Reading Hour Sep-Oct 2012

1Sep-Oct 2012 Vol 2 Issue 5

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short fiction essays verse reviewsSep-Oct 2012Vol 2 Issue 560 pages

Reading HourEditorial

After being glued to the glorious spectacle of the London Olympics for a fortnight it was quite difficult getting reacquainted with grids and margins and the relative virtues of ‘smelled’ over ‘smelt’. However, we managed to get it all done with the patient co-operation of our writers and so here we are with our latest issue.

Recently, a 63 year old endurance swimmer Ms. Nyad, was in the news for attempting a cage-less crossing of the Straits of Florida – she swam more than 40 hours and tried to make it bearable by replaying her favourite songs in her head! Well, writer Sarah Rand affirms that there is no right age to ‘chase down your fears’ as she attempts a sky-dive in Free Fall. Rinkoo Wadhera writes of the hybrid culture of Gangtok and prayer wheels that send ‘peace, harmony and happiness towards all people’ – surely a need of the present when distraught crowds fled the cities en masse to their homes in north-east India. And from another continent Reeta Mani sends in a photo-report of a spectacular wild-life encounter at Masai Mara.

National award winner, film critic and documentary film maker Ashok Rane shares his observations and experiences in an interview.

There are two translations in this issue that readers will surely enjoy – a sample of Danish poet Niels Hav’s poetry; and a couple of charming episodes extracted from the memoirs of Hindi writer Sheela Indra.

Sharath Komarraju is back with some science fiction laced with all too human emotions in Envy. Chandni Singh’s A Life Apart is the story of a woman made invisible by her occupation. That the course of true love ne’er did run smooth we knew well, but sometimes it runs rather more roughly for the well-meaning bystander as is seen in That Many Splendoured Thing. For those looking for something light there’s the little whimsy The Cat and the Beanstalk. Writing on the Wall is a modern story of a working couple and the role of social media in their lives.

The cover celebrates the upcoming festive season with Satish Kumar’s vibrant art. We look forward as always to your feedback, do write and tell us what you thought of the issue.

Happy reading!Editor

Published, owned, and printed by Vaishali Khandekar, and printed at National Printing Press, 580, KR Garden, Koramangala, Bangalore-560095Published at 177B Classic Orchards, Bannerghatta Rd, Bangalore-560076Editor: Vaishali KhandekarEditing Support: Arun Kumar

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+91 9845022991

Cover Illustration & Design: Satish KumarIllustrations: Raghupathi Sringeri, Prasad N

Disclaimer: Matter published in Reading Hour magazine is the work of individual writers who guarantee it to be entirely their own, and original work. Contributions to Reading Hour are largely creative, while certain articles are the writer’s own experiences or observations. The publishers accept no liability for them. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily represent the policies or positions of the publisher. The publishers intend no factual miscommunication, disrespect to, or incitement of any individual, community or enterprise through this publication.

Copyright ©2012-2013 Differsense Ventures LLP. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part of this issue in any manner without prior written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

2 Reading Hour

Inside Front Cover: ‘Wren Wars’ by Prasad Natarajan

Errors and Omissions:Vol 2 Issue 4: ‘Freedom Trap’ was translated from Sheela Indra’s Hindi original ‘Mukti-dansh’.

Fiction

Kunjamma’s Visit 3rama shivakumarEnvy 12sharath komarrajuA Life Apart 20chandni singhThe Cat and the Beanstalk 39shiva kumarThat Many Splendoured Thing 43subhash chandraThe Writing on the Wall 56veena prasad

Memoir: Sheela Indra

Extract from ‘Women Of My Past’:Pindol Seller 28What Ilk, Those Women? 31translated by abha sah

Interview: Ashok Rane 50

First Person

Free Fall 8sarah rand

Contents

Poetry

Kitchen Design 7padma prasadThree Poems 11niels hav, translated by heather spearsMonsoon 19durga vijayakumarYellow-winged Butterfly 42sandeep sheteWhen They Ask Me 59shruti rao

Essays

Gangtok: Last of the Wonderlands 24rinkoo wadheraSpellbound at Masai Mara 35reeta mani

Light Stuff 37

Are you reading this? 54

the last page 60


Rama is a short story writer published in several literary journals. She lives in Maryland and is a scientist in a biotechnology firm. She has participated in workshops at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda.

Usha ignored the urge to bite her nails and tried instead to

focus on the bland décor of Dr. Wright’s waiting room: a small

rectangular room with a mousy beige carpet, bare vanilla walls and a

pervasive antiseptic odour. Although she had a doctorate in nursing,

gynaecological exams still made her uncomfortable. Then there was her

mother; perhaps she had been a little curt with her that morning. She

shifted uneasily in the waiting room chair...

