Dr. Lalit Mohan Sharma

“If we wish we can turn either into heaven

Or by our own deeds into hell” – Gandhi [1999, Vol. 96:361]

‘Beyond Heaven Beyond Hell’ is another pause in Jernail Singh Anand’s continuous epic journey exploring man’s existential Odyssey, conducting incessant inquisition into what forces men into amoral choices, what continues to haunt as evil and what could uplift man to a comprehensive acceptance of good in himself and his surroundings. Giving the benefit of a brilliant commentary on the dramatic epic, Mauro Montacchiesi, in the foreword, calls it a ‘moral seismograph’. Putting out his familiar range of Characters, Anand, once more, treats the eternal questions of good and evil, heaven and hell, free choice and ultimate destiny. Besides Yamaraj and Chitragupta appear on a loftier plane,  Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, Narad and God himself, Prophet and Chorus, among others is brought in Anand, the poet as well.

The format is conventional, beginning with Invocation to the Muse whose ‘ mouthpiece’ he assumes to be, birth of truth is facilitated ‘from within and from above’. Not much choice, good and bad are ‘coterminous’.  The poet says:

You are either in heaven or bound for hell.

Adam cannot but fall to the charms of Eve, and Eve can’t overcome temptations of energy activated as in a serpent.

Opening lines of Chorus, I should like to quote, for their beauty as also laying out the blossoming of matter as the Word:

The layers of grass always dream

Of getting together and forming a tree

Feelings in isolation remain in control

Until they gather momentum

And become philosophies.

The very titles of cantos offer the reader a key to the dramatic unfolding in that section. Opening canto is Intensive Care Unit of AI, and we enter, in the second canto, Realm of Violent Death. We encounter the morally dead, God and Craza, the Super Technocrat. Next we are in the Castles Built in The Air, see Prophet and man, and how catharsis remains ‘undischarged’. Thereafter, in Canto IV, we are presented with A Report Card of Humanity, where God and Brahma converse, how spiritual Icons like Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Nanak lifted mankind but were soon ignored and a meandering queue of self- righteous stands unending on the threshold of death.

What could possibly uplift is the subject of canto V: A Living Encounter: The Eternal Trap. Here in arrives Anand, the author, face to face with God himself. What do we have here? A ‘suspended animation laid asleep’, the reader is left wondering. To put the record straight, God clarifies:

We do not interfere

We only oversee the operation.

Canto VI has The Club of the Wise. Man builds shrines, will that in itself, turn him wise. Chorus hints it out:

If anyone ticks the wisdom button,

Send him straight to Hell.

In canto VII, we meet The Stone Image. God shares with Narad, communicator and messenger between the divine and the human, how men seek his blessings even for the evil they do. But, as Chorus sings out:

God is workaholic

And neither he rests himself

Nor lets his angels rest

God even keeps the demons

On their toes

Energy of the universe is ever at work. Raskolnikovs surrender for their good to the guilt within. Lear and his daughter Cordelia while away their time acting as God’s spies. Who’s in and who’s out remains a matter of time, that’s what, the Stone Image, the Sphinx speaks.

What’s left out is The Eternal Debate in canto VIII.

Are you not afraid of Hell?

Don’t you want to go to Heaven?

In his contented arrogance, Man replies:

I believe in the present.

I don’t think beyond this.

 Chorus then confirms:

 They don’t know anything

About good and evil.

Hereafter destruction is well-deserved: God’s couldn’t be held responsible.

In the Epilogue, the poet accepts the suggestion of a ‘clouded destiny of mankind’. Mental bankruptcy is not ruled out. The ultimate question is for the reader to brood over:

What’s money to a vehicle?

The nagging worry is: who will add value to this journey?

Poets and prophets cannot resolve the issue. They only strike caution, raise heightened awareness to probe within, for a glimpse of the cosmos of which we are a part, and indeed beyond heaven and hell, the existential endgame each man is engaged to play to the last breath of this corporeal frame.

About the Author

Dr. Jernail S. Anand, with 200 books to his credit [20 epics] is a Chandigarh-based polymath, and a vital architect of the 21st century ethical literature whose seminal work ‘Lustus: The Prince of Darkness’ challenges the moral complacency of our era.  Founding President of the International Academy of Ethics, and Laureate of Charter of Morava [Serbia], Seneca [Italy], Franz Kafka [Germany, Ukraine, Czeck Rep] and Maxim Gorky [Russia] Soka Ikeda and Mahakavi Bharati (India) Awards, his name is inscribed on the Poets’ Rock in Serbia. Email: anandjs55@yahoo.com 

Read: The Language in the ICU

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Dr. Lalit Mohan Sharma, a retired Principal from Dharmshala [Himachal Pradesh, India] is a bilingual poet, with nearly two dozen books to his credit. He is a poet, translator, columnist and reviewer. He was officiating Director, HPU Regional Centre, Dharmshala (August 2006- June 2008), Member of HPU Bodies like Academic Council & University Court, Member, NAAC’s Peer Teams. President, HPU Sports and Cultural Council, 2007-08. He was invited as a poet to IIAS, Shimla in November 1993. Attended and honored at World Poetry Conferences held in Bhatinda, 2019, and Chandigarh. He is a Fellow of the Jury of International Academy of Ethics and awarded by Internaitonal Academy of Rome.

The post Beyond Heaven Beyond Hell first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Dr. Hasan Nashid

Introduction and Book Overview

In contemporary South Asian English poetry, ‘The Caste of Flowers’ (April, 2026) by Nepali poet, translator, and educator Sushant Kumar B.K. stands as a groundbreaking addition. This comprehensive anthology of 108 pages is not merely a stylistic curation of words; rather, it serves as a profound socio-psychological testament to structural oppression, the caste system, gender-based trauma, and the multifaceted existential crises of human life. As an academician and translator, Sushant Kumar B.K. infuses his verses with theoretical depth while simultaneously capturing the unvarnished reality, repressed indignation, blood, and sweat of his own Dalit community’s lived experiences.

This academic review offers a thematic close reading of the poems within the collection, supported by empirical textual evidence, alongside a comparative evaluation of B.K.’s poetic philosophy against that of globally acclaimed contemporary poets.

Thematic Framework and Close Reading

A) Dalit Consciousness, Subaltern Speech, and Structural Inequality

The bedrock of this anthology aligns seamlessly with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s concept of ‘Subaltern’ studies—the marginalized subject has finally begun to speak in their own vocabulary. The titular poem, “The Caste of Flowers,” operates as a poignant metaphor for South Asian casteism. The poet juxtaposes the parallel journeys of two blossoms budding in a Dalit’s garden: ‘Kali’ (symbolizing the Dalit daughter) and ‘a rose’ (symbolizing the upper-caste paradigm):

“Two exquisite flowers / Budding in a Dalit’s garden, / Kali, a daughter, / and a rose…”

When an educated, affluent man arrives, he safely plucks and takes the rose to his home, while Kali is abandoned outside under the pretext that “an untouchable can’t enter the house.” Through the deliberate deployment of words like “touching,” “plucking,” and “desecrating,” the poet critically maps the historical trajectory of physical and psychological hegemony exercised by upper-caste patriarchy over Dalit women.

