All posts by ippljournal

Ghats of Bengal Every ghat has a story to tell – When the reddish sun rises in the horizon the blushing bride tinkels her bangles the bereaved widow breaks them forever relationships are built and broken here . With arrival of the scorching yellow sun the ghat feels the pale shakled feet of men and…

Boulders Like a glass of fine wine intoxicated by its own essence – an ultraviolet god, you weave, un-weave, you reweave your thoughts like an apprentice Buddhist monk torn between your own thoughts and something more than that while searching for a warm hotel room before the night falls in a lonely mountain town and…

Route to my Home Gallons of rose syrup gleaming in the river God appeared as a vision of eternity I collapsed in agony of bliss fostered by the melancholy of my dreams Beauty of fuchsia appeared on the snow ground It looked like the ravishing melody of heaven Atmosphere changed and orchestrated in rhythm of…

Nishi Pulugurtha and Nabanita Sengupta Spring has begun revealing its colours in Kolkata. The red, violet and yellow flowers here and there are a regular feature this time of the year. Along with the green they add the much-needed colour to a concrete cityscape. A few smiles to lighten up a mundane drive down city…

Tathagata Banerjee Modernism in literature, as a movement, can be seen through so many different frames that it is quite rudimentary to assess it from one specific point-of-view. Yet, whenever we have looked back on this tumultuous era ranging from the 1900s-1940s, the raging intention of the creations in this period seem to have one…

Smitha Sehgal In the magnificent poem Two Lorries, Seamus Heaney holds forth reflection of two worlds juxtaposed in different timelines. On the surface of it, this poem meanders on the nostalgia of a rural era ensconced in simplicity. The end of this era is rapidly taken over by developments on the political front pushing Northern…

Monica Louis Discussing women poets using Petrarchism, draws back to how the female protagonist of Petrarch’s poems is heard if at all. Laura only speaks after her death. Whenever she speaks, her speech is praised for being articulate rather than having any rational quality. In sonnet 200 of the Rerum vulgariam fragmenta, Petrarch praises Laura’s…

Farah Imam ‘If any female feels she needs anything beyond herself to legitimate and validate her existence, she is already giving away her power to be self-defining, her agency’ Bell Hooks. Dr Sutapa Chaudhuri in her provocative poem titled ‘Me’ carves out an identity of herself. The title calls attention to the poet for her…

Nishi Pulugurtha Penprints, Kolkata, 2022, Rs. 250/- Academic and translator, Amita Ray dons many hats. While translation is what is close to her heart, she is equally at ease when writing short stories and poems. Her debut collection of poems, Until Birds Sing, a collection of sixty-two poems is testimony to it. Actively associated with…

Namrota Purakayastha Aritra Basu’s debut collection of poem A Printed Mixtape is about a young man breaking even with life as he sees it, and how life comes to him against the backdrop of the infinitely complicated web of life. As we open the book, carelessly skipping through the carefully crafted preface, we are faced…