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The Student

The Student

A student’s chance encounter reveals how compassion, memory, and faith

The Student

A student’s chance encounter reveals how compassion, memory, and faith

Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on.

— Criss Jami

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What's New

Latest readings for today

Metropolis Musings
Editorial

Towns, cities and metropoles tend to become integral parts of the people who inhabit them.

The Student
, ,
The Student

A student’s chance encounter reveals how compassion, memory, and faith connect past suffering with present human resilience and quiet hope.

Anton Chekhov
,
Video: Anton Checkhov – Birthday Tribute

His works remain classics today. Chekhov’s influence - his “gun” principle, his subtle realism, his compassionate eye - shapes how we tell stories even now.

Window With a Train Attached
,
Window With a Train Attached by C P Surendran: A Review

Bringing together intense moments of human experience, this collection transforms memory, loss and trauma into luminous and unsettling poetic insight.

Mysterious
,
The Mysterious Case of The Goddess Jeans: Part 1

His journalistic nose twitches at a familiar scent – this may yet be the scoop of the century.

Winter
Winter in Kolkata 

Winter in Kolkata arrives gently, wrapped in pale sunlight and lingering fog.

Clark Art Institute
,
Two Faces, Twenty-Four Years: Finding Renoir at the Clark

Sterling Clark had acquired thirty-eight Renoir works over thirty-five years, calling him "a great master" in his diary.

Editorial: The Pomegranate & The Promise- Vol: 2

The mini-saga, as a form of fiction, was invented by British science fiction writer Brian Aldiss and popularised by The Daily Telegraph in the 1980s.

Loyalty
Loyalty

On 8 August 1942, one shot, point blank. The loyal student ensured the professor rested in peace without him suspecting a thing.

Tomorrow
Tomorrow

Every year on this day, she returned to the café and ordered his favourite – two Americanos.

The Refund
The Refund

“You’re the perfect host,” the doll whispered as Rajesh kissed its rosy cheek goodnight. He recoiled saying, “No – I’ll kill myself!”

The Return
The Return

Wishing for her late husband’s return, Emma blew out the candles – her nightly ritual. Suddenly, her bedroom door creaked open.

The Presence
The Presence

The old clock struck midnight. A nervous Lydia stood before the mirror in her dimly lit room, whispering the forbidden name.

The Echo
The Echo

He pulled the woman from the edge of the bridge. “No one left,” she sobbed, echoing his late mother’s words.

The Thank-you Note
The Thank-you Note

One day, I froze suddenly – the handwriting in that letter was identical to the daughter’s suicide note.

The Gunshot
The Gunshot

They burst in, anxious, only to find the nervous old man before his TV muttering, “Actions films scare the hell out of me, help me

The April Fool
The April Fool

Jake was ecstatic at Lily’s early morning message, “Moving to your city.” Her second message an hour later, “April Fool,” shattered his joy beyond repair.

Identity
Identity

After a successful heart transplant, Martha drifted into consciousness to her husband’s unexpectedly chilling words: “A stranger’s heart beats within my wife.”

The Care
The Care

Each morning, Karan wakes in his lonely flat to half a glass of milk and two sandwiches. His ironed shirts and polished shoes gleam with

The Moment
The Moment

All she wanted was to stretch her perfect four years longer. She wasn’t ready to let their laughter fade into memory.

The Report
The Report

Arun’s trembling hands couldn’t open the biopsy report. ‘Stage four,’ he was certain. A sudden, searing pain tore through his chest.

The Promise
The Promise

Luke, without medical insurance, mortgaged his house to fund his open-heart surgery. Mark, his idealistic friend, scoffed, “I’d rather die active – sixty’s the perfect

Reviews

Essential readings for today

Window With a Train Attached
,
Window With a Train Attached by C P Surendran: A Review

Bringing together intense moments of human experience, this collection transforms memory, loss and trauma into luminous and unsettling poetic insight.

Battleship Potemkin
,
The 100 Years of Battleship Potemkin – A Tribute and An Assessment

Battleship Potemkin is primarily known for its innovative film language. It became a template for filmmakers world-wide.

The Academy of Fine Arts
,
The Fine Arts of Criminology

A bold, darkly comic neo-noir where violence, wit, and subversive storytelling redefine the boundaries of modern Bengali cinema.

Rainer Maria Rilke
,
Fear of the Inexplicable and Other Poems – Rainer Maria Rilke

Rilke spoke openly and with great insight into the human experience of pain and joy, good and evil and the amalgamate of these.

Humans in the Loop
,
Nature, Labour, and Algorithms: Inside the World of Humans in the Loop

A haunting portrait of tribal women powering AI’s invisible machinery, 'Humans in the Loop' reveals labour, bias, and nature’s quiet resistance.

KIFF
Kafkaesque to Kalia

A sweeping, reflective look at KIFF 2025—its tributes, global cinema, migration stories, and the enduring magic of film culture.

,

Window With a Train Attached by C P Surendran: A Review

Bringing together intense moments of human experience, this collection transforms memory, loss and trauma into luminous and unsettling poetic insight.

