Unlike Water by Vikram Kapur

After the girl left with her parents, Dad settled in one of the chairs on the balcony and pitched a series of reasons as to why she would make a good wife. She was the daughter of one of his closest friends and, hence, came from a known family. She had been raised in the …

Basant by Palo Stickland

Palo was born in the Punjab but has spent most of her life in the Glasgow area. She began writing three years ago after retiring from local government education department. She is currently writing her first novel as part of a postgraduate degree in creative writing at the University of Strathclyde. This is an extract from her story, …

Ordinary Dreams by TS Abilash

The vendor selling fruits on his trolley with little paint left on it was crying and shouting loud, ‘Ber-le lo- Ber’ (*1) in the busy market of Mandai. The sun was scorching down upon him from right above. He felt the heat. He looked up with his eyes half open and half shut. Salty sweat …

Ayah by Leela Soma

Leela Soma lives in Scotland where she works as a Principal Teacher in Glasgow. She recently won the Margaret Thompson Davis Trophy for the first 10,00 words of a novel. This is an extract from her short story Ayah which has previously been published in SQA’s new ‘Write Times’.  It was a tropical night, a heavy navy curtained …

Rahul Bajaj plays Bollywood Roulette

  Every year thousands of young men and women come to Bollywood in the hope of becoming the next big thing. Few make it. Bollywood Roulette gives a voice to these actors and educates those who are pursuing the Bollywood dream. TAWP speaks to Rahul Bajaj to uncover the truth behind the glitz and glam behind Bollywood… …

Momtazbh Begum Hossain on Bollywood Crafts

  Bollywood Crafts celebrates the creativity and beauty of Bollywood. Each crafting project has been inspired by a Bollywood movie and can be made up by a novice or experienced crafter alike. The projects are fun and easy to follow, with clear simple instructions. It is one of the few books which has applied the …

Once Upon a Time in Bollywood

  Once Upon a Time in Bollywood presents an extravaganza of essays on globalization and contemporary Hindi cinema. The wide ranging analytic strategies in the collection—including ethnographic self-reflection, literary comparison, economic contextualization, and biographic study – bear witness to Hindi cinema’s aesthetically elaborate and politically entangled treatment of postcolonial concerns. Together, these essays invite fresh, …

The Pariah by Dina Begum

Why should she feel as though she is living in somebody else’s house? It was hers by right. She had been the one to marry him and move with him to a house that resembled a hotel after all. The rooms do not feel as though they belong to her somehow, pale washes of blue …

Zahid Hussain on The Curry Mile

The Curry Mile is a warm novel which follows the story of daddy’s girl, Sorayah Butt. When her dream life in London ends in heartache she returns home to Manchester. When the family business threatens to belly up without her intervention, Sorayah is forced into a dilemma: should she rescue the business or should she …

Provoked – When is it OK to kill? by Ashanti OMkar

Ashanti OMkar is a journalist, poet, presenter, singer and overall media person based in London. Born in Sri Lanka and raised in Nigeria she spent her teens in the UK and later graduated from The University of London. She left behind a flourishing IT career, having worked for the likes of Oracle, Business Objects and Pepsi …