THE WITCH’S MIRROR

Dr Ratan Lal Basu

A Short Story

A Big Dream Coming True:
The good works of the Shri Aurobindo Institution of Kalyani, West Bengal.

by Barnali Saha

I have always felt that there is a wall between us and the world. It is as if some mighty drapery is shutting down our complete view of the other side. In our warmly lit, fire place rolling sumptuous world we live in one glass house of comfort while the landscape on the other side faces drastic tectonic shifts everyday. In the other world existence is a struggle in itself and paucity is the only procession that its inmates have. On my last visit to India, I had a microscopic view of the pain and the sullen current of despair that flows in the other world, And what I found strange is that most people talk about this other world at length, they write, they are vociferous but when it comes to changing the condition that persists, only a handful of men come to the forefront.  I was lucky to have come across a galaxy of such wonderful men and women struggling hard to make the other world a better place to dwell.

THE TERRORIST'S LEAFLET

Dr Ratan Lal Basu

A short Story

---

Hello, doing your morning walk?

The loud voice made me look back without any conscious effort. I had already recognized from the voice, the sub-inspector residing just three houses away from my newly constructed rural house. In fact, he was my first acquaintance and may be the most well known person in this new unfamiliar place. He on his own made acquaintance with me as soon as I started constructing the house. This helped me in three ways. First I got some garrulous person to spend the odious time of looking over construction work (he had very little job in the police station of this extremely peaceful locality, and his absence was desirable for obvious reasons to constables and other subordinate staff). Second, my intimate friendship (as it appeared) with the police officer made the masons and suppliers of building materials cooperate with me in a way more than expected. Third, the local clubs exempted me from the subscription considered due from any new comer.

Washington Bangla Radio Online Magazine: A poem by Sukanya Dutta to welcome the new year.

MAJOR SINGH'S SECRET
Short Story by Dr R L Basu

Everybody gathered around major Singh and started showering kudos. He had done a remarkable job, to drive away the terrorists from the jungles and difficult hill tracts to the foreign land and the borders have been sealed so that the area is now free from the long lasting menace. All the earlier missions had failed miserably and during the last few months, the terrorists had stepped up the intensity of their heinous activities  murder of political men, looting, robbery, abduction of government officials, attacking the police stations, laying mines on the roads and similar anarchic activities terrorizing the inhabitants and causing headache to the administration. The terrain bordering a foreign country and infested with deep forest and inaccessible hilly tracts made the operations difficult. After several abortive police operations the authorities at last find no alternative but to resort to military action and Colonel Srinivasan was entrusted with the task of organizing the operation.

• THE 8TH INTERNET ISSUE OF JOYDHAK has been uploaded. Read on to see what the editor of this currently most popular Bengali webzine for kids, teens and tweens have to say about the latest issue:

With the holiday season round the corner and Christmas about to ring its bells, holiday gift-giving is the talk of the town. Now those of you for whom this time of year is the full moon night of wish fulfillment and heartwarming gifts, they need not worry, but for those of us, who are awarded with useless souvenirs and tchotchkes, the holiday season is nothing short of a scary Halloween party. Close your eyes and luxuriate in the grim memories of age old chocolates, expired gift cards, customized pj's. Arent they a delight to reminisce? Ah Not so much, you might say. So buckle up butter cups and bring worldly order to your gift ideas. Here are some tips for choosing the perfect gifts for someone special.

By Barnali Saha.

The Trash Superpower!

by Barnali Saha

Doesn’t it feel just fabulous to know that we can win the Nobel Prize? So what if the prize comes for filth and grime. As long we get the award, it doesn’t really matter on what subject it has been awarded. Everything is fair in Nobel and War! Shouldn’t we be proud that we, the citizens of India, have successfully polluted our country to such an extent that even Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had to curtsy to our success and say that “I think our cities have the dubious distinction of being the dirtiest cities in the world. There is no doubt about it. But if there is a Nobel Prize for dirt and filth, India will win it.”

Washington Bangla Radio Online Bengali Magazine presents "Mon Diye Jaye Chena" - a Bengali short story by Sudipuddin Srirampuri. This post is in Unicode Bengali font.

Contribute your creative writings to WBRi Bangla Online Magazine - use the contact link and submit your writing.

A poem "আছি এক হয়ে" by Nilotpal Sanyal - in unicode Bangla font. Nilotpal Sanyal is from a family (of north Calcutta) where music and literature are understood in several of their forms. Currently he is a doctoral student at University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.

Submit your creative writing for the top-rated WBRi Online Bengali Magazine and audio/video performances to Washington Bangla Radio for global broadcast.

THE CRUCIAL MOMENT

Short Story by Dr. Ratanlal Basu

The crucial moment – lurking menacingly behind the overhanging veil of smog, stretching slowly out its awesome tentacles like a gigantic octopus and waiting patiently to pounce upon its prey. I’m ensnared, would in no time be drawn into the fold of the monster. The horror shoots up my spine, oozes out and encompasses the ambience. It’s there in the pale yellow of the building, wavering against the mellow dusk light beyond the veil of smog. I’m inescapably caught like a fish hooked tightly. Like the poor fish I would writhe, squirm, jump, circle and struggle by all conceivable means to ineffectually let go of the hook and more I struggle more firmly would the hook get riveted in me. As a last resort I might probably try to break the line by running away fast and the demon, like a deft angler, would give line until I wear off all my ability to move any further and then the final pull would drag me along limp into the fathomless horror. I could have dived into it right away and rid the agony of waiting, but the abiding horror failed me. It’s silly, I thought; I’ve brains unlike the fish and I know fully well I’ve to encounter it eventually ...

Santwana Chatterjee writes a nice little children's poem in Bengali. The poem is in unicode Bengali font.

Recent awareness and in many cases fuss about environment and ecology arose only since the middle of the twentieth century. In fact, the current wave of environment awareness got a fillip only after the United Nations Conference on Human Environment held in 1972 at Stockholm (Sweden), and the matter gained further importance after the Earth Summit held in 1992 at Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). However during the early 20th century Rabindranath Tagore dealt in detail with various aspects of environment (and in a more coherent way than the present day piece meal analysis) in various writings.

A bengali poem, in unicode Bangla font, by a anonymous contributor, titled "পণ্ডিত দূরে থাক সাথে নিয়ে ব্যাকরণ".

Contribute your writings and poems, and Bengali songs and recitation audio to Washington Bangla Radio for global broadcast - use the contact link for submissions.

Rabindranath Tagore is generally hailed as a versatile genius in the arena of fine arts (all branches of literature, music and painting) and many aspects of his thought pertaining to practical living have not yet been brought under thorough discussion and research. This article endeavors to bring to light two such aspects, viz. his thoughts related to i) Ecology and ii) Sustainable Development.  An Washington Bangla Radio exclusive study by Dr R L Basu.