Shukh – Borderless

Borderless, October 2025

Editorial

Imagine… All the People… Click here to read

Translations

Jani Jani Priyo, Ea Jebone (I know my dear one, in this life) by Nazrul has been translated from Bengali by Professor Fakrul Alam. Click here to read.

Four of his own poems in Malay have been translated by Isa Kamari. Click here to read.

Five poems by Hrushikesh Mallick have been translated from Odia by Snehprava Das. Click here to read.

The Headstone, a poignant story by Sharaf Shad has been translated by Fazal Baloch. Click here to read.

Shukh (Happiness) by Tagore has been translated from Bengali by Mitali Chakravarty. Click here to read.

Poetry

Click on the names to read the poems

John Valentine, Saranyan BV, John Swain, Ahmad Al-Khatat, Stephen Druce, Jyotish Chalil Gopinath, Jenny Middleton, Maria Alam, Ron Pickett, Tanjila Ontu, Jim Bellamy, Pramod Rastogi, John Grey, Laila Brahmbhatt, John Zedolik, Snehaprava Das, Joseph K.Wells, Rhys Hughes

Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes

Rhys Hughes shares his play, Night in Karnataka. Click here to read.

Musings/ Slices from Life

Just Passing Through

Farouk Gulsara muses on humans and their best friends. Click here to read.

Feeding Carrots to Gentle Herbivores

Meredith Stephens looks back to her past adventures with horses and present ones with giraffes. Click here to read.

Linen at Midnight

Pijus Ash relates a real-life spooky encounter in Holland. Click here to read.

Two Lives – A Writer and A Businessman

Chetan Datta Poduri explores two lives from the past and what remains of their heritage. Click here to read.

My Forest or Your City Park?

G Venkatesh muses on the tug of war between sustainabilty, ecology and economies. Click here to read.

Musings of a Copywriter

In Karmic Backlog, Devraj Singh Kalsi explores reincarnations with a twinge of humour. Click here to read.

Notes from Japan

In DIY Dining in Japan, Suzanne Kamata in a light note talks about restaurants with robots. Click here to read.

Essays

Peddling Progress?

Jun A. Alindogan writes about what is perceived as progress from Philippines. Click here to read.

From Madagascar to Japan: An Adventure or a Dream…

Randriamamonjisoa Sylvie Valencia writes of her journey from Africa to Japan with a personal touch. Click here to read.

From Bombay to Kolkata — the Dhaaks of Durga

Ratnottama Sengupta explores a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Festival. Click here to read.

Stories

Sleeper on the Bench

Paul Mirabile sets his strange story in London. Click here to read.

Sandy Cannot Write

Devraj Singh Kalsi takes us into the world of adverstising and glamour. Click here to read.

The Wise Words of the Sun

Naramsetti Umamaheswararao relates a fable involving elements of nature. Click here to read.

Discussions

A conversation with Swati Pal, academic and poet, on healing through writing and bereavement. Click here to read.

A conversation with five translators — Aruna Chakravarti, Radha Chakravarty, Somdatta Mandal, Fakrul Alam and Fazal Baloch — from across South Asia. Click here to read.

Book Excerpts

An excerpt from That’s A Fire Ant Right There! Tales from Kavali by Mohammed Khadeer Babu, translated from Telugu by D.V. Subhashri. Click here to read.

An excerpt from Swati Pal’s poetry collection, Forever Yours. Click here to read.

Book Reviews

Somdatta Mandal reviews Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp: Selected Stories, translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi. Click here to read.

Meenakshi Malhotra has reviewed Malachi Edwin Vethamani’s anthology, Contours of Him: Poems. Click here to read.

Rupak Shreshta reviews Sangita Swechcha’s Rose’s Odyssey: Tales of Love and Loss, translated from Nepali by Jayant Sharma. Click here to read.

Bhaskar Parichha has reviewed Kalpana Karunakaran’s A Woman of No Consequence: Memory, Letters and Resistance in Madras. Click here to read.

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Amazon International

Happiness by Rabindranath

Today, it’s a cloudless day. Happy skies
Smile like friends. The breeze flits, flies
Embracing the face, chest, eyes —
Like an invisible aanchol billows high
Only to descend on a sleeping deity.
Peacefully on Padma’s waves, the ferry
Sails swishing joy. Relaxed sandbanks
Lie sunbathing at a distance.
The high sloping sides are interrupted
By tall shady trees, a hidden hut.
A narrow, curved path from a distant village
Crosses the farms and nears the water’s edge
Like a thirsty tongue. Rural brides
Wash their clothes, chatter awhile,
Joke. Their loud sweet laughter
Mingle with the sounds of water
To waft to me. A fisherman, aged,
Sits on a bent boat, weaves a net
While sunning his back. A naked child
Laughs merrily while he dives
Again and again into the water. Patient,
Padma gazes like an indulgent parent.
From the ferry, I see two shores —
The clearest lucid blue expands galore.
Amidst a flood of light, exotic lines are seen
In the water, land, forests. On a warm breeze,
The ferry sails past shores with groves, sometimes,
Scent of mango buds waft, only at times,
Faint sounds of bird calls.

My mind
Is filled with peace — I feel
Happiness is simple. It spreads like
Flowers in bowers, like the smile
On the face of a child — expectant lips
Holding the nectar of a kiss,
Gaze silently forever laced
With artless innocence.
The sky is immersed and stilled
with the harmony of music in sync.
How will I sing in tune with those notes?
How will I sound? How will I compose
The lyrics in simple words to gift
To my beloved so that they bring
A smile to her eyes, her lips?
How will I help unfold this to my love?
How will I convey the joy from above?
It’s tough to hold on, to clasp.
I chase it but it eludes my grasp.
I look for it. I walk fast—
Like a blind man, I stumble afar.
But it’s now lost.
I gaze
All around, fascinated, focussing
On this still, blue water, so calm.
And I had thought it was easy to clasp.

*Aanchol is the loose end of a sari