My first foray into the world of literature was when I was three. My dad got me a magazine called ‘Magic Pot’ and simply said ‘You’ll like this. Read.’ I admit, I initially read only for the free stickers that came with the book, but as I grew older, most of my time was spent swimming through pages of monthly magazines and storybooks that my cousins passed on to me.
Continue reading Evolution of children’s literature in India
A sunflower sings this for its beloved lover and caretaker- the sun.
Always has it been a boon for me,
Adjudging the sight of you;
But, time flies; and so do you, at dusk,
Leaving me with, but
Gloom and hope.
I wake up to find myself handcuffed to the hospital bed. The drug they injected me with to tame me seems to be wearing off. Ugh! This again. Better to get it over with, I guess. I drag my free hand into my bun and retrieve a small blade. As usual the dumb police never bothered to check in there thinking a man’s bun would just be a fashion statement. I twist to my side and turn the blade in the keyhole clockwise. My hand comes free. I learnt to pick locks when I was young, one of my many talents. I shake my hand hard to get rid of the stiffness and get up from the bed.
Tushar was your regular 16-year-old teen. He studied at a school near his home and walked to school every day. One Wednesday morning, there was a thunderstorm. It seemed to describe his mood better than he could. His parents were having another stupid and petty argument, while his grandparents had put on the television for the entire building to hear. With the amount of noise coming from their house alone, he wouldn’t be surprised if they won a prize for the noisiest household on the land. Along with all that, there was school pressure because their teachers were barely giving the children any time to study, and he couldn’t concentrate at home with the television turned on 24/7 at a blaring high volume.
There once was a man who was very talented. He had a special place in his brain that he would often visit. He called it ‘the world of imagination’. Whenever he was out of ideas, he would visit the place in his brain and get plenty of ideas. But, after a few years, he took the place for granted.
Dear future,
You may not have given us what we want,
But have taught us what to do and what shan’t.
You may not have acquainted us with flight,
But might’ve given us the potential to fight.
At Beyond the Box, we are constantly thinking of ideas to give something unique, refreshing as well as challenging to our community of writers. Two to Tango was one such endeavour to encourage the participants to work along with another writer as a team and bring about a creative synergy. 66 teams participated in this one-of-its-kind contest and the winners were chosen by an eclectic jury panel comprising of prolific authors Ramendra Kumar, Shilpa Suraj and Apeksha Rao. Below prompt was given to the writers and they were asked to narrate the same story from two different points of view.
Continue reading Two To Tango By Shreyas & Aditya – Special Mentions
Book Title – The Chameleon Effect and Other Stories (Isapuram Tales – Book One)
Author – Anita Satyajit
Genre – Realistic Children’s Fiction/Short Stories
Publisher – Anita Satyajit
Recommended Age – 6+ years
Continue reading Book Review – The Chameleon Effect and Other Stories (Isapuram Tales – Book One)
Book title – Playing
Author – Sunaina Ali
Illustrator – Debasmita Dasgupta
Genre – Children’s Fiction/Picture Book
Publisher – Katha India
Recommended age – 6+ years
‘Playing’, written by Sunaina Ali, is a short yet delightful picture book for children aged 6 years and above.
Every dad is a superhero for their children. No matter where they live or even if they are poor, every dad loves his children dearly. Today, I am going to be sharing about my father who recently faced a horrible situation. One fine day, my dad got a call from his boss asking him to come to the office where they used to work before COVID for some important work. He told his boss that he will be there in an hour. After speaking to his boss, he put his phone down on his bed, and was dashing here and there, completing his chores. Then he packed his bag, gave me a kiss, ran to his car, and drove to his office. Once he was there, his boss was telling him something about taxes. He listened to the matter very carefully and was also looking around his office as he had visited after long.
Continue reading My Superhero – Father’s Day Special Feature
