October 2020

Editor’s Note – Art, Activism And Personal Healing

The word ‘Art’ covers a broader spectrum of various creative endeavours. It ranges from Painting, Poetry and Music to Drama, Sewing and sculpting. I think painting is a unique language you use to communicate with others. It expresses the idea

by Shameela Yoosuf Ali

Fictional Arts·Painting

Pen And Ink On Paper -A Self Taught Artist

Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self. Jean-Luc Godard Since the beginning of human creativity, artists have created influential art using the line as a principle means of visual expression. As lines flow across the

by FemAsia Team

Cinema & Theater·Fictional Arts

Death Rides A Horse And Its Influence On Indian Cinema

Death Rides a Horse and Its Influence on Indian Cinema Zanjeer, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, and Revolver Reeta: Death Rides a Horse, Salim-Javed, Puratchidasan, and the Primal Image Sergio Leone, one of the most celebrated directors from Italy, is as famous in

by Swarnavel Eswaran

Empowerment

Personal Struggles Are Political Struggles

The First Woman Graduate In My Family In the grand narratives of empowerment, the micro struggles often fall by the way, remaining undocumented and unacknowledged. Feminism, with its assertion of the personal as political, makes room for understanding and honouring these

by Anjali Monteiro

Fictional Arts·Literature

Chasing Men Around The World

I ask myself- what kind of woman did my mother raise me to be? All these millennials trying to think independent – be independent. I assumed my mother too raised me to be an independent woman of that kind Career woman;

by Kaviru Samarawickrama

Empowerment

Mushin -The Mind Of No Mind Of An Artist

All Martial Arts are Gung Fu. They’re all hard work, if not separated from the self. If the practice of Martial Arts is separate from the self, from the way in which a person lives, they’re merely a physical exercise. But if

by Anne Walsh

Fictional Arts

Lighting A Candle Instead Of Cursing The Darkness

A Photojournalist’s Journey I am only one, but still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do –

by GMB Akash

Empowerment

Recovery

The events of the last few months have been too much. The world has been too much. The Virus. George Floyd. Black Lives Matter. Rio Tinto. 434 Aboriginal deaths in custody. 55 Indian journalists arrested for doing their jobs. Our

by Rashida Murphy

Empowerment·Social Justice

Lack Of Empathy And The Role Of Education

While the Covid19 struck, it changed the world for many of us. But the situation of isolation and social distancing did not bring much agony and shock to the already marginalised segments of our society, for instance, the transgender community.

by Nayab Iqbal

Politics & Culture

What Is In A Name?

Every time I tried to decrypt my family name, I ended up discovering more and more complex stories. Born in Sri Lanka, I used to think I have an authentic Sinhalese name. But as I grew up, I started to realise

by Hasitha Adhikariarachchi

Fictional Arts·Literature

Aavaram Poo -The Senna Flower

Having forgotten the travails of summer, all the trees on the mountain started blooming, announcing the beginning of the monsoon. Sometime in the afternoon, Appu recalled that when he was taking the sheep for grazing in the morning,

by Lakshmi Saravanakumar

Cuisines·Food & Travel

Colonialism In Curry

It was an early autumn evening in early March, before COVID, when we were all allowed to be outside. And I was standing in line to the Sri Lankan food truck during the Adelaide Fringe, my cold body eagerly awaiting the

by Savindri Perera

Fictional Arts·Literature

Fallacy Of A Single Immigrant Mom

Single mothering is tough. Being an immigrant is tough. Single immigrant mom or immigrant single mom? Yes, I know folks keep saying, “Single mothering is tough. Not good for the child. Not good for the parent. There is no father. The

by Anita Nahal

Politics & Culture

I’m Not Sorry To Be Wearing My Sari

Some people call the “sari” a costume. But the typically six yards of fabric hides a long and revered history and tradition. Whether made of silk or chiffon, this “costume” can be sexy and elegant as the fanciest evening gowns. From

by Meera Klein

Fictional Arts·Literature

Vagina Left At Home

You invited me home to discuss my poems. Before I could establish that the ‘her’ in my poem is not me, the last drop of coffee from the cup had been relished. Then, the fourth call from your wife came. You

