Reading Hour Nov-Dec 2012 (Vol 2 Issue 6)

Nov-Dec 2012

short fiction

essays

Vol 2 Issue 6

verse

60 Pages

`50/-

reviews

A Walk in Mussoorie manjushree hegde

Experiences of Natural Farming harish amur

Engineers of the Indian Railways anu kumar

Interview: Farahad Zama suneetha balakrishnan

Stories / Poetry

abha iyengar • anandam ravi • anu kumar • ashutosh ratnam • azra daniel francis • nancy anne miller rinkoo wadhera • sandhya sayani • saranyan b v • sasan bazgir • smitha bhat • uttaran das gupta

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10/26/12 8:41 AM

Reading Hour Nov-Dec 2012 Vol 2 Issue 6 60 pages Published, owned, and printed by Vaishali Khandekar, and printed at National Printing Press, 580, KR Garden, Koramangala, Bangalore-560095 Published at 177B Classic Orchards, Bannerghatta Rd, Bangalore-560076 Editor: Vaishali Khandekar Editing Support: Arun Kumar Subscriptions, business enquiries, feedback: readinghour@differsense.com Subscription Details: Print (within India only) or Electronic (PDF): Annual subscription Rs. 300/- (6 issues) 2 years subscription Rs. 600/- (12 issues) Payment via cheque / DD in favour of ‘Differsense Ventures LLP’ payable at Bangalore. Subscription form elsewhere in this issue.

Online subscription: readinghour.in Submissions: editors@differsense.com Advertisers: Contact Arun Kumar at arunkumar@differsense.com / +91 9845022991 Cover Illustration & Design: Satish Kumar Illustrations: 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.

Nov-Dec 2012 Vol 2 Issue 6

short fiction essays verse reviews

Editorial Reading Hour completes two years with this issue and we extend a heartfelt thank-you to all our writers, readers, and well-wishers for their support and goodwill. It is a real pleasure bringing out each new issue and we hope it is as much of a pleasure reading it too.

In fact, what better in this season of grey skies, watery sunlight and cold breezes than fresh-brewed stories? Open up your copy of Reading Hour and dive into a myriad of worlds. Like that of the feisty old grandfather of Saranyan’s Kabuthar ka Kinara, who is uprooted from his home into an alien Mumbai and hopes to be allowed back soon, like “convicts whose sentences are reduced for good conduct”; or the intense, tragic world of a young adolescent “deeply alone and frightened” in Ashutosh Ratnam’s Lies the Wounded Hunter Tells. Follow the fortunes of Sasan Bazgir’s rural Iranian family that migrates to the city chasing the tantalizing mirage of prosperity. Escape into mythology with Ahimsaka’s Teacher, Smitha Bhat’s story of a teacher who irredeemably fails a beloved student, or enter the world of Sandhya Sayani’s Food, Sex, Love, whose lonely urban protagonists search for love and fulfilment. Then there’s the clever little story The Better Thief by Anandam Ravi, as well as poetry from new and familiar poets.

For this issue, Suneetha Balakrishnan quizzes Farahad Zama, the author of the popular Mr. Ali series, about his writing and his unlikely protagonist. We bring you reviews of Narcopolis, the newly released Boats on Land and an older book you might have missed, Cold Comfort Farm.

Harish Amur shares his experiences of Natural Farming, and Anu Kumar pieces together bits of the history of the Indian Railways and the adventures of its engineers in the first of a twopart essay. Manjushree Hegde travels to Mussoorie armed with books, camera and a childhood fascination with Ruskin Bond’s stories and, through them, their mountainous setting.

So dig in dear reader, and happy reading! We’re always glad of your feedback so keep those letters coming.

Editor facebook.com/readinghour readinghour.in

Contents Fiction

Poetry

Kabuthar ka Kinara saranyan b v

Mirage sasan bazgir

Food, Sex, Love sandhya sayani

The Better Thief anandam ravi

Ahimsaka’s Teacher smitha bhat

Lies the Wounded Hunter Tells

3 9 18 30 37 48

The Best Hope azra daniel francis

Advice to a Nameless Poet rinkoo wadhera

Omission nancy anne miller

A Name is Everything abha iyengar

Obstinacy uttaran das gupta

Listening

8 13 25 47 55 59

ashutosh ratnam

anu kumar

Interview

First Person

Farahad Zama and the Story-next-door 26

Experiences of Natural Farming

suneetha balakrishnan

harish amur

Essays

Light Stuff

42

14

Are you reading this?

