Editor Speak
December 2021
The Dawn Edition, a curtain raiser edition, was published on Nov 1, 2021. We are thrilled by the overwhelming response we have received from the readers of our fledgling edition. We have more than 200 subscribers and more than 10,000 page views of this edition. A big thanks to our readers and subscribers. This encouraged us to work harder for our December edition, which we have called the Tangerine Edition. Some of you might wonder at this name. The name simply refers to the thematic colours of our editions. In the Dawn edition we used the golden hues of a dawn. In the Tangerine Edition we will be using the orange hues of a Mediterranean tangerine. We, at The Wise Owl, thought this would add a distinct flavour to our e-magazine.
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Our Tangerine Edition offers a wide variety of flavours, suitable to all palates. Our Literary section has a lot on offer. This time we have poetry coming to us from the land of Africa. A young upcoming poet from the Dark Continent has written for us. We also have a beautiful story, ‘Tara’ from the pen of the acclaimed Oriya writer Paramita Satpathy, who has been awarded Sharala Award, the most coveted award for literature in Odisha, and the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 2016. Our Non-fiction section has a contribution from Irma Maini titled ‘Internet Bride’. Irma is a Professor of English and Fulbright Program Advisor at New Jersey City University. She was awarded the prestigious and highly competitive Fulbright Senior Scholar award to Morocco in 2006-2007.
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The Wise Owl also connected with a contemporary Bahrain-based painter, Tejbir Singh, who was chosen as Best Artist-Middle East by Destig magazine for 2018. His cityscapes in oils, watercolours and pastels, with their intricate detailing, are riveting and are reminiscent of Rackstraw Downes. Our interview with the artist will give our readers an insight into his creativity. We have paintings of Thota Laxminarayana for viewing, which are a beautiful blend of native folk charm and contemporary art. Some surrealistic graphic designs come to us from a Manipur based upcoming artist, Nimoy.
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This is not all. We have lots more for you. Happy Reading. Happy Viewing.
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~Rachna Singh
Featured Artist
Tejbir Singh
The Wise Owl talks to Bahrain based Tejbir Singh, a contemporary painter (mixed media) and gains an insight into his creativity. An architect by profession, Tejbir Singh’s work is inspired by urban landscapes of London and Europe. He dabbles in oils, soft pastels, water colours, charcoal et al but his first love is oils. He was chosen as Best Artist-Middle East (Mixed Media) by Destig Magazine for 2018. His painting Rest @ Piccadilly, was chosen as one of the ten finalists in ART BOX art exhibition in New York in March 2019.
Non Fiction
Memoirs Travelogues Musings & Essays
Musings
Contentment
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Crumbling walls and creaking doors cannot break the circle of serenity and contentment that enfolds 'Mausa ji' like a warm cloak.
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Travelogue
The Desert Beauty
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We have grown up listening to tales of valour and chivalry of the Rajputs. It is no wonder then that, Rajasthan beckons us with its colourful culture, history and folklore. In an armchair sojourn, Revathi Reddy walks us through the golden sands and shifting dunes of the historical city of Jaisalmer.
Critique
Internet Bride
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The concept of ‘mail-order bride’ with its implication of consumerism, of buying and selling, raises troubling questions about the inequity of gender, race, class, nationality, and even geographic location. This concept is analysed with special reference to Nell Freudenberger’s novel, The Newlyweds.
Essay
A Bestseller is Born
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The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy has completed 100 weeks in New York Times bestseller list and sold more than a million copies So, what made this unlikely candidate, a bestseller?
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Fiction
Stories of Fantasy Romance History
The Purple and Red Scarf
A newly wedded wife is confronted with an earth shattering truth about her husband. The purple and red scarf is symbolic of her life force. First she gives it for safe-keeping to her husband Ashish but when her husband betrays her trust, she reclaims her life and the scarf alludes to a new beginning.
Tara
Tara, beautiful and highly educated, gives up all claim to an independent existence and builds a life around her husband. She finds to her utter horror that her husband has no qualms about sacrificing her at the altar of his career aspirations. Caught in a tragic dilemma, she finds absolution in a most unexpected way.
