Goodbye 2018. Welcome 2019

Sunil Sharma

The march of Time continues relentlessly. A year gone; another about to dawn.

At the outset, Setu wishes its readers and writers the very best of the year to come and prays for universal peace and love in a strife-torn world. Peace, within and without, is of paramount importance. So is health---individual and of the community. As humanity moves further into the New Millennium, it stares at the threats of climate change, poverty, illiteracy, hunger and bigotry in the name of religion, region or an idea. To fight these scourges, it has to act as one global family with common goals and shared vision for the protection, preservation and sustenance of nature and the earth. In case of non- consensus on such vital issues, humanity is bound to suffer more and more the consequences of the deliberate ignorance of the governing elites, East or West. In an interconnected and interdependent world, the reality of oneness is to be recognized as sacrosanct, despite welcoming diversities of the human family.

In an atmosphere of blatant distortions and manipulations of facts and truth, the serious writing plays a crucial part. It challenges and demolishes the official narratives and posits the counter-narratives. The questioning of the status quo---at the cost of individual safety and survival in police-led states---is an essential part of arts. Sadly, a lack of such voices. There is no Sartre, Dostoevsky, Gorky, Golding, Mann, Grass, Neruda and Picasso to act as dissidents of the system. Mass culture has incorporated the bold voices. But, due to the dialectics of change and deepening contradictions of society, such voices are sure to emerge from the womb of Time.

In our modest way, we continue to find bold voices and promote serious writings, every month, in Hindi and English.

The last edition of the year is no exception.

Carefully culled, lovingly served, our monthly menu is before you. For this, we express our gratitude to both the readers and writers for their unconditional support.

Next year, Setu plans to innovate further and serve you in a smart way. Some features might be dropped. Others added.

Already, due to your patronage, the humble e-zine has crossed more than half-a-million viewership.

A remarkable record in its short journey and in a space cluttered with such e-zines.

Gratifying for the volunteering editorial team as well.

The mission is not the self promotion but promotion of quality writing and sensitizing the  public opinion within  the reading and writing community.

We have achieved that due to your unstinted support.

Thanks for that.

Thanks to the editors also, especially Anurag Sharma for publishing both the issue of the bilingual journal from Pittsburgh, USA, and, Rob Harle of Lismore, Australia for his constant support.

And congrats to the winners of the Setu awards for excellence for the year 2018.

Coming year, we plan to host an international Setu Fest, in Canada.

We will let you know about the details about the middle-of-the-year fest.

Meanwhile, please do write in.

Your views are important as the guide posts.

Once again: Happy New Year!

Sunil Sharma,

Editor,

Setu, English

December 31, 2018

Setu, December 2018