“The statue they craft / is put inside the temple, / But they are stopped at the entrance, / Forbidden to worship.”

This discourse assumes a more overtly political dimension in “Dalits’ Dreams Deferring.” Echoing Langston Hughes’ seminal concept of a ‘dream deferred,’ the poet questions whether Dalits are rightful citizens or mere refugees in their own motherland. He exposes a jarring societal and religious hypocrisy:

“The statue they craft / is put inside the temple, / But they are stopped at the entrance, / Forbidden to worship.”

This institutional segregation—where the hands that sculpt the deity are barred from entering the sanctum sanctorum—poses a radical challenge to the rhetoric of modern “inclusive democracy,” exposing it as an inequitable farce.

This repressed wrath reaches its zenith in “Call Me Down,” where the poet deconstructs the orthography of the word ‘DALIT’ as a semiotic site of oppression:

“Look at me: / I’m a five-letter word, / A D-A-L-I-T, / Symbol of injustice.”

Yet, the poem transcends lamentation; it is an anthem of resistance. In the resolution, the poet invokes the myth of the phoenix to herald a subaltern resurrection:

“But remember, / I’m down, a root / I will rise as a phoenix / Awaking with a new revolution.”

Furthermore, in “Dalit and Nature,” the poet illustrates how the dispossession of land forces the subaltern into an existential alignment with nature. The structural poverty of a roofless, dilapidated hut with “a plethora of massive holes” becomes the very window to a cosmic consciousness:

“No mansion, I have, / But a door-less old hut / with a plethora of massive holes / through which / at night I can see the sky…”

B) Re-reading Feminism: Trauma, Motherhood, and Agency

Feminism in B.K.’s poetry is not a theoretical luxury; it is a visceral battle for survival. In “Shadow of Death,” he employs an evocative allusion to the classical myth of ‘Leda and the Swan’ to delineate the predatory nature of carnal violence against female innocence:

“An evil shadow follows her everywhere… / Like Leda and the Swan, a display of human wickedness.”

The ultimate dark irony of the poem materializes when the protagonist, having survived assault outside, is violated within the domestic sphere by her own father, driving her to suicide as the ultimate escape. This represents the most grotesque manifestation of patriarchal tyranny.

Similarly, “Soul of a Single Mother” unveils the ruthless underbelly of capitalist, urban spaces. A mother migrates from village to city to secure quality education for her offspring, but finding no economic valuation for her labor, she is forced to commodify her own body:

“One day, / I sold my body to buy life for children / And auctioned my pride / To bargain books for their study.”

The tragic climax unfolds as the mature children scrutinize her choices through the lens of bourgeois morality, subjecting her to linguistic and behavioral abuse. B.K. thus tears away the facade of societal puritanism.

Nevertheless, the female subject is not merely a passive victim; her innate agency is fiercely asserted in “I am a Durga”. The days of being stripped or humiliated like the historical Yogmaya or the mythological Draupadi of the Mahabharata are over; the modern woman has claimed the apparatus of inscription:

“You cannot write / The history of my body. / I am a modern Durga, / Beyond the sword; / I also wield a revolutionary pen.”

C) Postmodern Psychoanalysis, Love, and the Philosophy of Abstraction

Parallel to his socio-political consciousness runs a deep psychological and philosophical investigation into romantic love. For B.K., love resists empirical taxonomy; it is an abstract phenomenon. In “Love is a Beautiful Abstraction,” he writes:

“You cannot truly love your lover / Once, fully understand or know. / Silence, unknown, undefined, discourse love is.”

The poet warns that an over-analytical curiosity regarding a lover’s past or present obliterates the intrinsic, abstract beauty of romance. In “She Is an Abstract to Me,” the elusive, inscrutable nature of the beloved serves as a catalyst for infinite poetic creation:

“Yet she becomes an abstract to me / That makes me write infinite poems / About her for ages and ages.”

However, this postmodern conception of love remains tethered to material realities. In “The Abandoned Letters,” the reader witnesses the premature death of a romance engineered by caste stratifications. The epistolary tokens of affection are rendered waste, discovered as makeshift tissue papers in a upscale café trash bin following the lover’s hypergamous marriage into a higher social stratum:

“Now, you are married / To someone else, / For, in the face of your values, / My caste fails.”

This emotional transmutation strikes a poignant chord. Conversely, *”Mind Not, O My Dear”* embraces the pluralistic iterations of modern relationships, acknowledging love as alternately spontaneous, democratic, or purely biological.

D) Global Crises, Pandemic, and Warfare

B.K.’s poetic canvas expands globally, transgressing domestic boundaries. Poems like “An Abstract Era” and “War or Peace?” capture the existential dread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The poet laments the dichotomy between the mounting casualties and the unvarnished corruption of political elites who embezzle relief funds:

“While estimated budget for corona / Goes to some people’s pockets.”

In “Why Do I Write Poems?”, the poet undergoes a profound meta-poetic interrogation regarding the efficacy of art in the face of geopolitical catastrophes, specifically referencing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Amidst the smoke of warfare, verses offer no real refuge, resembling fragile paper airplanes:

“My poems are like paper airplanes— / They offer no safe landing for humanity, / Especially in Afghanistan.”

Comparative Literary Evaluation

Placing Sushant Kumar B.K.’s oeuvre within the global contemporary canon reveals compelling thematic confluences and stylistic departures from renowned world poets.

A) Langston Hughes and Sushant Kumar B.K.

Just as Langston Hughes articulated the systemic disenfranchisement and ‘Black Identity’ during the Harlem Renaissance, B.K. gives voice to ‘Dalit Identity’ and subalternity in South Asia. The direct ideological lineage of Hughes’ iconic *”Montage of a Dream Deferred”* is palpable in B.K.’s “Dalits’ Dreams Deferring”. While Hughes interrogates whether a deferred dream sags like a heavy load or explodes, B.K. illustrates how the systemic postponement of Dalit aspirations distances them daily from justice, implying an inevitable socio-political eruption. However, unlike Hughes’ reliance on the syncopated rhythms of jazz, B.K. adopts a more prosaic, declarative, and direct free verse format.

B) T. S. Eliot and Sushant Kumar B.K.

In “Why Do I Write Poems?” and “An Abstract Era,” B.K. transposes the spiritual vacuity of Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’ onto contemporary war-torn Afghanistan and the pandemic-stricken world. While Eliot diagnosed the moral degeneration of post-WWI Europe, B.K. maps the fragmentation of postmodern capitalism and military industrialism. Yet, whereas Eliot’s tone remains fundamentally pessimistic, elitist, and steeped in high-classical allusions, B.K. retains a resilient optimism. Even amidst the Sisyphean absurdities of modern existence, he sings of revival and the phoenix.

C) Ocean Vuong and Sushant Kumar B.K.