56

32

the last page

60

A Walk in Mussoorie manjushree hegde

Engineers of the Indian Railways

44

anu kumar

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Reading Hour

Fiction Kabuthar Ka Kinara saranyan b v

Saranyan wandered into the realm of Literature by mistake, but loves to dwell here… he writes poetry and short fiction, and lives in Mumbai.

An old man is uprooted from his home to live with his son’s family in an alien city and wonders whether this will be his ‘last abode on earth’...

Chandru caught me counting when he came in with a cup of milk and he asked me what it was that I was counting.

Pigeons, I told him and showed them sitting sweetly outside...

When the monsoons came, I worried about them; what would they do for food? They flew into the rain like small aircraft and when they returned they shivered themselves dry. Little cold drops flew into my face then, and I loved the feeling.

Nov-Dec 2012 Vol 2 Issue 6

Fiction Mirage sasan bazgir

Sasan is completing his PhD in English Literature from Pune University. He hails from Iran.

Sasan Bazgir tells the story of an Iranian family that migrates from their native village to the city in pursuit of a better life and propserity...

Adversity is like a nightmare that seizes my collar; it’s like a warm blanket on a snowy day that covers me and there is no way of getting out of it. May God make you helpless, Abbas, as you have made me... May God make you so miserable that even if you touch gold it turns to ash.

Nov-Dec 2012 Vol 2 Issue 6

Essay A Walk in Mussoorie manjushree hegde

Manjushree reads a lot, and firmly believes in the transformative, healing power of a good story, She is studying creative writing.

Manjushree Hegde indulges a childhood fascination with Ruskin Bond’s stories and their idyllic setting, the hill town of Mussoorie...

“When you have received love from people and the freedom that only the mountains can give, you have come very near to the border of heaven.” ~ Ruskin Bond

Nov-Dec 2012 Vol 2 Issue 6

Fiction Food, Sex, Love sandhya sayani

Sandhya’s an ex-IT professional, a history buff, a mother, a wannabe writer who one day wants to grow up and be Chetan Bhagat. Or Neeta Ambani and own a cricket team because she loves cricket and cricketers, specifically MS Dhoni.

The search for love and fulfilment ends in an unlikely romance...

She did not look a day older than 30. Unlike the other Indian women in the office, her hair was cut short... She had strong, attractive features. He could tell from the way she spoke English and her general demeanour that she came from a well-to-do family in India...

Vasundhara Sarkar was a Program Manager in the data warehouse department, earning a six-figure income annually. She really had no reason to be sad.

Reading Hour

Interview Farahad Zama and the Story-next-door suneetha balakrishnan

Suneetha is a writer/translator/journalist in English and Malayalam and has 3 books in translation including Jaishree Mishra’s Rani. She was Writer-inResidence with Sangam House (2009) and was a featured poet at the Prakriti Poetry Festival Chennai in December 2010.

A contemporary comedy of manners, set in small-town Vizag, and with characters from everyday life, the Mr. Ali books have been a favourite with loyal readers and the delight of reviewers. Here, the author Farahad Zama chats with Suneetha Balakrishnan about his life and his stories.

Reading Hour

Essay Engineers of the Indian Railways anu kumar

Anu’s most recent novel for older readers, ‘It Takes a Murder’ (Hachette India) has just been published. ‘Inspector Angre and the Pizza Delivery Boy’ is a work of crime fiction that will appear soon. She lives in Singapore.

Anu Kumar pieces together bits of the history of the Indian Railways and the adventures of its engineers in particular, in the first of a two-part essay.

Dapoorie viaduct near Bombay (1855)

Nov-Dec 2012 Vol 2 Issue 6

Products of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, engineers were highly skilled and believed that they would bring improvement and advancement to regions where they worked.

