Edit: March 2018

Sunil Sharma

This March proved to be special!

Anurag Sharma, editor-in-chief and publisher, Setu, was on a personal, fortnight- visit to his beloved land India and despite having a busy schedule, decided to come down to Mumbai for two days---March 24-5---to spend quality time with his admirers here. On Saturday evening of March 24, SEWA, an NGO run by the prominent author-critic and social worker, Omprakash “Naman”, along with Setu, launched the first of mini Setu Literary Fest here in Kalyan, MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region). “Naman” has been a regular contributor to our e-zine and is one of finest poets writing in Hindi. It was a joint venture of a different kind for the central suburbs. Senior contributor and poet Gopal Lahiri and his wife were also there on this inspiring occasion. Accompanying Anurag was his younger brother Atul who serves in Central Reserve Police force (CRPF) as the assistant commandant and is also a sensitive Hindi poet. Atul has been awarded the President’s Medal for the meritorious services at the hands of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. Anurag was recognized for his literary services by the government of Mauritius last year in August. Such distinguished duo, along with select group of invited professors, management experts, principals and writers from Hindi, Marathi and English made a glittering event of literary discussion and poetry- reading that lasted three hours in the auditorium of K.M. Agrawal College. SEWA also facilitated Anurag, Atul and Gopal for their outstanding contributions to the world of liberal arts. Poetry reading was done in Hindi and English and the state of Hindi in India and USA was discussed with the chief guest Anurag. It was a memorable evening! Afterwards, in the subsequent week of his brief stay,Anurag was honoured in one of the central universities in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Overall, it was a very enriching visit for Anurag and us. A visit we will continue to cherish.

This issue is packed with almost- same features. Few occasional columns have been discarded. Another revived: Classics revisited: Lu Xun: A Madman's Diary. It is a classic inspired by Gogol and liked by the readers of serious writing. Lu Xun is an outstanding author and needs to be studied in the New Millennium for his style and views on China. 

Same with Gogol---the Great One to emerge from the depths of Russia. A beacon for the rest of humanity.

Such writers remain Eternal and always relevant.

By reviving a column like Classics, we aim to focus on the cultural heritage of the world and show how these old masters can continue to guide us and the coming generations about writing, life and philosophy, via their magical books.

And also serve as the gold standard for the reading and writing communities in the coming years as well.

Poetry, prose, reports, essays, interviews and a video recording done by noted poet Scott Thomas Outlar again bring diversity and vibrancy to our humble servings.

Hope you will enjoy this edition as well.

Sunil Sharma

Editor, Setu, English

Kalyan (MMR), India

Setu, March 2018