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Poetry
Eloquent Emotions
Creeper
The pliability of the creeper leaves a lot to be desired. The tree, instead, offers a salutary lesson in stability and strength. The poet suggests that human character should be like a tree instead of a clinging creeper.
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I have a little soft corner
For the creeper...
When the Conch was Blown
A woman is celebrated as the most powerful force in some Hindu Upanishads, Sastras and Puranas. Taking a leaf out of our ancient scriptures, the poet suggests that woman power can vanquish all manner of demonic forces.
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When the conch was blown,
Came they together!
Inheritance
A mother passes on her bitterness and ‘pitara’ of grudges and misery to her daughter as an unwanted inheritance. A disconsolate and embittered daughter finds that she has become a reflection of her odious and mundane parent.
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If only Amma had clever things to say
or finesse or largesse to her credit...
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The Roads Untraveled
The poet walks life’s path where shattered dreams, broken promises and past regrets haunt him. Then in a moment of spiritual realization, the poet decides not to run away like a coward but bravely face the vagaries of life. In doing so, he achieves ‘nirvana’ or ultimate peace.
As I sit and gaze at the sparks
flickering from the fireplace
I go down the road often unwalked
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Reviews of Movies Books and OTT releases
Another Copy and Paste?
Antoine Fuqua’s film The Guilty is surprisingly nothing but a shot-by-shot copy & paste of the 2019 Danish film, Den Skylidge, which Fuqua claimed had inspired the adaptation. Sandhya Gokhale’s Kasur, (Mistake) a 2019 stage adaptation of the same film, on the other hand is a creative and nuanced rendering by veteran actor Amol Palekar.
Kota Factory Season 2
Preparing children for the JEE exam is big business in India. Kota is the hub of such coaching institutes. Kota factory (Season 1 & 2), a Netflix Original, examines the physical, mental and emotional cost of preparing for this competitive exam not only for children but also for the families because ‘yeh exam ek bachcha nahin, puri family deti hai’
The Promise
Damon Galgut’s book ‘The Promise’ is the story of a family living in Pretoria, and struggling with the legacy of apartheid . Maine, an Afrikaner, promises his dying wife that he will transfer the annexe on their property to their black maid Salome. But he fails to keep his promise. The story of a failed promise becomes a reflection of unkept political promises.
A Visual Treat for the Soul
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‘I experiment to contemporise the rural idiom’, says the Telangana based painter Thota Laxminarayana. A vibrant palette and a deeply rooted folk tradition, Thota’s work portrays the peaceful co-existence of humans and nature. Thota Laxminarayana, is the Editor’s Pick of the Tangerine Edition.
Podcast of Top Articles, Features, Poems and Stories
Where shots convey more than words
Khajuraho: Romancing the Stone
A documentary
exploring the
architectural
splendor of the
temples of Chandela
dynasty of
Khajuraho
CONTRIBUTORS WELCOME
The Wise Owl Team prides itself in giving everyone an equal shot at publication, based solely on the quality of their work. We favour originality, freshness, innovation and novelty and would encourage our contributors to adhere to our norms. That is not to say we turn up our noses at traditional works. Well-written quality pieces are always welcome.
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The Wise Owl, welcomes submissions of hitherto unpublished poetry, Fiction (Short Stories), Non-Fiction (Essays, memoirs, travelogues, Reviews (Books/Films/TV Series/OTT releases). We would also be happy to publish literary and critical writing, as well as visual art.
To have the best chance of surprising us, please take a few minutes to read our Guidelines before you submit.
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Submit your contributions to editor@thewiseowl.art
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS EDITION
Ananjeya Ravikumar I Chitra Singh I Emaikwu Godwin I Irma Maini I Lalita Jagmohan Singh I Kavita Bhatnagar I Kaveri Bajaj I Neel Prabhakar I Nimoy I Nalini Priyadarshini I Palak Khurana I Paramita Satpathy I Rachna Singh I Revathi Reddy I Raghav Mishra I Sunaina Jain I Thota Laxminarayana
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Read previous editions of The Wise Owl in our Archives Section
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