CLRI October 2013

Contemporary Literary Review India October 2013 CONTENTS
Editorial
Khurshid Alam Self-Publishing is the Future
Poems
ALLABHYA GHOSH The Great Recession DR. CHANDRA PRAKASH SHARMA When I Kiss You The Dawn GOPA NAYAK Desire PIYA CHAKRABARTI The Pink Velvet Plant RIZVANA PARVEEN Choice She Garbage bins Distance
Stories
AMAN CHOUGLE It All Makes Sense Gootlimama Changes GEETASHREE CHATTERJEE My “Twilight” Friend KERSIE KHAMBATTA A Fence of Ferns
Criticism
JUNAID SHABIR Psychoanalytic Diving in Atwood’s Surfacing MOHAMED KAMEL ABDEL-DAEM Fredric Jameson's Critical Theory Applied to Carol Ann Duffy's Poetry SHAILENDRA CHAUHAN A Thought on Theory and Criticism of Literature
Book Reviews
VINITA AGARWAL Reviews Mamta Agarwal’s An Untold Story of a Pebble
Book Releases (Writers)
ABHAY CHOKSHI EMEKA IWENOFU DR. JAN YAGER EDWARD EATON MIKI KIKKAWA
CLRI Nominates its writers to Lit Awards 2013
Dear readers, we’re ready with the list of those writers published with Contemporary Literary Review India (CLRI) during July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013, who we are going to nominate to the Best of the Net run by the Sundress   Publications, USA. So keep your fingers crossed and see the best writers from us. Next we’ll move to Pushcart Award. For details, check at Announcement.
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Self-Publishing is the Future by Khurshid Alam

Vanity Publishing versus Self-Publishing

Vanity publishing has been around us from a very long time and the publishing industry has rated it as a drab cliché. Books published by vanity publishers are bared from entering in most of the literary prizes and awards.

Self-Publishing ostensibly had the same beginning and it was not far from now that it was regarded as a sad people's last resort. But there is a big difference between both vanity publishing and self-publishing. Vanity publishers are frenzied money making mongers, they demand money before they pick up your manuscripts, do not care what material your manuscript offers including poor or no editorial work and lackluster post publishing sales promotions etc. etc. etc.

Self-publishing is different in more than one respect. That's why it is gradually gaining recognition. Self-publishing draws the same parallel as distance education mode has. Once distance education was regarded as education of no worth but soon gained recognition and is now a very sought after medium among the academia and almost every third professional may be found feathered with a degree or diploma gained through distance education mode.

Post the Internet era, self-publishing through digitization has razed the intermediary boundary of distributors and has the potentiality to permeate into the remotest markets where the books need not be sent physically, or open book stores with large investment, or face any inherent copyright issues. All hindrances razed down!

To go digital is easier and faster. If you have your document ready, create an account with a digital publisher, upload the file and your book goes wild on sale worldwide in a few hours.

Self-Publishing authors can meet the demand of the readers who want the books at a reasonably low cost and everywhere they are on the go. The price factor in digital publishing is controlled by the authors, they can even offer their books for free.

Thanks to Amazon and others' amazing services to the aspiring writers. Digital publishing is coupled with the offer of POD (print-on-demand) with many self-publishing companies which makes the market of book more attractive and cost effective for everyone – publishers, authors, and readers. 

Publishing and its Future

From "the dawn of e-books" in 2010 amid mixed reactions, digital publishing registered a steady growth through 2011 and 2012 which means it has grounded its foothold and is poised to high growth in 2013 and ahead.

According to a report on sales growth worldwide in print and e-formats published by Association of American Publishers, 3.4 million eBook units were sold in 2011, which is a growth up 303.3% from 2010 and will continue to fast growth in future. Factors for significant growth are manifold.

More and more traditional publishers are converting their books in hard copies into soft copies and making them available in digital formats. Along with the books that appear solely in digital formats, the e-book repository is getting voluminous day by day. This has brought the self-published authors at parallel with those authors who are published with traditional publishers. A gain of self-esteem.

New markets are opening up to digital publishing fast like Asia and Middle East. China, Japan, and India have already taken the leads.

