Divya Choudary “And then what happened?” my mother would prompt.“Matsya outgrew the lake!” we’d reply, our voices filled with joy. My sister and I loved hearing stories, especially the way our mother animated them at bedtime or during those cherished moments under the stars when the power would go out. We grew up with a … Continue reading Mythic Waters: Rediscovering the Fantasy of Matsya
Barbie, the Refuge
Tina Jose When I was six, the third baby in our family was born. Although it was a happy occasion, certain birth-related issues meant that he required extra care for most of his life. This also meant that I was soon left to my own devices. It was the 80s in the UAE, a strange … Continue reading Barbie, the Refuge
Samhain’s Reckoning
Reyna Bhawal Some stories are meant to be heard. On windy nights, as owls hoot somewhere far. Our young author for this piece has just the story: when folk magics roam the land and spirits keen.Written story below. In a small village nestled comfortably between a harsh river and whispering woods, there lived a witch … Continue reading Samhain’s Reckoning
Synthesis of the Real and the Fantastic in Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen
Swarachita Dasgupta Reality, in itself, is a subjective notion. Each and every individual’s personal experience culminates to offer them their own picture of reality, every part of which is ‘real’ to them. This makes us question how we are to distinguish the real from the fantastic, the normal from the absurd, the sense from the … Continue reading Synthesis of the Real and the Fantastic in Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen
Stories That Raised Me: Growing up in the Magic of Storytelling
Krishna Pillai Good stories have a captivating beginning. My introduction to the world of stories was nothing short of captivating. Where do you think we started this business of storytelling? I like to think that one fine evening, after a long and hard day of hunting, people gathered around the crackling fire, and as they … Continue reading Stories That Raised Me: Growing up in the Magic of Storytelling
Seasons Council – A Winter Ruse
by Reshmi Thampy The author, technically and chronologically a grown-up, wrote to us that she wrote this for children because she too, is a child-at-heart. 🙂 This is to all the children we shall always be! Preface It’s 2025, and I’m no longer at university. It’s been a while since I last met my friends … Continue reading Seasons Council – A Winter Ruse
The Fruit
Kalpita Mukherjee As stories and fantastical tales have been shared among and between generations from antiquity through oral storytelling, the author of this piece too tells her tale orally for the reader to close their eyes, open their ears, and visualise the images and emotions she conjures with her voice. For the listener, and the … Continue reading The Fruit
Of Civets and Men
- Kajori Patra You must have heard of Gaganendranath Tagore — one of the leading artists of the Tagore family, the brother of Abanindranath Tagore, Jyotirindranath Tagore’s protégé, the illustrator of Rabindranath Tagore’s Jibansmriti and a determined proponent of swadeshi. Unlike his illustrious brother and uncles, Gaganendranath was a somewhat loner, in his span of … Continue reading Of Civets and Men
Ruggy Journeys
- Titas Bose One of the co-founders of ACLiSA, Titas Bose is most likely to be found in public libraries and archives, rummaging through twentieth-century magazines or negotiating with librarians these days. She is a PhD candidate at University of Chicago, training to be a literary scholar and a book historian. Some of her writing has … Continue reading Ruggy Journeys
CFP: ACLiSA Feature Series: Fantasy in South Asian KidLit
As children we crossed the Seven Seas and Thirteen Rivers in search of Patalkanya Manimala and fell asleep at the touch of the Golden Stick while listening to Scheherazade’s never-ending stories. We danced with Cinderella at the Ball and held Frodo’s hand on Mount Doom, all the while learning how to swish and flick at … Continue reading CFP: ACLiSA Feature Series: Fantasy in South Asian KidLit