Tintin

By Sampoorna Mukherjee
Singapore

The movie ‘Tintin and the secret of the unicorn’ is about a young reporter named Tintin, who buys an antique model of a ship named the ‘Unicorn’ from the streets of London. Little does he know that the model ship holds a secret beyond one’s wildest dreams. The ‘Unicorn’, a sixteenth- century three masted galleon had gone down with a belly full of booty which was scattered among the wreckage of the ship and could never be recovered. Tintin soon finds out about the secret of the scroll hidden in the model ship’s mast and becomes determined to find Captain Haddock; the last descendant of the owner of the ship, Sir Francis Haddock. However, Tintin and Captain Haddock are not the only ones looking for the treasure. Ivanovich Sakharine, the descendant of the pirate Red Rackham, who was Sir Francis Haddock’s worst enemy, is also interested in getting his hands on the treasure. The hunt for this treasure will sent Tintin,  his faithful dog Snowy and Captain Haddock on a dangerous voyage across oceans and deserts by plane, ship, jeep, motorbike and perhaps most memorably; a haulage crane. Besides being a Steven Spielberg production, ‘Tintin and the secret of the Unicorn’ also has outstanding animation and special effects. And that's because of its brilliant new technique of filming- motion capture animation- that literally brings the characters to life.

(This is a child's account of Tintin) 

Puja Ispesal

By Saron Datta & Prodipto Roy

Kolkata, India

(This graphic novel, in its original life size form, was created as a Puja Pandal at Kashba Rathtala, Kolkata during Durgapuja 2011.)

That Poem Called Life

By Ananya Mukherjee
Singapore

Poetry is about finding life in the silence of sleepy summer afternoons in Delhi of the past, in murky flashes of lights in dingy pubs reeking of garlic, spices and tobacco, in the simple weaving of a humble weaver, in the gurgles of the bi-cycle tyres as they meander their ways through flooded Mumbai by-lanes....and if it is Gulzar, chances are you will find life in the imagery and visualise yourself as the protagonist sharing a parallel existence, living each moment of the metaphorical literary utopia while his deep throated voice resonates in your ears!

Rich in literary speech yet simplistic to the point of innocence, Gulzar’s musings are a treat to those craving for an intellectual stimulation as well as the ordinary man who yearns to express himself and capture the memories of human realisations in phrases and couplets.

In a 90-minutes poetry session at Singapore’s esteemed Esplanade Concert Hall, the poet and lyricist teams up with Pavan Varma, another literary genius and the Indian Ambassador to Bhutan, and encapsulates the essence of romance...towards life.  “Shayeri is about life,” the poet begins his session with the magical statement.

Needless to rationalise, his inspiration from the simple everyday business of life is well reflected in his writings. His metaphors leave the audience enthralled. From that night in the mountains where two waterfalls converse like two long lost rustic friends having suddenly met to finding the elixir of life in the birth of his grandchild, to the thoughts that burnt and continued to live amidst the ashes, his literary acumen emotes perfectly in harmony with the sensitive articulation of a poet, a lover, a father and a friend.

Pavan Varma does a fair job in translating some of Gulzar’s works in English for a wider audience, yet, somewhere between the lines, the beauty of the language is lost. His own sonnets from a collection called Yudhishthir and Draupadi are, however par excellence and take his insightful interpretation of an episode in Mahabharata to a new level. Gulzar’s transliteration of the collection recreates the charm in a new flavour retaining the essence of the original yet adding a personal tint to the analysis.  

At the end of the evening, as I have traversed miles in a parallel space with the duo, exploring various facets of human nature, relationships, articulating the innate unsaid feelings, contemporary and in reflection, am left with a mixed sense of contentment and a craving for more....and yes, his last poem “Meghna” does leave me with very moist eyes. 

Conversations

By Prodipto Roy
Kolkata, India

Soliloquy

Tea-a-tete

The Eternal Bride

By Mithu Chakraborty
Singapore

The Waiting Room

By Amitava Nag
Kolkata, India


The Waiting Room - 1
---------------------

They come alone 
Red
Green
Blue
Walk with you 
Talk till your words
Dry up -
Then they leave 
Alone.

You get up,
Bathe,
Fill up and greet
Another
Transit passenger. 

The Waiting room - 2
---------------------

They change trains,
I whisper in the ears
Tales - as they wait,

They wait, to leave me.

In silent dusk 
I wander
with pregnant hope,

I wait, to be emptied yet again.

Then It Is Life

By Dr Bina Biswas

Hyderabad, India

Have y' ever stood on a lonely hilltop, 

At the stroke of dawn?

Have y' ever seen the golden orb

Lighting up the morn?

As you welcome another day,

Does it come to mind?

That every dawn is a morn newborn,

As the old one's left behind.

Have y'ever seen an hour-glass, 

With sand all slipping away?

That is time and that is life,

Both here, but not to stay.

Have you ever seen one flounder

In a quicksand known as life?

Imagine one going under

Untold agony and strife. 

Have you ever seen a fellow being

Suffering silent pain?

Have you ever thought of getting a chance

Of living once again?

Don't be pensive, don't you doubt,

And you don't ever be sad.

For though the days are fading out,

Life is not that bad.

When you feel life is a cave,

Closing in on you,

Just look here, and look there,

For a sec or two.

For it's no cave, nor cavern,

Never has it been.

It's a tunnel, at the end of which 

A faint light can be seen.

A glimmer, no doubt, it's all about

Hope and mindless love.

Love sustains where hope's on wane,

As sure as sky above.