The thematic intersections of trauma, corporality, and maternal memory found in the works of Vietnamese-American poet Ocean Vuong find a striking echo in B.K.’s “Soul of a Single Mother” and “Before You Go”. Both poets excel at filtering grand historical and structural traumas through the intimate lens of interpersonal relationships. However, where Vuong utilizes highly surreal, lyrical, and fractured syntax, B.K. opts for a style that is accessible, unpretentious, and consciously “sharp as broken glass”.

D) Namdeo Dhasal and Sushant Kumar B.K.

B.K.’s Dalit consciousness shares a radical affinity with the Marathi Dalit Panther movement pioneered by Namdeo Dhasal. Just as Dhasal weaponized the vernacular slang of the lumpenproletariat to subvert mainstream Marathi literature, B.K. integrates the marginalized spaces of Kathmandu’s Thamel nightlife (“Are They Moons?”) and the raw emotional interiority of sex workers (“The Whore”). Yet, where Dhasal’s aesthetic was confrontational and deliberately transgressive, B.K. tempers his outrage with academic erudition and philosophical frameworks (alluding to Plato, Freud, and Shakespeare), thereby translating localized fury into a universal humanistic discourse.

Stylistic Devices and Aesthetics

The defining attribute of Sushant Kumar B.K.’s prosody is its “unfussy yet sharp language”. As the preface astutely notes, his diction avoids superfluous riddles, functioning instead like shattered glass that inflicts a necessary, calculated wound upon the reader’s conscience.

The collection thrives on structural binaries:

Light vs. Darkness: In “The Sun and Me,” the poet equates his temporary societal subjugation with the setting sun, an absolute guarantee of tomorrow’s triumphant dawn.

Confinement vs. Liberation: In “Beauty and Rebel,” domestic confinement is equated to ‘Plato’s Cave,’ which is subsequently shattered by invoking the ancestral legacy of defying restrictions, drawing from the Edenic transgression of eating the forbidden fruit.

The Epistolary Metaphor: In “The Abandoned Letters,” the written word and lipstick impressions serve as motifs for intense romance, while their disposal as garbage underscores the ephemeral nature of human affection within a materialistic world order.

The structural architecture of the poems favors free verse. B.K. eschews dense narrative paragraphs in favor of brief, staccato stanzas, maximizing the conceptual weight of each line and compelling the reader to pause and reflect.

Critical Assessment and Limitations

For a rigorous academic review, it is imperative to address certain aesthetic limitations within the collection. In select pieces such as *”O Government”* or *”Condition Everywhere,”* the poet’s impulse toward immediate socio-political commentary occasionally overshadows poetic nuance. The language in these instances leans heavily toward direct editorial statement or political manifesto, occasionally compromising the layered ambiguity typically valued in postmodern verse.

However, this stylistic choice can be defended as a conscious ideological strategy. To convey the historical, intergenerational trauma of the subaltern, the unvarnished immediacy of speech may be politically and ethically more imperative than the elitist demands for aesthetic obfuscation.

Conclusion

Sushant Kumar B.K.’s ‘The Caste of Flowers’ is far more than an anthology of verse; it is a vital socio-political document asserting the existential validity of the marginalized. Emerging from the peripheral spaces of Nepal, the poet has successfully engineered a universal idiom capable of weaving together global pandemics, warfare, biological love, and caste stratifications into a cohesive tapestry of human resistance. In the contemporary tradition of subaltern literature, this text achieves a significant milestone, validating poetry as an indispensable instrument of truth and social justice.

Read: A humanoid demon in a tree

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Dr. Hasan Nashid is PhD Research Fellow, Faculty of Education, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia.

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By Nguyen Quynh Huong Eira

Sherzod Artikov’s short story collection Luân Vũ Mưa, translated by Khánh Phương, plunges the reader into a deeply haunting setting of human suffering, where the structure of the book speaks just as loudly as its devastating content. Deliberately presenting as a collection of isolated narratives, the book brilliantly mirrors the alienated, disconnected lives of the protagonists, and Artikov’s work, including stories such as Bản giao hưởng mùa thu (Autumn Symphony), Chiếc mfiy tính xfich tay màu đen (The Black Laptop), and Vũ công Tango (Tango Dancer), are jigsaw pieces that show humans’ fragility.

Being a mixture of Franz Kafka’s existential alienation and Primo Levi’s sobering humanism, Artikov’s oeuvres carefully look at the causes of human hopelessness. He moves seamlessly from intimate suffocations of domestic abuse to the vast, generational scars of war and modern diaspora. Through the lenses of trauma theory, feminist critique, and Marxist socio-economics, Artikov paints a devastating portrait of survival in which people must keep on living in a world driven by apathy and violence.

To understand Artikov’s landscape of despair, one must first consider how he weaponises the setting to externalize psychological trauma. This theme becomes particularly apparent when examined through the lens of trauma theory, especially in Cathy Caruth’s statement¹ that trauma is an overwhelming experience that repeatedly shatters the victim’s sense of time and reality. The technique is masterfully applied in Bản giao hưởng mùa thu (Autumn Symphony), when Paris is divested of its romanticism and becomes an ironic cage. Reflecting the romantic disillusionment in Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, Artikov’s narrator coldly dismisses the myth of Parisian love as merely a baseless rumour (“một tin đồn không có căn cứ”). The city’s physical atmosphere, with its ever-clouded sky and continuous rain, reflects the “autumn” of the protagonist Maftuna’s traumatised soul. Despite standing in an open, beautiful city, Maftuna finds it suffocating here (“ngột ngfit ở đây”) because there isn’t enough air (“không có đủ không khí”), which demonstrates the nature of her psychological imprisonment and how she feels trapped in her own mind. Her suffocation is, in fact, due to the intangible, crushing weight of her abusive marriage, suggesting that trauma cannot be cured by a change of geographic scenery.

This theme, the feeling of being stuck, can also be found in Chiếc mfiy tính xfich tay màu đen (The Black Laptop), where a physically paralysed protagonist is trapped in his bed. Looking out the window at the gloomy view, he kills time by counting the raindrops that fell on the indo that day (“những hfit mưa rơi đậu vào cửa sổ ngày hôm đó”). The awful slowness of counting raindrops highlights how time is distorted for a person who is not physically capable. Outside, autumn is no longer just a season; it is an illustration of his rotting body and a tribute to a life violently stopped by an unforeseeable event (“bfinh ung thư chết tifit ấy!/that damn cancer!). If the hospital and the home lose their traditional meanings of healing and comfort, they are reduced to sterile geographical coordinates for mortality.

1. “…trauma is described as the response to an unexpected or overwhelming violent event or events that are not fully assimilated or experienced at the time, but only belatedly, in their repeated possession of the one who experiences them.” – Caruth, C. (1996). Unclaimed experience: Trauma, narrative, and history. Johns Hopkins University Press.

