• English - Romance

    Letters Across the Monsoon

    Anindita Sen Part 1 – The Postbox by the Pier The sea had been restless all week, its surface shifting in colours that belonged more to a mood than to the sky—dull pewter in the mornings, then a bruised green by afternoon, then turning almost black by evening when the horizon swallowed the sun whole. Mira Basu walked along the narrow pier each day after school, not because she had errands to run there but because the smell of salt and the sound of waves striking the wooden posts felt like a private conversation she could not hear anywhere else.…

  • English - Romance

    Pearls Before the Moon

    Anika Rao Part 1: The Taste of Irani Chai The clock struck six as Meher adjusted the silver jhumkas dangling from her ears, their soft chime blending into the evening azaan that echoed from the nearby Mecca Masjid. She stood by the rusted iron railings of the Charminar terrace, inhaling the scent of kebabs, rose attar, and the sharp, dusty wind that always carried whispers of stories untold. Hyderabad in December was always like this—cool, crowded, humming with history. And Meher, a 26-year-old calligraphy artist, found herself here every Thursday, sketchbook in hand, waiting to draw strangers and perhaps meet…