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History & Heritage

Essential readings for today

McLeod Rail
,
When the Little Trains of Bengal Told Big Stories: The Forgotten Saga of McLeod Rail

Tiny trains stitched Bengal’s villages together—stopping for waved hands, carrying lives, memories, and a century of softly moving dreams.

Weaving
Celebrating Women and Weaving through Songs

Women have always done the preparatory work like spinning of the yarn as part of the work leading up to the final weaving.

Kabir Deb Language Cover
The Broken Body of a Province, The Fallen Voices of Its People

Our cultural dementia makes an entire nation isolate a particular region since its fight has been deliberately suppressed to enhance the delusion of peace.

Sandipa Malakar Chinese New Year Cover
Chinese New Year Celebration in Kolkata

The celebration is not just a festival, it’s a vibrant expression of tradition and culture.

Tree
The Tree that Grants Wishes: Legend of the Kalpataru

Essentially, Kalpataru is a tree conjured into existence by human desire and belief.

Ganga Sagar Mela
Ganga Sagar Mela: A Colourful Mosaic of Humanity

Where the holy Ganga meets the sea, faith blossoms under vibrant skies, uniting hearts at the serene Ganga Sagar Mela.

,

When the Little Trains of Bengal Told Big Stories: The Forgotten Saga of McLeod Rail

Tiny trains stitched Bengal’s villages together—stopping for waved hands, carrying lives, memories, and a century of softly moving dreams.

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Transcreation

Essential readings for today

Poetry
, ,
Beyond the Screen’s Horizon

These poems drift through lit chambers of wakefulness, dreaming of error, darkness, and the old, broken mercy of sleep.

Pablo Neruda
, ,
Pablo Neruda: Selected Poems

Silence gathers around us, and in that pause, Pablo Neruda lets the trembling world reveal its hidden wounds and brief hopes.

Transcreation
Against the Silence: Bengali Poems of Protest and Hope

This compilation presents four major twentieth-century Bengali poets, demonstrating poetry’s role in resisting, remembering, and renewing during socio-political upheaval.

Firefly
,
Firefly or Minuku Hulu by ManjuNayak Challuru

I should collect all the chits from these people so I can calculate the amount of pain in the world.

John Taylor_Franca Mancinelli_Altar at the Sea_Updatede Cover
,
At the Altar of the Sea

Franca Mancinelli’s poems, in John Taylor’s translation render the ordinary, the natural, many-hued and wondrous.

Ajir Kutty Bus Stop Poem Cover
, ,
The Bus Stop at Kandanassery and Other Poems

The poignant poems of Rafeeq Ahmed, deftly translated, touch the veins of village life at Kerala, negotiating constantly between tradition and modernity.

, ,

Beyond the Screen’s Horizon

These poems drift through lit chambers of wakefulness, dreaming of error, darkness, and the old, broken mercy of sleep.

Support thespace.ink magazine for literature and culture. Subscribe Now

Fiction and Poetry

Essential readings for today

Rabindranath Tagore
The last Flames: A Play

A play based on Rabindranath Tagore and BAsanta Koomar Roy, a US based journalist and author.

Our Old Selves

Short poem by Oishika Ray

Uncut Poetry : Calcutta – A Lover’s Epitaph

The city of Kolkata has seeped deep into Suni Bhandari making inroads into his soul. His poetry is a mere reflection of his relationship with

The Dowry (Tagore translated)

They demanded ten thousand rupees and a large number of gifts as a dowry.

Poems to Treasure

Vikram Seth became my path finder and made me the poet I am today.

The Catskill Mountains by Vir

Vir Sen paints the Catskill Mountains he visited during a recent vacation.

A storm at Sea
,
I Will Cross the Sea of Desires

Translated by Hindol Bhattacharjee from the Bengali song by Tagore. The original song was composed at Santiniketan, in 1922. I will cross the sea of

Image courtesy he busy.org
Ilish Mach: From Bone To Hamstring…

Apparently we've all originated from a fish. But that as fate would have it, it was a fish that ruined my day.

,

The Mysterious Case of The Goddess Jeans: Part 1

His journalistic nose twitches at a familiar scent – this may yet be the scoop of the century.

Support thespace.ink magazine for literature and culture. Subscribe Now

Cartoons

Space Cartoon

Hey diddle diddle, we have a problem.

Videos

Essential readings for today

Anton Chekhov
,
Video: Anton Checkhov – Birthday Tribute

His works remain classics today. Chekhov’s influence - his “gun” principle, his subtle realism, his compassionate eye - shapes how we tell stories even now.

Federico Fellini
,
Video: Federico Fellini – The Maestro of Dreams

He expanded the language of cinema, proving that the most profound truths could be told through dreams, memories, and unparalleled imagination.

Jane Austen
,
Video: Jane Austen – Birthday Tribute

Her legacy is nothing short of monumental. Austen pioneered a new, realistic style of novel focused on ordinary people in everyday life.

Walt Disney
,
Video: Walt Disney – The Man Behind the Mouse

Walt Disney left a legacy of imagination. He believed that “laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.”