However, the core tragedy of Artikov’s characters often results from forced powerlessness. A feminist critique of Bản giao hưởng mùa thu exposes a scathing indictment of patriarchal commodification. Maftuna’s suffering begins with her father’s insistence that she marry at sixteen, when he did not pity her youth (“không xót xa đến tuổi trẻ”). Being forced to stay at home, in this sense, signifies an intellectual death when the protagonist speaks of her unfulfilled dreams of studying law and learning languages. Furthermore, the tragedy is amplified by internalised misogyny, as her mother rationalises the marital transaction by saying that everyone does it (“mọi người đều làm như thế”). Artikov brilliantly contrasts Maftuna’s grim reality with her childhood dreams of marrying a noble literary figure like Mr Darcy (Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice). Her story also reflects a society complicit in the patriarchal takeover of women’s basic right to self-determination, turning the female body into male property.

This psychological erasure inevitably escalates into visceral physical violence. After years of numbness, Maftuna finds a replacement for her lost dreams through pregnancy, noting that the thought of motherhood spreads happiness (“lan tỏa niềm hfinh phúc”) throughout her body. The introduction of this hope makes the subsequent violence more horrific when her drunken husband beats her so severely that it results in a miscarriage. The bitter, grotesque irony of her life is expressed in her hysterical realisation that the man who killed the child in his ife’s  omb (“giết chết đứa con trong bụng vợ”) is the same man who brought his  ife to Paris to have fun (“lfii đưa vợ đến Paris để vui vẻ”). Through this juxtaposition, Artikov exposes the absurdity of an abuser attempting to cover his doings with the superficial veneer of a luxury vacation.

Following such devastating physical and emotional destruction, Artikov shifts his thematic focus to the role of art, literature, music, and dance as both a life-saving tool and a victim of modern capitalism. Viewed through a Marxist framework, Artikov’s stories investigate the “alienation of labour” in the realm of art. In Vũ công Tango (Tango Dancer), socioeconomic desperation reduces a highly trained artist’s passion for the consumption of the capitalist class. The dancer, in a restaurant full of drunk and distracted patrons, feels dizzy from the stifling atmosphere (“không khí ngột ngfit”). Having wanted to devote her life to tango, a discipline traditionally associated with deep passion and dignity, she now has to dance at restaurants, bars, and events for the rich to make a living and support her family. Similarly, in Chfiy theo giấc mơ (Chasing your dream), the actor’s devotion to his craft borders on self-destruction. He becomes obsessed with trying to perfect a monologue from King Lear, and he collapses physically, surrounded by scattered scripts alongside a bottle of ine and a syringe (“chai rượu và một ống tiêm”). Through these details, Artikov’s work demonstrates that while art can provide momentary sanctuary, consuming it within a harsh, commodified world can utterly destroy the artist’s body and soul.

As the collection continues, Artikov widens his lens to examine macro-level historical traumas, bringing a deep moral ambiguity that elevates the text. In a father’s recounting of a

Nazi concentration camp, Artikov strips human existence down to mud, starvation, and the constant threat of the gas chambers. However, rather than presenting a one-dimensional binary of good and evil, Artikov complicates the narrative. When the father is rewarded with a plate of white bread for cleaning a German officer’s car, he resists the biological agony of starvation, allowing his conscience to prevent a selfish act (“hành động ích kỷ”). He ends up sharing the bread with his fellow prisoners.

The German officer sees the scene and is now baffled, asking why the father would give away his only piece of bread. The fascist mentality, based on a strict hierarchy of power and survival of the fittest, cannot comprehend self-sacrifice. Artikov forces readers to face a stunning moment of ambiguity when the German officer mutters, “Got vergib uns,  ir sind alle Geschöpfe” (God forgive us,  e are all creatures). By giving the Nazi officer a moment of conscience and the realization of his dehumanisation, Artikov denies the readers’ simple judgements. Like Primo Levi’s reflections on the “grey zone” of the camps (The Dro ned and The Saved), Artikov has proved that human solidarity is indestructible. The sharing of the bread not only reclaims the prisoners’ humanity, but it also reveals the spiritual emptiness of the oppressors.

Moving from the horrors of the past to the insidious tragedies of the present, Artikov turns his attention to the modern diaspora and domestic apathy. In stories about migration, where the central theme is the concept of the “empty home,” the author critiques how globalisation hollows out families: Zarina’s father leaves for work in Moscow, leaving a void; his letters are obvious symbols of burden, requesting more cigarettes instead of offering connection; the old teacher Rasul Azizovich, who looks at the crowds rushing home for New Year’s Eve, laments a son who went abroad for a degree and is no far, very far a ay! (“giờ nó đang ở xa, rất xa rồi!”).

Finally, Artikov returns to the theme of alienation in the intimate space of the modern marital home, depicting modern domestic apathy as a kind of emotional starvation. In Căn hộ trên tầng bốn (The Apartment on The Fourth Floor), a wife, Nargiza, begs her husband to either scold her or divorce her instead of torturing her ith silence (“bằng cách im lặng”). In this story, silence is not just the absence of talking but a weapon to declare dominance and purposely cause harm. In addition, when a husband in business repeats toxic behaviours, shouting at his wife that he is disturbed by her affection for him over “trivial things” (những điều tầm thường) and scolding her for wanting to spend time with him, this behaviour reflects a modern man hurting his home by caring more about earning than about his loved ones.

In conclusion, Sherzod Artikov’s Luân Vũ Mưa is a masterful, heart-wrenching harmony of human endurance. The book’s structure reflects the broken lives of its protagonists. Whether it is the suffocating reality of a battered teenage bride or the agonising wait of a paralysed man, the alienation of a proud dancer or the quiet defiance of a Holocaust survivor, Artikov refuses to offer any neat or idealised resolutions. Instead, he makes the audience witness the deep scars of a lost sense of agency across generations. Yet, within this dread, there is a tribute to the indestructible nature of the human spirit. In the end, the collection reminds us of a universal truth: the world can be ruthless, tearing apart our bodies, our homes, and our art through war, apathy, or abuse. Still, the conscious act of reaching out to another human being, whether through a shared piece of bread or the silent understanding of shared grief, may be our ultimate and only salvation.

Read: World Poets meet at Artists’ Hill

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Nguyen Quynh Huong (Eira Nguyen) is a Vietnamese language lover and multidisciplinary art practitioner. Falling in love with poetry through her study of American and British Literature, she draws inspiration from Emily Dickinson and William Shakespeare. Her work often takes the form of storytelling, blending prose, poetry, bilingual wordplay, and performing arts. Beginning her writing journey in 2017, Quynh Huong found her way to poetry in 2022 before expanding into spoken poetry and experimental performance in late 2025. Writing in both Vietnamese and English, with most of her work composed in English, she also engages in bilingual poetry translation, primarily sharing her work through online platforms.

The post When Worlds Break, Radical Empathy Begins first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Kathmandu

Author Rajendra Ojha (Nayan) has launched his psychological thriller, The Gates of Silence, securing a global release across digital, physical, and streaming platforms. Published by independent powerhouse Ukiyoto Publishing, this high-intensity novella clocks in at a lean 104 pages. Designed to be read in a single sitting, the fast-paced narrative dives straight into the fragile mechanics of the human psyche, blending atmospheric tension with a plot that explores the bleeding edge between reality and madness.