by Leena Manimekalai

Fictional Arts·Literature

In A Time

There are times when I feel trapped in time. And this is one of those times, the year 2020, a time in the impossible future I expected not to be alive to see, and the month is August and August is

by Thomas A Thomas

Fictional Arts·Literature

The Immortal

I still had two months’ rent left to pay; I told my roommate he could take it out of the advance I’d given. I packed up my books and clothes in two cardboard boxes. All the CDs, DVDs, and video cassettes of

by Senthil Jagannathan

Fictional Arts

Islamic Philosophy Theology And Mysticism- A Short Introduction

A Critical Review On Majid Fakhry’s Book ‘Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Mysticism: A Short Introduction’ is a well-written work to understand Islamic philosophy’s basic outline. It aims to introduce Islamic philosophy, its main arguments, and the historical developments for beginners.

by Zacky Fouz

Politics & Culture

My Grandfather -The Stranger

The immigrant American knows all too well the pain of losing family. Not necessarily to death, but inevitably to the isolating constraints of distance. When I was five years old, I left behind a clan of cousins, aunts, uncles, and

by Eileen Calub

Fictional Arts·Literature

The American Girl

One day she had a boyfriend. The next day she did not. He had gone his way, looking for another girl. To date, this was her third boyfriend. She didn’t seem to understand how to attract these boyfriends, leave alone how

by Appadurai Muttulingam

Fictional Arts·Literature

Fragility Catwalk

Our fragility is forever on show whether we are aware of it or not. It is the fashion we are always dressed in it, whatever else we are wearing.

by Richard James Allen

Fictional Arts·Literature

The Mathematics Of Mystery

Some novelists are all but born knowing they should write. Some study literature, or creative writing, become experts in the academic form of the art. Some belong to families of writers and words are their legacy.But not me.

by Sulari Gentill

Empowerment

Crisis: An Idea And A Community Forward

A series of webinars which culminated in a 17-hour ‘non stop’ LIVE webinar that brought 18 professionals from 8 countries together When Covid 19 hit and Sri Lanka went into lockdown, the first ‘budget’ to be taken out were the training

by Tatum D Devendra

Fictional Arts·Literature

Rainy Day Challah Haibun

It has been raining continuously for three days, but it feels like it has rained forty days and forty nights. An image of Noah’s Ark floods my mind. I want to climb into it with my family. We are four

by Kavita Ezekiel

Fictional Arts·Literature

Flying Is Not A Fear Of It

It will regret such gentle restraint, remorse is always a day behind. It hunches, invisibly — like a sick sparrow’s releasing body, cracked beak, marble eyes, feathers spineless — but can’t be unseen. There is no flight from here, just splinters

by Maeve McKenna

Holistic Health

The Plight Of Doctors In Sri Lanka

In 2017, I was in Italy for nearly three months for a medical scholarship. During that time, I met a well talented and quite humble bunch of people. This particular hospital in the city of Bergamo in Lombardia district had

by Lawanya Wijesekara

Fictional Arts·Literature

The Dawn Of Smog.

When everyone was sleeping deeply, I was lost in the dawn full of smog. The dawn was pious, but the presence of smog left me confused. Then I gradually wondered about the unusual presence of smog in that beautiful dawn. While

by Sharida Rashid Khan

Fictional Arts·Literature

Eyes That I love

Your crystalline eyes, Deepest than the seven seas Change colour From brown to blue to green From green to turquoise to grey And then to see through glass like They are deep They speak They smile They go sad… They

by Salma Ainy

Fictional Arts·Literature

The Woman I Lost And Hope To Find.

Was it the first slap, The tingle of it against my skin Or the first flutter of butterflies In my stomach, that chased them all away. That embedded them deep down In my subconscious, to be forgotten, To be trodden

by Linda Bandawa

Politics & Culture

Beirut Blast – Accountability To Restore Resilience

It was a groundbreaking sound. Something different from anything I heard before. It shattered my mind. For more than an hour, I did not know what I was doing. My bones were shaking. My unconscious screams were mixed with hysterical

by Rouba Taouk

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