Harivansh Rai Bachchan
,
Video: Echoes of a Timeless Voice – Harivansh Rai Bachchan

He was born Harivansh Rai Srivastava. But he chose to write as Bachchan - a word that means “child.” It carried innocence, simplicity, and humility.

Arundhati Roy
,
Video: Arundhati Roy – The Voice That Refused to Fade

Her first novel changed everything. The God of Small Things, published in 1997, won the Booker Prize and catapulted her to international fame.

,

Video: Anton Checkhov – Birthday Tribute

His works remain classics today. Chekhov’s influence - his “gun” principle, his subtle realism, his compassionate eye - shapes how we tell stories even now.

Support thespace.ink magazine for literature and culture. Subscribe Now

Photostory

Essential readings for today

Winter
Winter in Kolkata 

Winter in Kolkata arrives gently, wrapped in pale sunlight and lingering fog.

New York City
Snowfall in New York City

Pathways become intricate mazes, etched by whopping snow boots crunching through fresh powder.

Faith
Photostory: Faith

Pilgrims arrive with dust on their feet and prayers in their throats—old men leaning on sticks, women clutching flowers, children blinking at the dawn.

Chadar Trek
Chadar Trek: Walking on Frozen Zanskar

The cold is sharp, often below –20°C, testing strength and spirit. Yet every step is a lesson in patience and courage.

Terracotta
Terracotta Panels depicting events related to Hindu epic Mahabharata in West Bengal Temples

Across Bengal’s terracotta temples, Mahabharata scenes emerge sparingly, decoded through careful scholarship, memory, and the patience of stone and history.

Christmas Celebration
When Christmas Paints the Streets of Kolkata

Moments of warmth, resilience, and togetherness - that together form a larger narrative of the city celebrating Christmas in its own distinctive way.

Winter in Kolkata 

Winter in Kolkata arrives gently, wrapped in pale sunlight and lingering fog.

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Games & Puzzles

Crossword 103
Crossword 102
Crossword 101

Voice & Views

Essential readings for today

Technocrat
Shining Bright: An Interview with Maitreyi Chatterjee, an Young Technocrat from Kolkata

Maitreyi is not only building safer, more trustworthy technology—she’s living proof that determination and heart can turn modest beginnings into extraordinary impact.

Tom Stoppard
,
The Playwright as an Intellectual Jester

Saikat Majumdar reflects on Tom Stoppard, theatre, postmodernism, and the personal memories that shape writing and performance.

Anuparna Roy
,
The Voice for the Unheard 

A conversation with Anuparna Roy by Surela Chakraborty, exploring her Orizzonti Best Director Award and the making of Songs of Forgotten Trees.

Frederick_Forsyth_scribles_mousumi_duttaray_10.6.2025_VB
Remembering Frederick Forsyth

I woke up to the news that Frederick Forsyth has passed away, and instantly,Life was all about sneaking thrills and chasing stories.

Arundhati_Gupta_Devicraft_Book_Review_30.5.2025VB
,
Devicraft Each Stitch Tells Her Story…by a woman for the women!

It is an 18th century Pahari miniature where Lord Shiva is shown helping Parvati stitch a quilt.

Woman Artist_
,
“A woman has to find her own path”

Artist Kiran Dixit, who exhibited in Kolkata recently, is the only female living disciple of Ramkinkar Baij

Shining Bright: An Interview with Maitreyi Chatterjee, an Young Technocrat from Kolkata

Maitreyi is not only building safer, more trustworthy technology—she’s living proof that determination and heart can turn modest beginnings into extraordinary impact.

Support thespace.ink magazine for literature and culture. Subscribe Now

Travel

Essential readings for today

Khonoma
A Walk in the Hills: Khonoma, Nagaland’s Green Heart

As we climbed the final concrete switchback, Khonoma emerged: a green amphitheater of life, anchored by that grand church at the entrance.

Hangseshwari Temple
Hangseshwari – where tantric philosophy merge with architectural brilliance!

Hanseshwari Temple rises in lotus-like spires, blending tantric symbolism, royal history, and unforgettable architectural wonder in quiet Bansberia.

Grand Teton
Hayden Valley, Yellowstone Lake, West Thumb Geyser Basin (Part: 3)

A journey through Yellowstone and Grand Teton—where nature’s grandeur humbles the soul, blending wild beauty, geology, and quiet spiritual reflection.

Yellowstone
Grand Canyon of The Yellowstone (Part 2)

A vivid journey through Yellowstone’s grandeur, from its fiery geology to wild valleys and timeless history, where nature meets human wonder.

Yellowstone
A Journey Back to Self and Nature: Yellowstone and Grand Teton 

What do you say about a destination that has been praised innumerable times? How do you describe a marvel that has been photographed extensively?

MEGHALAYA_Travel_Aradhita_Banerjee_29.06.2025_VB
Reverie of a Pluviophile: Exploring Magical Meghalaya

The essence of Meghalaya is intermittent showers from enveloping clouds and waterfalls cascading down lush hills.

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