The story revolves around Mayalakshmi, the main protagonist, a character whose grip on reality will begin to unravel violently following an encounter with an unearthly voice that sounded like “almost like the voice of a phantom”. From there, Ojha develops a psychologically tense thriller that relies more on internal weaknesses, deep-seated fear, and extreme emotional turmoil among its characters than on conventional spooky scares.

Before the worldwide release, the book received favorable reviews from literary sources, with Sushant Thapa, a critically acclaimed Nepali poet and critic, referring to Rajendra Ojha (Nayan) as “a master of suspense” and praising the high intensity of the story.

He creates that nail-biting journey and takes you to the inner mansion of his characters, Mr. Thapa commented. “With patience and urgency, no reader can deny the thrill of this novella. I will read and re-read just with the fear of hearing myself breathing and losing the momentum.”

However, this is not his first book. Earlier in 2025, he published an anthology, The Paradoxical Civilization, which is also available on platforms such as Amazon Books, Apple Books Stores, Google Books, Ukyioto Books, etc.

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• The contemporary world is witnessing a “battle of narratives,” where influence and dominance are increasingly shaped through ideas, discourse, and the ability to give voice to perspectives – Ambassador G R Baluch

Karachi: The Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) in collaboration with the Institute of Business Management ((IoBM), hosted the launch of The Third Dimension Policy Prism, authored by Ambassador G. R. Baluch. The book’s discussants included General Khalid Naeem Lodhi, Former Defense Secretary, Pakistan; Ambassador Masood Khalid, Former Diplomat; Dr. Munawar Hussain, Associate Professor, QAU; Dr. Shazia Khalid Cheema, Associate Professor, QAU; and Farukh Pitafi, columnist and anchor. The event was attended by a wide range of diplomats, academics, scholars and media persons.

In her introductory remarks, Dr. Neelum Nigar, Director, Centre for Strategic Perspectives (CSP) at ISSI, expressed sincere gratitude to Ambassador G. R. Baluch chose ISSI as the platform for the launch of his important work. She appreciated his confidence in the institution and acknowledged his valuable contribution to the discourse on strategic and policy affairs.

In his welcome remarks, Ambassador Khalid Mahmood described the book as a timely and significant scholarly contribution at a moment of profound transformation in international politics. He observed that the contemporary global environment is increasingly shaped by geopolitical competition, technological disruption, economic realignments, and evolving security paradigms, making serious scholarship rooted in diplomatic experience more important than ever. Ambassador Mahmood noted that Ambassador G. R. Baluch’s work successfully combines academic reflection with practical diplomatic insight, presenting foreign policy through a multidimensional lens influenced not only by politics but also by economics, technology, climate change, information flows, and the growing role of non-state actors.

Ambassador G. R. Baluch, while introducing his book, observed that the contemporary world is witnessing a “battle of narratives,” where influence and dominance are increasingly shaped through ideas, discourse, and the ability to give voice to perspectives. Describing the book as “more of a conversation than a conventional text,” he remarked that ideas quietly travel from pages to minds and eventually shape policies and global debates, while also thanking the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad for hosting the launch and encouraging meaningful discourse on foreign policy and international affairs.

The reviewers collectively described the book as a timely and multidimensional contribution to contemporary strategic thought. Speaking at the event, General Khalid Naeem Lodhi highlighted the central concept of the “third dimension” in international relations, noting that while traditional strategic thinking has primarily focused on national interests, Ambassador Baluch’s work incorporates ethics and humanity into the foreign policy framework. He noted that through its five chapters, the book examines multiple geographical regions, Pakistan’s relations with different countries, divisions within the Muslim Ummah, developments in the Middle East, and the crisis in Gaza, while also framing contemporary challenges through the “three Cs” — conflict, cooperation, and consensus — and emphasizing the growing influence of technology on diplomacy, economics, and strategic competition.

Ambassador Masood Khalid described the book as a valuable and accessible collection of essays addressing key issues in Pakistan’s foreign policy discourse. He noted that it revisits long standing geopolitical challenges while also engaging with contemporary global and national concerns. He highlighted its analysis of South Asia, including India’s posture during Operation Sindoor and its strategic implications, as well as the Gaza conflict’s humanitarian and geopolitical dimensions. He added that the book effectively links global developments with Pakistan’s national interests, offering a comprehensive view of contemporary strategic realities.

Dr. Munawar Hussain, observed that the author examines international politics not only through the lens of power politics and economic competition but also through ethical, subjective, and value-based dimensions that shape international society. He emphasized that values cannot be separated from global politics. He further noted that the book critically engages with questions of narrative-making and theory construction, and remarked that while material realities seek causes, human societies are ultimately driven by purpose, making ideology an enduring source of power in international relations. Dr. Hussain also highlighted the book’s emphasis on multilateralism over unilateralism, observing that contemporary global developments increasingly validate the importance of cooperative international engagement.

Dr. Shazia Khalid Cheema, noted that the book moves beyond conventional geopolitical analysis by exploring the symbolic, moral, psychological, and cultural dimensions of politics that influence how societies perceive themselves and others. She remarked that the book highlights how political identities are constructed through stories, media discourse, historical memories, and ideological frameworks, making geopolitics itself a battle over perception and meaning-making. Appreciating the intellectual breadth of the work, Dr. Cheema noted that the author skillfully moves from South Asia and the Middle East to global strategic shifts and Pakistan’s internal educational and institutional challenges while maintaining a reflective and analytical approach throughout.

Mr. Farukh Pitafi observed that the book engages both diplomats and academics, combining policy relevance with conceptual depth and theoretical richness. He noted its clear structure across four thematic chapters—South Asia, the Middle East, great powers, and global politics—while maintaining a fast-paced, intellectually engaging flow that keeps readers immersed. He further highlighted its humanistic dimension, particularly its reflections on education, artificial intelligence, and evolving learning environments. Acknowledging the density of ideas, he remarked that the book is highly stimulating and occasionally demands pauses for reflection, while also noting his relatively early engagement with the work compared to other commentators. (Press Release)

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Read: North Korea – Never Ending Tragedy

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Cairo, Egypt / Barcelona, Spain

Celebrated Egyptian poet Abdel Latif Moubarak has announced the global release of his highly anticipated first English-language poetry collection, titled “Probability” Published in collaboration with the Barcelona Adabia (Barcelona Literary Magazine) in Spain.

The collection marks a significant milestone in Moubarak’s career, bridging the gap between Middle Eastern lyrical traditions and a global English-speaking audience.

In “Probability”, Moubarak transcends geographical boundaries, offering poems that pulsate with freedom, dignity, and a relentless search for meaning. Described as writing with the “ink of memory and noble sorrow,” Moubarak transforms the fragments of the human psyche into a sanctuary for those lost in a rapidly changing world. His work is a unique blend of Sufi lyricism and the pulse of resistance, making the poet both a witness to reality and a participant in the dream of survival.

The publication of this collection is the result of a fruitful cultural partnership. Moubarak expressed his immense joy regarding this international debut, extending his deepest gratitude to Mr. Hassan yarti, whose dedicated support and vision were instrumental in bringing this project to fruition.

