Light and Shadow

Dima Hilal, an Arab-american poet creates buzz in media as well as in the literary ambience with her poems, which are the reflection of the humanitarian crisis of Lebanon, Iraq, etc. She is a resident of California now. Her works appear in the publications—San Francisco Chronicle, Orion literary journal, Aramco, The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology, edited by Nathalie Handal (Interlink Books, 2001) and Scheherazade’s Legacy: Arab and Arab American Women on Writing, edited by Susan Muaddi Darraj (Praeger, 2004). Hilal gives some insights on her works and leverage of dual cultures on her poetic creation in a candid chat.Excerpts from the interview: * Your writing is a form of activism. What is your personal view regarding this? I believe that writing is a very powerful form of activism. Writing can serve to document, record and witness. It has the power to humanize and paint a picture of what would otherwise be forgotten, or worse, remain invisible. It also brings the dialo

Though sometimes I am getting bored with daily newspaper stories, yet some news catch my attention. It may be an interview with a litterateur, stories of a sabbatical move, a solar bra, the non-conformists, Big B and Lalu’s blog, personal history of Barrack Obama, etc. When I was going through HT City, 14 June, 08 issue, the photographs of a woman with three buds of lotus caught my attention. Mostly in other days, the front page of HT City is about Bollywood or Hollywood celebrities or perennial stories of Ash and her hubby. It is about a cosmetic surgery namely revirgination or hymenoplasty. The twist line of the story is that ‘ A little cosmetic surgery is how young women are erasing their sexual history before marriage.”(Quote from the story)The news adds more “ Dr Devansh from Max Health Care, an expert in hymenoplasty says that the women who have approached him for the surgery do so for reasons of moral satisfaction. One of the patients who approached him asked, Can my virginity b

When I came back from my home with a shady heart in February, I met a Delhi University Research Scholar in my train journey. He is doing research on Arsenic Contamination in Ground Water. After friendly discussions, he asked me a traditional question, "Do you believe in God?" He carries a Bible with him and most of the times he was reading it.Most of the times in my life, I face this question. I said him, I do not believe in God, but in an invisible power. My answer is quite puzzling, in the middle juncture, a little God believer or not. He weaved a story to convince me that God creates this world and the Almighty exists. He quoted so many lines from Bible. A line is "A woman who fears to God is to be praised." I told him that I read it several times and familiar to so many similes, images and metaphors. Even I told him that I see supreme God believers who created unlimited infidelity and crime in their life. I said him my mother believes in God and does prayer at h

Amidst the dryness of Delhi, I miss the "Autumn Season" of my little village and its new looks, the green paddy field, the blue river Disang, the hills touching the horizon. The Kahua blowing in the bank of the river Yamuna couldn’t cool down my passion. Really it is an ecstasy for me to spend a few days in my little village amidst the magic of autumn season. How is amazing, wonderful, the seasonal delight of the idyllic life??????????? Oh, my little village, still you are in the lapse of nature. No, industrialization, no globalization………….

He was the Sun & Samurai. As I tried to forget him, his memories come and create puzzle to my daily life. He was none, but my brave and courageous father. He was extravagant and luxurious. Even in his saddest days he did not leave his originality. He never sacrificed his luxury for well breed of our siblings. He joined Indian Navy in 1957 and took VRS after 15 years. He told us splendidly the amazing days of war, his brave stories of war and exotic tales of war & sea so cleverly that I could not guess whether he supported war or not. He never told me about morality and marriage but said about self-dependency. He was liberal. He welcomed my friends as “Hi comrades”. He was modern, yet never left his roots, social mores and customs. Even he was more modern than my brother who is working in the corporate world. When I fear for something, My Mom says “You are not your father’s daughter. Be brave my little daughter.” He always cried for a lost world. His visit to a town is a metapho

Winter is dry, yet sensuous Nostalgia wraps me How can I forget The Kingdom of reminiscence?

Since my childhood, I have been fascinated by Buddhism, mostly by its outer charm than its spiritual significance as I amn’t totally a religious kind of person. The Buddha Vihar located near our neighboring village attracts my mind and when my mind questioned for it, no one could give me a satisfied answer. I had a friend who is a monk and sometimes I did visit the Vihar with him. But what is surprising to my mind, I was frustrated after visiting the Vihar as I have expected more extraordinary things here. I didn’t feel what I had dreamt earlier. Even I feel a little bit scared when I visit and pray at our local Namghar. But now after reading and writing a lot on Buddhism travel tour, my old fascination rose up and I am dreaming to visit this monastery located in Paro Valley of Bhutan. As Bhutan is near my state Assam.

I have to feel the pulse of the place by mentally visiting it as my job is a travel writer. I felt mesmerized when I wrote about Everest Base Camp, from where the mountaineers start their trekking to the highest peak of the world, Mount Everest. The Mt Everest is a fascination for me since my childhood when I read about it in my primary books. Even the story of Edmund Hillary made me a more freak of MT Everest. Though I couldn’t climb the MT Everest yet I have a dream to trek to the Everest Base Camp to have a crystal clear view of it.

Only after coming to Delhi I think for the first time in my life that that I live behind the mighty river Brahmaputra. The tributary of Brahmaputra, Disang flows near our house creating a spectacular idyllic setting. Just from the bank fo the river, you see the horizon, the hilly mountains of the Himalayas, the paddy field, etc. Assam tourism is still lagging behind the proper exposure. River cruising in Assam can be a great oppurtunity as we have all the places of imporatnce near the riverside such as Dibrugarh, Sivagasagar, Majuli River Island, Tejpur, Guwahati, etc. Working as a travel writer for a New Delhi based travel compnay I am mesmerized to enjoy my passion-travel writing. Writings of Kerala and its backwater cruise, culture and heriatge travel of this God’s Own Country always thrill me. Assam has also a heterogenous culture due to it presence of various linguistic tribes. Even there is always a sizzling mood of art and theatre in Assam. Even the celebration of the festivals