Manjari Shukla
It’s a Tale of Two Cities, where two boys lived, David Copperfield and Oliver Twist. They were the best of friends and worked from the two cities for the same company named Pickwick Papers. They first met each other in a Christmas Carol at Bleak House, where the owner of the company gave the party. The host  was a noble man and had Great Expectations from himself to please all his guests, his son was Little Dorrit, who engaged himself in studies throughout the day. He had a big library where all his favourite books were lined up, the favourite was an incomplete work of a great writer, entitled The Mystery of Edwin Drood. David Copperfield and Oliver Twist came to know each other in the party, and a lifelong friendship was started in them. One day they planned to visit the famous bookshop in town, The Old Curiosity Shop, to buy something for Little Dorrit. To their astonishment they met Charles Dickens, who was present there for the release of his new book.
Manjari Shukla
Literary theory has always been a terrain, unexplored for me, the more I want to know about it, the more secrets it reveals to me. Many strands of theory and theoretical discourses often make me think and ponder about so many facets of a single idea, or view. We have so many glasses on our eyes, and I think theory gives us a freedom to choose any one of the glasses, and thereby allow us to give our views and opinions. Truly, it is having the power to make us realise the timelessness of a work of art. As many angles, as many interpretations. We are free enough to choose more than one glass for our eyes to make us believe on various ideologies and interpretations at a single moment of time. Reading a text is the first step towards analysis, the second reading gives us an insight, and how a text is unfolding itself starts appearing to us on our mental horizon, a brief knowledge of theories, help us to locate the text on that level, which seems perfect to us. Theory gives us a freedom, to interpret. We don’t need any yardstick to prove our point, a singular text can have infinite observations, by a singular reader, and it also gives us a choice to stick to one or more than one ideas at the same time. The world of theories is unique in itself, it’s a path where one can tread for as long as one wants, no barriers are there, a freedom of spirit, to articulate and express oneself, as the way one wants.




Manjari Shukla

So simple and delicate it was, fresh as the first ray of the morning and so beautiful that no image in the world can be compared to it. I was thrilled to have it in my bare palms, it was so very soft, and appeared to be alive with its own liveliness and spark. I was mesmerized by its beauty, and the moment for me appeared to freeze, when it landed on my palm, from somewhere above. I wanted to hold it, but its delicateness, held me from imprisoning it, even for a small while, I continuously looked at it, so pristine in appearance it was, slowly a gush of wind came and it took the small tiny feather with itself to a far unknown land. I was held back by the moment for a while, when the whole thing happened with me. I still remember the softness, the pristinity of the delicate small feather, which eventually gave me a moment worth cherishing forever.



Manjari Shukla
Rain drops on a broken column
Made me remember about my childhood plays…
Making paper boats,
Dancing madly in the rain,
Getting drenched in water,
Mom’s calling us to come back,
Our return,
For the Bhajjias and tea…
And a homely get together.

At a far distance,
Clouds were seen,
Accumulating themselves for the next shower,
Slowly and steadily,
The group of clouds
Started their drifting journey,
Towards the town, and
Lo!
It started raining again,
Few drops first appear,
On the window column of my house,
Then a full bag
Of raindrops,
Let themselves loose…
And once again,
Its rain, rain everywhere…
Manjari Shukla
Throbbing with life, bubbling with joy, they are my feelings, which are making me, feel so very happy and contented, that I am forced to articulate them in words. They are appearing to me, from within as dancing sylphs, beautiful are they… Merry making, inside me, and making me smile… even though I am alone, and by myself, talking to no one, nor sharing anything worth smiling… slowly they are engaging themselves, probably to the happiness vein in my body, and making me feel elated and gratified… this happiness is probably beyond definition, but Happy I am… and will be, I guess forever…