I should wear my skin inside out and see how the world looks at me. My entire nervous system on the display. I want the world to see my veins, the hot blood that flows in them: Red, blue, and…
‘I Should Wear My Skin Inside Out’ by Megha Rao
‘My Family Should Sell Me On Ebay’ by Megha Rao
On a Friday night, when British Airways lands in Trivandrum and I get down, they doll me up (my short hair elongated by fake plaits, my face powdered a little too much, my eyes smudged with heavy kajal, I smell…
‘Words and Curves’ by Megha Rao
After the terrible fight that leaves us broken and in parts like bread crumbs on a lonely Sunday breakfast plate- I grab you by the chin and work your jaw until you spill all the words out- Your tongue rolls…
‘Apology To My Body’ by Megha Rao
Body, you are a miracle. Blemish, dark spot and mole; cellulite, layered skin, or skeleton frame, they (who they?) decided numbers for you. Waist sizes, hip sizes, thunder thighs, needle arms, beautiful, ugly (skinny, fat, thin, curvy, busty, chubby, blah,…
‘Up in The Mango Trees’ by Lily C. Fen
Short Story ID- 9/2015 Tikbalang was the exact opposite of his more famous cousin, the centaur. Where the centaur was mysterious, quiet, and foreboding, and looked graceful with his chiseled abs, and powerful horse’s body, Tikbalang was not. He had…
The Seeker (Book Excerpt) by Karan Bajaj
Karan Bajaj is the #1 bestselling author of Keep off the Grass (2008) and Johnny Gone Down (2010). He was selected among India Today’s 35 Under 35 Indians and nominated for the Crossword Book of the Year, Indiaplaza Golden Quill and Teacher’s Indian Achievers (Arts)…
‘The dying of the day’ by Lily C. Fen
Lying on an island of sand that appeared thirty minutes ago. the season’s low tide has given way to the day’s current. Here is my island Lady Sun sleepy she slowly slides behind the mountains at…
The Dragons from the Shore of Nirvana By Piriya Jumnongprasatporn
Short Story ID- 8/2015 Her little shoes were bright red in the warm sunlight. They were the only part of her clothing which looked clean and new. Her green and white dress was ragged, and some of the jade beads…
Death and Taxes By Saligrama K. Aithal
Short Story ID- 7/2015 R. K. Narayan went to the office of the Registrar of Births and Deaths at the district headquarters at Malgudi to obtain the death certificate of his father Krishnaswamy Iyer so as to transfer money and…
Book Excerpt- Rise of Kali by Anand Neelakantan
Anand Neelakantan was born in Thripoonithura, on the outskirts of Cochin, Kerala. He currently works as a manager in Indian Oil Corporation ltd. His first book was a new take on Ramayana, the great mythological Indian epic, told from a…
‘The Family Inside Her Head’ by Megha Rao
Short Story ID- 6/2015 A beauty sleeps in the open brown box Its legs outstretched like sunbathing under The angry summer sun. It sings to me, its eyes closed “I am the corpse of a woman who loved.” The woman…