October spins a series of celebrations that carry on to herald a glorious start of a new year and beyond. From the Chinese Festival of the Nine Emperor Gods which happens to coincide with Navratri to Christmas and beyond — festivals bring joy into our lives. Majority of these human constructs ring in happiness and hope while reflecting the victory of what we consider good over evils. Often these celebrations are syncretic, roping in people from all cultures and religious creeds, creating a sense of oneness in a way that only a stream of contentment can.
Here we bring to you writings that reflect this cross cultural joyous streak of humanity with translations of Tagore, Nazrul, poetry from the contemporary voices of Ihlwha Choi and John Grey and more prose from Fakrul Alam, Aruna Chakravarti, Ravi Shankar, Snigdha Agrawal, Rhys Hughes, Keith Lyons and Farouk Gulsara. Let us celebrate our commonalities with joy and revive love in a war-torn world.
Poetry
A Lovesong in the Battlefield by Afsar Mohammad. Click here to read.
One Star by Ihlawha Choi. Click here to read.
Groundhog Day by John Grey. Click here to read.
Nazrul’s Prolloyullash ( The Frenzy of Destruction) has been translated from Bengali by Professor Fakrul Alam. Click here to read.
Tagore’s Andhokaarer Utso Hote(From the Fount of Darkness) has been translated from Bengali. Click here to read.
Prose
The Oral Traditions of Bengal: Story and Song by Aruna Chakravarti describes the syncretic culture of Bengal through its folk music and oral traditions. Click here to read.
Memories of Durga Puja : Fakrul Alam recalls the festivities of Durga Puja in Dhaka during his childhood. Click here to read.
An Alien on the Altar! Snigdha Agrawal writes of how a dog and lizard add zest to festivities with a dollop of humour. Click here to read
In Dim Memories of the Festival of Lights, Farouk Gulsara takes a nostalgic trip to Deepavali celebrations in the Malaysia of his childhood. Click here to read.
A Doctor’s Diary: Syncretic Festivities: Ravi Shankar writes of his early life in Kerala where festivals were largely a syncretic event. Click here to read.
In I Went to Kerala, Rhys Hughes treads a humorous path bringing to us a mixed narrative of Christmas on bicycles . Click here to read.
Hold the roast turkey please Santa Celebrating the festive season off-season with Keith Lyons from New Zealand, where summer solstice and Christmas fall around the same time. Click here to read.
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