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Bhaswati Ghosh

Bhaswati Ghosh writes and translates fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Her first book of fiction is Victory Colony, 1950. Her first work of translation from Bengali into English is My Days with Ramkinkar Baij. Bhaswati’s writing has appeared in several literary journals. She lives in Ontario, Canada. Find her at bhaswatighosh.com.

Yellow in Four Quarters

AmaltasPetals of the sun, finespun, clustered,cascade down avenues. Golden Laburnumchandeliers shower singed, stingingstreets with wisps of breezy blessings. MangoA heady scent at first. Then, fleshypulp, mischievously exploding off skin,landing on skin, sticky, irrepressible.Summer’s cossetted, indocile, luscious child. TurmericA pinch that packs a
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Echoing Mothers

I hear mothers,young and old,rich and not-so-poor,Believers, atheists, heathenI hear their staggering stepszigzagging throughformer husbands,current flings,the faltering economy.I hear their symphonies–son’s first tooth fall,daughter’s first ballet,first culinary experiment.I hear, too, their erratic quartets;custody battles,nursing a sick child,telling the daughterbetter loversawait her yet.As
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At Ten

I didn’t know what decade meantthe year I turned ten. The yearI turned ten, we moved housesand went from two rooms on anupper floor to three rooms onthe ground. I had only just learnedwhat one’s own house meant. Knowing this meant little.The
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The Kitchen

My grandma didn’t have a kitchen for a year and a while more. She hadn’t become my grandmother yet. A just-retired husband and dwindling family income brought her pots and pans out on the courtyard of the one-room hovel they had
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