Out of Print 8

The June 2012 issue of Out of Print goes live – in July! Which might cause some sense of being out of sync among our readers. But we trust they have the faith and imagination to handle it.

In this issue we are pleased and proud to present six new stories.

We feature Rahul Soni’s metaphoric and finely told Local. A man on a local train in Mumbai finds himself transported to a place that echoes his emptiness of purpose, a solitary space where all is minimised to the random, to the accidental. Radhika Venkatarayan’s The History of Objects also examines a minimal existence, although her story is about acquisition and the meaning of letting go. The Brothers Kansara, an extract from Vidya Samson’s Indian Maiden’s Bust Loose uses a light hearted and amusing style to deconstruct the meaning of family and the mindlessness of social constraints. In Mansha Tandon’s The Invisible Constituency the reader must once again confront societal constraints, this time, with devastating consequences – the mass produced working environment of the young technology recruit allows little room for individuality. Anubha Yadav’s Naked Gods told from the point of view of a child is an intensely observant piece that follows the disintegration of a young man who is unable to come to terms with the corruption of his own innocence. Sashikanta Mishra’s Deerskin deals with a different scale and scope of corruption – social and institutional. Balance is perturbed when an unshakeably honest forest officer is posted in the region and only a higher power can resolve the situation. 

The issue features art by Anju Dodiya entitled The Difficulty.