Hand-held Devices Growing

According to Mary Meeker’s report "Internet Trends" about 2.4 billion people or in other words one-third of the world population is integrated with mobile network. Also, 1.1 billion consumers are using smartphones which help the users access the internet on the phones. Added to the already wide use of smartphones, tablets and e-books reading devices integrated with SIM, is widening the possibility of online shopping on such devices. Kindle (Amazon), Kobo (Rakuten), and Reader (Sony), and tablet computers such as iPad (Apple), Nexus 7 (Google) are witnessing high sales in the US markets for reading of e-books.

Self-publishing Authors Check

Self-publishing is largely an affair of the authors so they need to learn certain skills in addition to writing a book. When manuscripts get rejected with a couple of traditional publishers think your manuscript may need revamp. I mean developmental editing in many cases. Get your manuscripts edited by some good editors, sometime by more than one editor.

Hand-held Devices Growing

According to Mary Meeker's report "Internet Trends" about 2.4 billion people or in other words one-third of the world population is integrated with mobile network. Also, 1.1 billion consumers are using smartphones which help the users access the internet on the phones. Added to the already wide use of smartphones, tablets and e-books reading devices integrated with SIM, is widening the possibility of online shopping on such devices. Kindle (Amazon), Kobo (Rakuten), and Reader (Sony), and tablet computers such as iPad (Apple), Nexus. Get your book reviewed, whether you self-publish your book or it is published with a traditional publisher. Do not make it the head ache of the publishers only. Because hundreds of books are published daily, you should not be lost in the crowd. Publicize your book in various ways available to you. Create a website of your own, or at least a blog which comes for free. Post some of the writings, excerpts and create a group of writers.  

Khurshid Alam

Editor-in-Chief

Contemporary Literary Review India

October 2013

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The Great Recession by Allabhya Ghosh

The Great Recession by Allabhya Ghosh

Paying huge medical bills?

Waste away your scarce savings. Through

These rivers — all polluting.

Remember the Texan scoundrel millionaire JR in the TV series “Dallas”?

His aspirations?

The banks printed Quantity—paper money

And leverage. Prostitutes and drug addicts —

Creations of too much poverty and too much money.

Forget that people care more about the

Quality, of life and basic values of

Honesty and Integrity in the early morning of Twenty-first century

Growth for growth’s sake.

The toxic products created — all financial.

The toxic products created — all environmental.

Greed and arrogance of the Wall Street Madoffs.

The investment bankers thought that

Golden parachutes were their birth-rights.

Rather a privilege from the trust

Of the people. Anger of the rural masses.

Large white mansions with Roman columns and

Gilded French furniture.

Huge losses. What use these when

News channels report suicides by stockholders.

Sufferers — the publics.

Mental and physical. I can feel.

Ecocosm — so fragile.

Economists and professionals prominent galore.

Wanting at the corporate governance.

The earth lost. Can we be far behind?

Trust? Where it is now?

Consumption resulting into

‘Zero Sum game’.

Born in 1976, Kolkata, Allabhya Ghosh writes screenplays, stories and have worked as an Assistant Director in the short film "Amatir Katha" which was screened at the 14th Kolkata Film Festival. He has worked as a screenplay writer for a Bengail Television Channel and acted in many Bengali films and serials. Now Allabhya works as a Director and Producer of Bengali films. His poems, novel and stories have been published in many national and international magazines. His favorite hobbies are clay modeling and drawing.

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Poems by Chandra Prakash Sharma

Poems by Chandra Prakash Sharma

When I Kiss You

When I kiss you,

my whole being is vibrant with the music of

the Alaknanda gushing down the Himalayas

rounding the angularities of my mind

to move in unison with you

passionately eager to mingle

into the oceanic depths of serenity.

When I kiss you,

I feel, I am a butterfly

hopping in joy from flower to flower

colouring my soul in your colour

gathering honey from flower cups

softening my soul in your arms

feeling the bliss of eternity.

Note: Alaknanda is a Himalayan river in the state of Uttarakhand, India that is one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. The other headstream, Bhagirathi, which is longer, is the source stream.

The Dawn

With the dawn

the sun emerges

from the dark womb of the Universe

through the golden window of the East

bringing with it the heavenly glow

that bathes the blue sky in its radiant hue.