The back cover of the collection sets a powerful tone: “In this collection, Abdel Latif Moubarak does not merely write words; he pours his soul into molds of sorrow and hope.” The poems are not born in isolation but emerge from the “cracks of the pavement”—a metaphor for the resilience of the human spirit amidst hardship.

About the Author

Abdel Latif Moubarak is a singular Egyptian poetic voice. Known for his ability to intersect the topography of the homeland with the depths of the human soul, his move into the English language is a deliberate effort to engage in a global dialogue about peace, memory, and the “eternal child” that resists within us all.

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Read: Eastern woman – Poetry from Egypt

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Re-embracing the Sun, the new autobiographical book by Angela Kosta, is a work that touches the soul with a gentle yet profound step. Published by VELIERO APS within the Ombre series, the volume is born from a delicate period in the author’s life and presents itself as a journey of awareness, memory and rebirth.

With sincere and luminous writing, Angela opens her inner world, transforming pain into words and fragility into strength. Each chapter is a fragment of life that recomposes itself, a piece that returns to the reader the complexity of a human journey marked by loss, migration, motherhood, illness, faith and rebirth.

An author with an international voice

Born in Elbasan and residing in Italy since 1995, Angela Kosta is a prominent figure in the international literary landscape. Journalist, translator, essayist, literary critic and publisher, she has published 36 books in numerous languages and her works have been translated into 45 idioms. Her cultural activity has led her to collaborate with magazines, academies and institutions in Europe, Asia and America, receiving prestigious recognitions and appointments.

Her voice is one that crosses borders, cultures and generations. A book born from silence and returning to light. Re-embracing the Sun recounts a period of profound darkness: depression, experienced as a shadow that enters on tiptoe and envelops everything. The author describes with clarity and delicacy:

The loss of self, illness, the grief for her brother, the death of her mother, migration; the empty home, restlessness, fragility that becomes truth.

But she also tells what saves:

Her children, her grandchildren, faith, writing

Memory, the hope that returns

It is a book that does not ask for pity: it asks for listening. And in return, it offers a testimony of courage.

The images: evocative digital portraits

One of the most precious features of this edition is the presence of evocative digital portraits, created specifically to accompany the most intense chapters.

Not simple illustrations, but symbolic images that visually represent the author’s emotions, amplifying the reading and offering the reader an immersive dimension.

This care is the result of the meticulous work of the publishing house VELIERO APS, led by its president Francesca Gallello Gabriel Italo Nel Gómez, who dedicates artisanal attention to every work: if a book has value, the care dedicated to it must have value as well.

Interview with Angela Kosta:

– In the book you describe depression as “a dark shadow that enters on tiptoe.” When did you realize that your rebirth had begun?

When I saw a small light at the end of the tunnel. It wasn’t a sudden miracle, but a glimmer. The reduction of medication, the return to reading, the simple gesture of a magazine arriving punctually… these were the first signs that something was changing.

– Your children and grandchildren are central presences. What role did they play in your recovery?

They were my anchor. My children are the light that never goes out, my grandchildren the smile that breaks the silence. In them I found the strength to continue living.

– The loss of your brother and your mother are two deep wounds. How do they live today in your memory?

They are wounds that do not close, but become part of you. My brother is a memory that accompanies me, my mother a voice that remains. They continue to live in my gestures, in my thoughts, in my way of loving.

– Writing appears as a return to life. What does it represent for you today?

It is salvation. It is the place where I can transform pain into words and fragility into strength. Writing allowed me to find myself again.

– Is there a message you wish to leave to readers?

That even in the deepest darkness there is a light. Sometimes it is small, almost invisible, but it exists. And it is worth searching for.

RE- EMBRACING THE SUN is available in all Italian bookstores and in Amazon available on Amazon in three editions:

Kindle, Paperback, Hardcover

As the publisher, I wish to thank Angela Kosta for entrusting VELIERO APS with such an intense and luminous work. Her story is not just a book: it is an emotional legacy, a gesture of love that crosses time.

VELIERO APS is proud to welcome this title into its catalogue and to accompany the author in this new chapter of her journey.

By Francesca Gallello Gabriel Italo Nel Gómez Publisher – VELIERO APS

Read: Angela Kosta Unveils ‘The Mother’s Eyes’

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“Lost Leaves” is a collection of short poems about nature and love, written jointly by poets Michael Lee Johnson and Irma Kurti and published by Ukiyoto Publishing. The poems explore the multifaceted nature of the world, balancing the beauty and destructiveness of nature with the complexity of human emotions such as love and loneliness. The book suggests that love, just like nature, flows and changes with the seasons. The collection stands out for its exploration of different natural elements, from the “dance of the leaves” and the “romance of sunsets” to the darker aspects of “darkness and stars.” The human experience is woven throughout with reflections on relationships, memories, and personal journeys.

Lost Leaves brings together the poetic worlds of Michael Lee Johnson and Irma Kurti, offering readers emotional nuance and striking imagery. From meditations on solitude to reflections on nature, love, and human connection, these poems invite readers to pause, breathe, and rediscover the beauty hidden in life’s quieter corners—a compelling addition to contemporary poetry shelves.

The preface, written by poet Michael Lee Johnson, states: “This book of short nature poems contains some hints of love poems interspersed throughout. Love, like nature, flows and changes with the seasons. Nature has existed independently of human influence since the beginning of time. It embodies the dance of leaves, the romance of sunsets, and moments spent sharing a bottle of wine by the river or lake, as well as the tranquillity of a rainy day. Nature inspires dreams, yet it can also bring destruction. It reflects both beauty and pain, gazing at the moon, darkness, and stars. Nature embraces life and values the love we express in return. As humans, we celebrate the beauty of winged creatures, the animals that tread upon the ground, the lily pads, and the serene ponds. Nature creates dreams, but nature also destroys.”  The book is now available worldwide, with distribution expanding daily.

MICHAEL LEE JOHNSON lived in Canada for ten years during the Vietnam era. At the time of this writing, today, he is a poet in the greater Chicago-land area, IL. He has 360-plus YouTube poetry videos. Michael Lee Johnson is an internationally published poet in 46 countries, a song lyricist with several published poetry books, and a nominee for 7 Pushcart Prize awards and 7 Best of the Net nominations. He is the editor-in-chief of three poetry anthologies, all of which are available on Amazon, and has authored several poetry books and chapbooks. He has over 653 published poems. Michael has administered and created 6 Facebook Poetry groups. Member of the Illinois State Poetry Society: http://www.illinoispoets.org/ and Poets & Writers: https://www.pw.org/. His poems have been translated into several foreign languages.

IRMA KURTI is an Albanian poet, writer, lyricist, journalist, and translator, and has been writing since she was a child. She is a naturalized Italian and lives in Bergamo, Italy. She was awarded the Universum Donna International Prize IX Edition 2013 for Literature and received a lifetime nomination as an Ambassador of Peace by the University of Peace in Switzerland. In 2020, she became the honorary president of WikiPoesia, the encyclopedia of poetry. In 2021, she was awarded the title of Liria (Freedom) by the Italian-Albanian community in Italy. In 2023, she was awarded a Career Award from the Universum Academy Switzerland.