A story of distances - both literal

andfigurative - that creep into the

closest relationships...

rama shivakumarKunjamma’s Visit

Fiction


Poetry

Padma’s work has appeared in Eclectica and A Thousand Worlds - An Anthology of Indian Women Writers. She is currently working on an anthology. She is also a painter.padma prasad

Kitchen Design

Niels is a full time poet and short story writer with awards from The Danish Arts Council. In English he has We Are Here, and poetry / fiction in several magazines. In Danish he has 6 collections of poetry and 3 books of short fiction. He has been translated into many languages.

Three Poemsniels havtranslated by heather spears

Based in Kochi, Durga writes short fiction and poetry. Her work has appeared in The Little Magazine, Eclectic Flash, 3rd Muse Online, and Poor Mojo’s Almanack. durga vijayakumar

Monsoon

Sandeep has won awards in several national and international writing competitions including the Commonwealth Short Story Competition 2010. His work has appeared in over a dozen anthologies and magazines in India and abroad.

sandeep sheteYellow-Winged Butterfly

A literature postgraduate from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Shruti is a freelance writer and poet. Of late, she has been published in publications such as International Literary Quarterly, Governance Now and Prosopisia.shruti rao

When They Ask Me

8 Reading Hour

Sarah reads, writes, hikes and goes birding in the Hill Country of Texas, where she lives with her husband. She celebrates life and enjoys sharing her experiences and observations.

First Person

sarah randFree Fall

The plane kept climbing. At 12,000 feet, the screen was pushed up

by the photographer. He stepped out, clinging to I-don’t-know-

what on the outside of the plane, then crouched and pointed a camcorder

at us. Sam, my instructor, propelled me to the edge of the plane. It was

an eerie feeling, sitting on one’s haunches, with nothing below but vast

emptiness. I had imagined that I would pass out at this point. My heart

was pounding madly. I had been told to hold on to the straps of my suit

with both hands, keep my legs together and bend my knees. I clung to

the straps like they were a lifeline. Sam pushed me out, and we went

tumbling down into nothingness.

12 Reading Hour

Sharath is really an IT professional but now that his first novel (Murder in Amaravati) is out, he sometimes calls himself a novelist. He lives in Bangalore.

Gautam touched the panel that grew out of the armrest of his recliner.

The music stopped.

The door to his chamber slid open.

Gautam nodded, unsmiling, at the

entrant. These daily briefing sessions

had begun to tire him. For too long

now the Centre had been functioning

without a glitch; the last fire they had

had to put out – a fire which needed his

attention – had been three and a half

months ago. The Centre was moving on

now, without his help. It ought to have been heartening to see – it was what

Gautam (along with the others) had worked his whole life for – but he could

not shake off a tiny feeling of emptiness.

sharath komarrajuEnvy

Fiction

20 Reading Hour

Chandni is an environmentalist and poet. Currently doing her doctoral research on rural livelihoods, she believes that everyone has stories to share. When she is not listening to them, she enjoys walking and writing in her journals. chandni singh

A Life Apart

Fiction

Bhoori carefully pleated her yellow cotton sari. It was faded and torn

in two places, but it was the best sari she had. And today, she felt, the

occasion demanded something special. She had carefully washed her hands,

scrubbing at her cracked palms to get rid of some of the grime that had settled

in them over the years. With one last careful pat to the sari, she set off.

Bhoori belonged to the bhangi1 community, the lowest of the least in the

unforgiving Hindu caste system... Every day, for all her adult life, Bhoori had

set off at seven in the morning, first to the latrines, armed with her rusting iron

tub and a shovel fashioned out of an old discarded Dalda tin.

The story of an invisible life

into which drops a spark of

change...

24 Reading Hour

Rinkoo has been a freelance writer, painter, and teacher-lecturer for over a decade. She lives and works in Sikkim.rinkoo wadhera

Gangtok: Last of the Wonderlands

Essay

In an age of virtual communication,

I find myself standing at a post

office, transported to a bygone era. It

has postcards on display. Some of them

carry appeals to save the Snow Leopard

or the Red Panda and others promote

green mountain biking and eco-tourism.

The post office teems with activity. As I

complete my purchase, the rosy-cheeked clerk nods a quick goodbye, and

her slanting eyes almost disappear in the folds of her cheeks – people

here smile readily and easily. This is Gangtok, capital city of the state of

Sikkim. Proclaimed to be the tourist destination of the 21st century, this

beautiful city sits in the lap of the mighty Kanchendzonga and on the

legendary Silk Route of yesteryears. This last of the wonderlands of myth

and legend has to be explored and savoured at leisure.

