1942, in response to the declaration of the ‘Quit India’ movement, Ahilya joined the students…
Confluence August 2017 issue I am truly delighted to share our latest and the fifteenth-year publication of Confluence magazine with all our readers and writers. Signifying this important milestone, we decided to go for a bumper issue and accommodate all the submissions from our contributors who have been the pillars of this independent magazine so…
By Migel Jayasinghe Aldous Huxley’s futuristic parable Brave New World was published to some acclaim in 1932. Huxley as a novelist, essayist and a social commentator was very much at the forefront of literary life in Britain in the early to mid-twentieth century. The novel has been compared to George Orwell’s 1984. Although the actual…
A Quick Fix Hang my picture on your wall. That’s all you have to do. I’ll do the rest. I know what’s best for you. This misery you’re going through Feel free to pass on to me. I’m not like you. I’m wise. I’m strong. I’ll rid you of all your furies, Your torments,…
Dr Renee Ranchan presenting her book, To Each With Love, to the Hon’ble President of India Mr Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, on Thursday, July 6, 2017. In his foreword to this significant satiric rendition Reginald Massey who writes our regular Book Page says, “Ranchan’s stories have a strange charisma about them… She…
Confluence May 2017 issue 0
Coming down on the escalator, I saw the whirlpools of the human heads mingling and dis-joining. They looked threatening. I had a sinking feeling I would drown and disappear without a trace. As I touched ground, I saw myriads of people hurtling in different directions, as if the devil was snapping at their heels. I…
At a recent book launch of Mona Dash’s A Certain Way, a poetry collection, it was rare to see the Indian audience animated in the questions and answers session. The book launch was interesting and unique in the sense that it was, in fact, a dual book launch combined with a literary agent, Aanchal Malhotra,…
By Shanta Acharya On 8th November 2016 the Government of India took the unprecedented step of banning the use of ₹500 and ₹1000 notes. The announcement was made in the evening and these specified bank notes (SBNs) were deemed ‘illegal’ after midnight. Holders of such notes would be able to convert them into legal tender…