Irma Kurti is a member of the jury for several literary competitions in Italy. She is also a translator for the Ithaca Foundation in Spain. Irma Kurti has published more than 115 works, including books of poetry, fiction, and translations. Her poems have been translated into 40 languages worldwide. She is one of the most translated and published Albanian poets. Her books have been translated and published in 23 countries.

Read: Barbaros İrdelmen – The Poet of Emotions

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Courtesy: enheduana

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By Francesca Gallello

On February 7, the city of Asti hosted two deeply emotional events: the presentation of writer Angela Kosta’s novel The Mother’s Eyes, second edition, published in Italy by G.C.L. Edizione under the direction of publisher Giancarlo Lissi. Although I was unable to attend due to commitments in Calabria, I followed every detail closely through social media, where Angela shared her experience with sincere and touching words, as well as through a pleasant phone conversation.

The writer described the day as “beautiful and unforgettable,” experienced in a warm, welcoming, family-like atmosphere filled with mutual affection. The audience participated with great interest, engaging in a profound dialogue on delicate and highly relevant issues such as femicide and the complex parent-child relationship, with contributions, questions, and reflections that enriched the presentation.

The event was organized by the Albanian Artistic and Cultural Center “Margarita Xhepa,” the Forumi I Gruas Shqiptare – The Albanian Women’s Forum (Asti), with the support of the Association AssoAlbania Asti, represented by its President Marjan Bjeshkza. Among the authorities present were the Mayor of Asti, Maurizio Rasero, the President of the Provincial Council for Equal Opportunities, Dr. Bianca Terzuolo, and the President of the Equality Council of the Municipality of Asti, Dr. Nadia Milleto.

Angela expressed special thanks to the moderator, Sabina Darova, who led the meeting with professionalism, and to the pianist Sonila Molla, who accompanied the reading of selected excerpts from the novel with an evocative musical background, performing compositions by the renowned composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

The readings, performed by various participants, gave voice to the pages of the novel, intensifying its emotional impact.

However, Saturday also brought another joy and emotion: the presentation of her niece Chanel Bashhysa’s first fairy tale book, Michelle and Her Princess Dream, published by Kubera Edizioni (Italy), a debut warmly welcomed with enthusiasm and affection. For Angela, it was a double joy: seeing her own work appreciated and, at the same time, witnessing the first literary steps of a young author in her family. A double emotion that made the event even more special.

Angela Kosta is a prominent figure in the Italian-Albanian cultural scene. A writer, journalist, and international promoter, she is the director of the literary magazine MIRIADE, a reference point for cultural exchange between Italy and Albania, as well as THE LANTERNS OF POETRY GLOBAL and NUANCES ON THE PANORAMIC. She collaborates with several newspapers and international magazines. She has published poetry collections, novels, and children’s fairy tales translated into 12 languages.

Her texts have been translated and published in 45 languages and countries. She is the editor and co-editor of numerous anthologies in Italy and abroad. She has translated 1,500 texts by various authors into Italian and Albanian, including reviews, interviews, poems, short stories, literary criticism, and academic studies. She has served and continues to serve as a jury member for various literary competitions in Italy and abroad. She is a member of associations registered with the United Nations and the Italian Senate. She has received numerous prestigious awards as best translator, cultural promoter, and poet in various countries, including the “Naji Naaman,” the “Oscar Wilde” Award from the Italian Critics Association and the European Parliament (Brussels), the Excellence in Literature Award, the title of Ambassador of Culture, and the Dr. Honoris Causa medal under the patronage of the European Parliament. She is also Director of the International Press at the Accademia Tiberina (Rome) and the Chair of Italian Women (UN).

Of Albanian origin, she has lived in Italy for thirty years, where she is appreciated for her talent, sensitivity, and tireless commitment to promoting literature. Awarded multiple times in prestigious literary competitions and internationally recognized, Angela represents an authoritative and refined voice in the contemporary literary world. Her work is valued not only for the quality of her writing but also for her ability to address profound themes with delicacy and clarity.

Here is how she responded to questions for our magazine, Saturno Magazine:

Angela, how would you describe the atmosphere of the presentation in Asti?

It was an unforgettable experience. I felt part of a big family, welcomed with affection and admiration. Every moment was filled with emotion.

Which themes sparked the greatest interest among the audience?

Certainly femicide, unfortunately a current and painful issue, and the parent-child relationship, with all the difficulties it entails. There were profound contributions, questions, and exchanges of opinions that enriched the dialogue.

What made this day even more special?

The presentation of my niece Chanel’s first book. Seeing her enthusiasm and the warmth of the audience, especially the children from the center who surrounded her with so much affection, was and will remain an extraordinary gift. A double emotion, a double success.

Is there anyone you would like to thank in particular?

It is rare for an author to be overwhelmed by a feeling of complete happiness. It happened to Chanel and to me! Not only through words, but through actions. During the event, everything enveloped us in a warm and welcoming atmosphere, as if we were in a large home. I was deeply touched by the way the children asked Chanel questions, their maturity, and their desire to go beyond the writing of a fairy tale… Saying THANK YOU is truly not enough. This day will remain in our memories, in those embraces filled with love. With deep gratitude, we once again thank the Albanian Artistic and Cultural Center “Margarita Xhepa,” the Albanian school Udha e Shkronjave, all the organizers, the authorities present, the moderator Sabina Darova, the pianist Sonila Molla, and everyone who read excerpts from the novel.

The presentation of the novel The Mother’s Eyes, translated and published also in Albanian and Turkish, was not just a literary event, but a spiritual encounter, a moment of collective reflection, and an opportunity to celebrate talent, culture, and family bonds. For Angela Kosta, a writer with a strong and authentic voice, it was a day that will remain engraved in memory: a personal and family success, an embrace from the community, and a confirmation of the value of her work.

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Francesca Gallello is Director of Saturno Magazine and Veliero Publishing House, journalist, writer, literary critic.

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• Dr Ratan Bhattacharjee is an internationally recognized writer, critic, and educationist whose work combines literary scholarship with a deep concern for society and human values

Dr. Gunjan Agarwal

The conferment of Dickens Medal is an outstanding recognition for eminent author Dr Ratan Bhattacharjee whose short stories published globally in magazines and newspaper supplements of India and abroad are globally popular. The Covid-19 pandemic did not only attack the human body; it invaded the human mind. Fear entered households more silently than the virus itself. Streets emptied, temples and mosques closed, schools vanished into screens, and human beings—social by nature—were compelled to live apart from one another. In such a moment history required witnesses. Statistics could record deaths, governments could issue advisories, but only literature could record the emotional reality of living through those days. Six Feet Distance: Looking Back to Lockdown by Dr Ratan Bhattacharjee emerges precisely as such a witness. The recognition of this work by the conferment of Dickens Medal therefore carries deep meaning, because like Charles Dickens’s novels of nineteenth-century suffering, this book captures the lived experience of ordinary people during an extraordinary crisis. Dickens Gold Medal International Award was given to him for Literary Excellence 2025-2026  for his  “Six Feet Distance “(AuthorHouse Bloomington USA 2023) in 4th Kolkata Literary Carnival organized by Ukiyoto held today at Indian Council for Cultural Relations .The book  stands as one of the earliest South Asian literary responses to the lockdown era. While much global writing on the pandemic came from medical or political perspectives, Bhattacharjee approaches it from the standpoint of lived human experience. He does not write as an epidemiologist, nor as a policy commentator, but as a sensitive observer of society. His concern is the psychological condition of people—fear, uncertainty, loneliness, and emotional exhaustion.