The soothing shades of light

come with the cool refreshing breeze

gently awake the world

to celebrate the birth of the day,

the birds fly in flocks in search of food

singing sweet song of love and happiness.

The green grass grounds

bedecked with pearly dew,

the colourful flowers

tossing their heads in sprightly dance

in glory of the new born dawn

exuding their fragrant glee.

During my morning walks

in the Baraadri Gardens*

its colour, music, freshness and

fragrant air filtered through trees

oxygenates my age old lungs

for a new decadal race.

Note: Baradari Gardens means the garden with twelve entrances. It was built in a Mughal style in 1876 by Rajinder Singh. Baradari Gardens is in the north of Patiala city and is situated in the outer part of Sheranwala Gate. Baradari Gardens were constructed near the Baradari palace, which was a residence of Emperor Rajinder Singh. He brought rare species of trees and flowers from different places and planted them in this garden. The big fruit trees the Fern House and the Rock Garden show his interest towards nature. Another name of Rajinder Kothi is Baradari Kothi because it is situated near the Baradari Garden. Today, the Baradari Palace is a warehouse of important historical documents.

Chandra Prakash Sharma (b.1941) worked as Head, Department of Economics at M. M. Modi College, Patiala (1970-2001). He was nominated to the Academic Council, the Board of Faculty and the Board of Studies of Punjabi University, Patiala several times during this period. After his retirement he worked as guest faculty at the Punjab School of Management Studies of the University. Prior to this, he was General Manager of International Medical Devices, Gurgaon,  Company manufacturing ophthalmic devices in India that found its market in many countries the world over. He obtained his first Postgraduate Degree in English from the University of Rajasthan as student of Birla College of Arts, Pilani. After working as lecturer in English in a college in Haryana for a couple of years, he took his second Master’s Degree in Economics from Punjabi University, Patiala in 1969, later his Ph.D. in Business Administration from the same University in 1987.

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Desire by Gopa Nayak

Desire by Gopa Nayak

Desire nurtured

Flows like an unbridled stream

Washing away all inhibitions

Embracing all entities

Satiating all fascinations

Desire chained

Beats like the mighty ocean

Tossing away all offerings

Turning down all with fury

Resenting all attractions

Desire unleashed

Erupts like a volcano

Destroying all livingness

Subsuming all extremities

Arresting all predictiveness

Desire, must you regale

nurtured

unchained

and unleashed?

Gopa Nayak writes in both Odia and English on themes that vary from women’s role in society to theft in London suburb. She has recently come back to her home town of Bhubaneswar after her long sojourn of thirty years outside Odisha. She has a DPhil from the University of Oxford and is currently teaching English in Bhubaneswar.

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The Pink Velvet Plant by Piya Chakrabarti

The Pink Velvet Plant by Piya Chakrabarti

In yester-years,

Heading in with arms stretched out,

The rubicund petals, scattered all about,

Peeping in, like a stranger strange,

Tender spring in its greatest range.

The pink velvet on our classroom floor,

The whirring breeze hoping to implore

the shoots to send'em on the rounds,

And merge with the honeyed, bourdon sounds.

The perfume of the velvet with passion fills,

Brings out the artist, and the man it kills,

Nothing of the scented drunkenness,

To sip in the cup of intemperance.

Today I saw,

The barks of the velvet are slimy grey,

The shoots slouch off with the fall of day,

The fruits are ripened, and all worn out,

That the tree is chafed, and old, and stout.

The classroom floor is mopped all day,

The acidic smell is done away,

To shoo off the intruder strange,

To welcome the season of the change.

Piya Chakrabarti is a writer, poet and visual artist, and is currently pursuing a Master degree in Pure Mathematics from Jadavpur University. Her writings and arts have been published in Ken again, a literary magazine, cyberwit's “Taj Mahal Review” and “The Harvest Of The New Millennium”, Dyuti, The Telegraph, Child Rights and You (CRY) “Anti-labour day Analysis Report”, Blood Lotus Journal, Youth Ki Awaaz,Eastlit magazine and many writings are under consideration by many journals of repute in India and abroad.

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