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Literature, PoetryNovember 12, 2014

Of Idol Worship

Medusa by Tassaduq Sohail. Courtesy: ArtChowk Gallery.

Medusa by Tassaduq Sohail. Courtesy: ArtChowk Gallery.

This is the effect of atheism on a certain mould
of character – you build your gods out of stray people.
It is this too long half-moment’s gaze at some familiar
face (suddenly too beautiful, too unreal) that will
undo you. Watch your step and lower your eyes, lest
the illusion clasps on to the irises. Laugh harder, fill
your iPod with Mohammed Rafi. Write a morbid poem or two.
Remember all the time around old scars, meditate
on the leftover fanaticisms concealed beneath your skin.
Bury them deeper in. Wear anklets when you walk,
for the silver will protect you. Listen to your mother,
your grandmother, your toothless maid, the stories
shared in the kitchen under paanchphoron chitter.
Memorise them. Learn a new language and converse
with madmen on street corners. Don’t mistake yourself
for one of their kind.

~ Monidipa Mondal

Monidipa Mondal lives and writes in Calcutta, India. She received a Poetry with Prakriti award in 2011 and was a Commonwealth Scholar at the University of Stirling, Scotland during 2013–14.

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  1. A story, a poem | Brainspice Inc. says:
    November 18, 2014 at 6:48 PM

    […] poem I wrote in 2011 was recently published, in an online magazine called The Missing Slate. Here is a link. And here‘s a link to the original, which is one (punch)line longer than the […]

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One last love letter...

April 24, 2021

It has taken us some time and patience to come to this decision. TMS would not have seen the success that it did without our readers and the tireless team that ran the magazine for the better part of eight years.

But… all good things must come to an end, especially when we look at the ever-expanding art and literary landscape in Pakistan, the country of the magazine’s birth.

We are amazed and proud of what the next generation of creators are working with, the themes they are featuring, and their inclusivity in the diversity of voices they are publishing. When TMS began, this was the world we envisioned…

Though the magazine has closed and our submissions shuttered, this website will remain open for the foreseeable future as an archive of the great work we published and the astounding collection of diverse voices we were privileged to feature.

If, however, someone is interested in picking up the baton, please email Maryam Piracha, the editor, at [email protected].

Farewell, fam! It’s been quite a ride.

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