Evidence of their skill was the bridges they built, nearly a hundred of which are still operational.

Fiction

Smitha spends her days treating patients and teaching students.

Her hobbies include adventure sports, photography and writing.

Her travelogues and short stories have been published in various papers.

Ahimsaka’s Teacher smitha bhat

The story of a teacher, a beloved pupil, and a ruthless destiny.

Inspired by the old Buddhist fable of Angulimala.

I knew he was special the first time I saw him. the first time that he touched my feet, then looked up at me with that open, intelligent, fearless look that so characterised him and said “I, Ahimsaka, son of Garga, salute you.”

Reading Hour

First Person Harish is an IT professional turned farmer and teacher in his native Dharwad. He enjoys writing in English and Kannada.

Experiences of Natural Farming harish amur

A first-time farmer recounts his experiences of implementing the principles of natural farming propounded by ‘farmer sage’ Manasabu Fukuoka san.

A natural farming psyche is conscious of the plants, animals, and insects that depend on the land.

It attempts to provide due share of freedom to all life that depends on the land. ‘Ownership’ is our perception; we draw boundaries, build barricades and then start farming our piece of land.

Nov-Dec 2012 Vol 2 Issue 6

Fiction Lies the Wounded Hunter Tells ashutosh ratnam

Ashutosh’s ambition is to star in a moody black and white picture on the inner leaf of a paperback.

He also reluctantly but diligently practices medicine, and would probably have begun smoking if it hadn’t been injurious to health.

A story of the intense, isolated world of an adolescent boy...

Baiju stared at him for a second and did nothing. His gaze then returned to his question paper. It turned out he wasn’t really looking at Iggy at all, he was just staring into space as he was wont to. Iggy’s head simply happened to be in the way.

Nov-Dec 2012 Vol 2 Issue 6

Poetry

Listening anu kumar

Obstinacy

Anu’s most recent novel for older readers, ‘It Takes a Murder’ (Hachette India) has just been published. ‘Inspector Angre and the Pizza Delivery Boy’ is a work of crime fiction that will appear soon.

She lives in Singapore.

uttaran das gupta

Uttaran is a journalist with an active interest in theatre.

A Name is Everything

Abha is an internationally published poet, author and creative writing mentor.

She has authored “Yearnings” (poetry), “Flash Bites” (flash fiction), and “Shrayan”(fantasy novel).

abha iyengar

The Best Hope azra daniel francis

Advice to a Nameless Poet rinkoo wadhera

Omission

nancy anne miller

Azra lives in Canada, has been writing poetry for over twenty years and is still looking for a definition of it that fits all poems. He is retired but slave to a Tyrant Muse!

Rinkoo has been a freelance writer, painter, teacher-lecturer since over a decade and lives in Shillong.

Nancy has published in Edinburgh Review (UK), The International Literary Quarterly (UK), Stand (UK), and many others. A poetry collection is upcoming from Guernica Editions(CA). She is a MacDowell Colony Fellow and teaches poetry workshops in Bermuda.

Reading Hour

Review Are you reading this?

Cold Comfort Farm Stella Gibbons Wilder Publications Reviewer: Shruti Rao

Boats on Land Janice Pariat, Harper Collins Reviewer: A S Guha

Narcopolis

Jeet Thayil, Faber & Faber Reviewer: Vivek Sharma

I had to re-read the novel immediately after finishing it, eager to soak in anything I may have missed on the first pass. One can’t help but talk about Gibbons and her status in literature after having read this book. You put it down, after having experienced a head rush and wonder; if her most well-known piece of work is subject to such neglect, whatever happened to all her other works?

Having a distinct poetic felicity of expression, Pariat’s short stories are evocative. However, the political situations in the 80s and 90s when she was a young girl no doubt evoke deep memories and sensitivities which she looks at squarely and unabashedly.

In Narcopolis, each page is like a new puff, each puff leads to a new insight or cough or nightmare or hiccup.

In the backdrop of storytelling by sedated characters, unfold the inescapable, newsworthy events of the nineteen seventies and eighties (including riots, movies, politicians, and cricket).

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