28 Reading Hour

Sheela Indra, author of Ek Bada Sawaal , Kya

Kahoon Kya Na Kahoon and innumerable

short stories for children and adults, is a lady

of indomitable will, razor-sharp memory and

a trenchant sense of humour. Continuing her

education even after marriage, she got a B.Ed at the

age of forty and taught Hindi for eighteen years in a Mumbai college.

A whole generation grew up on her stories, eagerly awaiting each new

issue of the magazine ‘Parag’.

... Here, we include two chapters from the book: Pindolvali tells of a

time when the author was left with relatives at Bareilly as a child while

her parents transferred to Nanital; Kaisi Auratein Thi Veh is the story of

a lavish summer wedding in Agra.

The translation is done by Abha Sah.

Memoir

sheela indraExtract from ‘Women of My Past’

Sheela Indra wrote several Hindi stories for children and adults and also authored two books. Her work has been translated here by Abha Sah, a teacher and freelance translator from Mumbai.

34 Reading Hour

Masai Mara, one of Africa’s greatest game reserves is situated in south west

Kenya about 270 kms from Nairobi, the capital city. It is named after the

Masai people, the traditional inhabitants of this area known for their distinctive attire,

customs and rituals.

... On our recent trip there we were witness to a spectacular wild-life encounter. A pride

of lions hunted and killed a wild buffalo. For two days following the kill, they (and we!)

kept a vigil on the spot. The kill triggered a cascade reaction in the wild-life food chain;

predators scurried for their share of fill, scavengers hung around patiently for the big cats

to retire after their feast, while some others were content to just steal a look.

Reeta is a neurovirologist by profession and a writer by passion. She and her husband Arun Nagarajan are incurably infected by the travel bug. Photographs at Masai Mara have been taken by Arun.reeta mani

Spellbound at Masai Mara

Essay


Subhash is a retired Associate Professor (English). He has published in India and abroad. While interested in the short story format he is simultaneously working on a novel.subhash chandra

Like every day, I was waiting for my wife in the car about two hundred

metres from the college gate. I was parked at the end of the lane amidst a

cluster of vacant plots which were dotted haphazardly with wild bushes. Mine

is usually the only car parked there and although I can see the entire stretch of

road up to the college gate, my sea green car doesn’t attract attention, unless

somebody is looking for it particularly...

It was a bone freezing January day. The minimum temperature hovered around

3 degrees Celsius. But with the window panes rolled up the biting breeze was

shut out and the sun filtering through the windshield slowly warmed the inside

of the car. I read a book while I waited. Now and then I raised my head and

looked around.

They were walking leisurely, hand in hand, with their fingers interlocked and

arms swinging and they appeared

to be humming a tune. Two young

things, without a care in the world!

That Many Splendoured Thing

Fiction

50 Reading Hour

Ashok Rane is a film critic,

academician, researcher and writer, as

well as a documentary film maker. He

has written extensively on Indian and

world cinema, attended film festivals

all over the world and received two

National awards, one for his book

‘Cinemachi Chittarkatha’ (1996) and

the second for Best Film Critic (2002).

Apart from conducting workshops on

film appreciation, he is visiting faculty

at University of Mumbai, Xaviers and SNDT, Mumbai.

On a recent visit to Bangalore, Reading Hour caught up with Mr. Rane for

a conversation.

Missionary of Good Cinema - Ashok Rane

Interview

54 Reading Hour

Are you reading this?

Review

... Some lines in the text stuck with me,

and I suspect shall remain so for a long time,

becoming, as such things do at the hands of

writers who strike gold, maxims to live by.

... made me understand conflict like no

other book has ever done. It transported me in

place and time through six decades of a family

mourning its village and its people and that

via the eyes of a narrator who has never seen

her ancestral village.

the man within my headPico IyerPenguin India

Reviewer: Shruti Rao

Mornings in JeninSusan Abulhawa, Bloomsbury Publishing

Reviewer: Suneetha Balakrishnan

56 Reading Hour

FictionVeena is a writer and crossword maker. She regularly contributes to Brainwave, a science magazine from Amar Chitra Katha. She has also co-authored Forever Forty, the biography of Col Vasanth V, Ashoka Chakra.

Mira looked at the time in dismay. Was it really eight o’clock? She had

forgotten to tell Jatin that she would be working late. Again. She

grabbed her phone to send him a quick message. Before she could send the

text however, a soft bing alerted her to a notification from Facebook.

Jatin Das is at The Blue Orchid.

A story of modern couples and the role social media plays in their lives.

veena prasadThe Writing on the Wall


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