fiction
A list of life lessons
Set in 1979, this is a story of monsters—the ones who prey on the vulnerable, the ones that exploit our weaknesses, and the ones that we elevate to positions of power.
20 March 2024, 18:00 PM
The smell
“Stop mocking me, Atif! I am telling you there is something here.”
20 March 2024, 15:45 PM
'Relief': Sehri Tales selections, Day 7
The top selections in poetry, flash fiction and artwork for Day 6 of the Sehri Tales challenge; prompt: Relief
18 March 2024, 20:00 PM
'Deny': Sehri Tales selections, Day 5
The top selections in poetry, flash fiction and artwork for Day 5 of the Sehri Tales challenge; prompt: Deny
16 March 2024, 20:00 PM
The loss of essentiality
Umar stood in line with all the patience in the world. He could smell the anxiety and fear in the air. The room was filled with people once glorifying death and taking pride in solitude, now filled with panic in the face of reality.
15 March 2024, 18:00 PM
A country coming to life
Weaving the grand themes of politics and history, the book is a revelation into how the ordinary lives within a country are buffeted by constant changes.
13 March 2024, 13:45 PM
The graveyard in the desert of void
The voices–the wails that had called me here–were emanating from these very graves.
10 March 2024, 15:45 PM
Nearness
How do you think I feel every time I find you hovering over the door to my classroom? Like when you’re the only passenger riding up a lift, and then it suddenly stops.
3 March 2024, 15:45 PM
The last crime against humanity
The only way they chose to do this was probably written or imprinted in our genes–a wild frenzy of carnal expressions filled their faces.
2 March 2024, 15:45 PM
Facing the nightmare of darkness
Lighting struck everywhere. Amidst the enchanted woods, the howls of wolves echoed with a joyous "Awoo!".
29 February 2024, 09:49 AM
Sweet shop vendors
We will chase after stringless kites, Down the road
29 February 2024, 09:46 AM
Dhaka 2084: Interview of a Time Traveller
The sudden appearance — and the equally sudden disappearance — of a middle-aged woman named Eli Kaizer, who claimed to be a time traveller, has caught the attention of not only our city, but the entire world.
26 February 2024, 14:11 PM
Interim
That was the first time in my life I’d smelled charred meat. I could tell it was different from the kind you’re supposed to eat, and my mother had to hold me as I threw up violently on the side of the street.
17 February 2024, 14:45 PM
A Born Reader
Surveying the decorated wall now vibrantly alive with Winnie the Pooh and Harry Potter characters, Sarah allowed herself a satisfied grin.
16 February 2024, 18:00 PM
Girlfriends, girlhood and everything else Dolly Alderton knows about love
Review of "Everything I Know About Love: A Memoir" (Penguin, 2018)
11 February 2024, 14:55 PM
Screams and Schadenfreude
TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide, death, and gore.
9 February 2024, 18:00 PM
5 new releases to look out for at Boi Mela this week
With the advent of the most anticipated literary festival for lovers of the written art, we have curated a list of five books for you to keep your eyes open for at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela this week.
9 February 2024, 13:45 PM
Tucked between moving trains and elegiac dead-ends
Some among us might have wondered what it feels like to hold a lit bomb between our palms. One that will go off inevitably yet its spark, heat, force, weight, and pulsating nature are so fascinating that we are unable to put it down or look away, all the while knowing at the end of the wick we too will be destroyed—a chosen death, a voluntary annihilation.
7 February 2024, 18:00 PM
A Solo Exhibition
Never in his wildest imaginations had Aniket thought that everything would come together so well. Nearly everyone he invited had come.
26 January 2024, 18:00 PM
The Melancholic Man
The whole courtroom held their breath, waiting to hear Nizam's answer. As he nodded in affirmation, the enraged audience got off their seats to beat up the accused.
19 January 2024, 18:00 PM