The book thus functions not only as literature but also as a social archive. Future generations reading it will not merely know that a lockdown happened; they will understand how it felt.

The phrase “six feet distance” itself became the most repeated sentence of the pandemic. It was intended as protection, yet it altered human relationships. In South Asian cultures especially, closeness defines social life—touching elders’ feet, embracing relatives, gathering in festivals, sharing food, visiting neighbours without appointment. Suddenly these gestures disappeared. The author records how deeply unnatural this felt. A neighbour seen daily for years now became a possible threat. Even kindness was practiced cautiously. Food was left outside doors; conversations occurred from balconies; greetings replaced handshakes. Bhattacharjee turns this experience into metaphor: the physical distance gradually revealed an emotional distance long present in modern society. The lockdown exposed not only a virus but also a hidden loneliness of urban.

Dr Ratan Bhattacharjee is an internationally recognized writer, critic, and educationist whose work combines literary scholarship with a deep concern for society and human values. An International Tagore Award–winning author, he has earned distinction for his reflective prose, cultural commentary, and humanistic interpretation of literature. His writings move beyond purely academic criticism and seek to connect literature with lived experience, ethics, and social responsibility. Professionally, Dr Bhattacharjee served as the Head of the Postgraduate Department of English at Dum Dum Motijheel College, where he taught generations of students and contributed significantly to higher education in literature and the humanities. Known as an inspiring teacher and guide, he encouraged students not only to study texts but to understand the human conditions reflected within them. His long academic career reflects a commitment to learning, mentorship, and intellectual inquiry. He was also associated internationally as a Former Affiliate Faculty member of Virginia Commonwealth University (USA). This academic engagement broadened his scholarly exposure and strengthened his interaction with global literary studies. Through lectures, research, and writing, he maintained an active dialogue between Indian literary traditions and world literature, often bringing comparative perspectives into his work.

As a writer, Dr Bhattacharjee has authored numerous essays, features, literary articles, and reflective narratives in both English and Bengali. His themes frequently include human relationships, moral values, social change, cultural memory, and the psychological experiences of modern life. He is particularly noted for interpreting literature not merely as artistic expression but as a moral and social document. Six Feet Distance records the psychological trauma, isolation, and resilience of people during the Covid-19 lockdown period. The work has been appreciated as a South Asian literary response to the pandemic, presenting the emotional reality of ordinary lives during an extraordinary historical moment. The book stands as a social document preserving collective memory and human experience. Dr Bhattacharjee’s literary outlook is deeply humanistic. Drawing inspiration from writers such as Rabindranath Tagore and Charles Dickens, he emphasizes empathy, compassion, and social awareness. His stories often highlight the moral purpose of literature—to awaken sensitivity, encourage reflection, and bring people closer to one another. Today, Dr Ratan Bhattacharjee is regarded not only as a scholar and teacher but also as a chronicler of his time. Through his writings he continues to explore how literature can interpret social realities and preserve human experience. His work affirms that literature remains a vital medium for understanding society, culture, and the inner life of human beings.

One of the book’s strongest dimensions is its portrayal of psychological trauma. The trauma described is subtle and collective rather than dramatic and individual. There are no battlefield explosions, yet anxiety permeates every page. Families waited for news of relatives in hospitals. Migrant workers faced uncertainty about livelihood. Children could not understand why playgrounds were forbidden. The elderly felt the pain of separation most intensely; they were protected by isolation but also imprisoned by it. Through quiet narrative episodes the author reveals insomnia, worry, obsessive cleaning rituals, and fear of contact. He shows how people began measuring safety in inches and seconds. Even breathing near another person appeared dangerous. The pandemic thus created a mental climate of suspicion.

Yet the book is not despairing. Alongside trauma it documents resilience. The author notices acts of compassion: neighbours helping quarantined households, volunteers distributing food, teachers learning technology to keep education alive, families rediscovering conversation. The silence of lockdown allowed people to hear birds again and to hear themselves think again. Bhattacharjee suggests that crisis forced society to reconsider priorities. Material ambitions lost importance while relationships gained meaning. The enforced pause became a moral introspection.

Here lies the connection with Dickens. Dickens wrote about social suffering in industrial England—poverty, child labour, neglected elderly—and he humanized statistics. Bhattacharjee performs a similar function for the pandemic era. He humanizes the lockdown. Instead of reporting case numbers, he narrates human feelings. The narrative voice is gentle and compassionate, never accusatory. Rather than blaming institutions, the book seeks understanding. The author recognizes that humanity collectively faced uncertainty. This moral sympathy, this effort to awaken empathy in readers, justifies the association with Dickensian tradition and explains the appropriateness of the Dickens Medal.

The work also carries strong regional significance. As a South Asian response, it reflects cultural realities distinct from Western lockdown narratives. The book’s value as a social document cannot be overstated. Historians will record policies and timelines, but literature preserves human emotion. Six Feet Distance records conversations between parents and children, silent worries of the elderly, and the moral dilemma of helping others while protecting oneself. Such details create a living memory of the pandemic. It becomes a psychological archive of a society under stress. The trauma registered in the narrative is collective trauma—the awareness of mortality shared by an entire generation. The conferment of the Dickens Medal therefore recognizes not only literary skill but moral relevance. Dickens believed literature must awaken social conscience. Bhattacharjee’s work similarly encourages compassion. Through his poetry, essays, fiction, and criticism, Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee has established himself as not only a scholar and teacher but also a chronicler of his time. His work demonstrates that literature continues to play a vital role in understanding society and nurturing human values.

Ultimately, “Six Feet Distance” reminds readers that crises pass but memories shape the future. The pandemic will become history, yet the emotional lessons—fragility of life, value of relationships, and necessity of empathy—must remain. By recording these lessons, Dr Ratan Bhattacharjee has produced more than a memoir of lockdown. He has written a humane testimony of an era. The Dickens Medal thus honours a book that transforms fear into reflection and isolation into shared understanding. It affirms that even in separation literature can bring human beings closer together, and that the pen remains humanity’s most enduring instrument of healing.

Read: Life – A Forest… Poetry from Kolkata

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The  writer is Prof. (Dr.) Gunjan Agarwal Dean, School of Liberal Arts and Languages, Shobhit University Gangoh (Saharanpur) UP. Email gunjan.agarwal@shobhituniversity.ac.in 

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