Welcome to the Launch Issue of Ashvamegh
Dear readers, Ashvamegh welcomes you to its launch issue back in February 2015. We are very happy to bring our debut issue in online version for your readership. Please find below the editorial and issue navigation below it. We hope you will enjoy the issue with writings by the selected authors and poets. You can also download this issue for your readership in pdf version.
Ashvamegh: Issue I: February 2015: ISSN: 2454-4574
The Introductory Editorial for Ashvamegh by Alok Mishra
During the selection of a suitable title for our international journal, the term that flashed all of a sudden on the desk was – ‘Ashvamegh’. We thought over it for some time, and finally I marked the term final. For our friends who are not familiar with this word, I will discuss it in detail. The term ‘Ashvamegh’ is a Sanskrit word and it means ‘winged horse’ in English. This term is associated with a Yajna often discussed in the classic/epic Indian texts. According to the custom, after a king performed Yajna (an ancient as well current day ritual performed near sacrificial fire/havan kund), a horse was set off with a message that whoever would try to stop the horse, would have to battle the king. The distance that horse travelled successfully, as much of territory was marked in the name of the king. However, in most of the cases, no one dared to stop it as only the brave kings used to do Ashvamegh Yajna. As brave as Lord Rama, the brave Mahabharata warrior Arjuna also performed this Ashvamegh Yajna! Thus, we find the ‘Ashvamegh’ (winged horse) almost invincible!
Our motive behind this journal is almost the same as of the Ashvamegh Yajna; that is why we have named our journal after it. Literature is the essence of world. We cannot imagine a country prospering which has not the heritage of a great literature! I am proud to belong to a nation, which has taught the world many things! Nations must have proud of their literature. It is only literature that presents challenges and inspires us to pursue them. With these thoughts in mind, we thought of doing something for the cause of literature. We all know that other than web, no platform today is easily able to convey our message to the masses. We also selected this medium and our plan of an online international journal came into existence at www.ashvamegh.net!
Now that the winged horse of our ambition has started its journey, never to be caught or stopped, we hope that most of people know about the importance of literature. Only in the pages of literature can we have our respite when we are frustrated with the tedium of this fast moving world. Our mission is to spread the best literature to the maximum number of people.
We have decided to produce every month a compilation of the best literature we receive from around the world. Our platform will showcase poems, short stories, articles and research papers we receive from our visitors and scholars. We welcome everyone to come and join us in our venture to spread and propagate the art of conveying the constructive message to the masses… and thus, to promote our beloved – literature!
We hope and do believe that we will get support from the readers and writers. We are new to the venture. However, we know that we have the great opportunity to be with the masters of the field! I personally thank the team working with us – the members who have joined us from every corner of the world to make this effort a concrete reality of being called an international journal in real sense! We look forward to them to support and guidance in our effort.
At last, I would like to dedicate this first volume of our journal Ashvamegh to those who have been killed recently in an insane attack on the freedom of pen – the Charlie Hebdo team! May their soul remain in peace! Let us keep their mission alive; let our pens talk free the truth with bold and clear voices always!
I have subtitled the February issue ‘time … then and now’. This issue of time is very sensitive and often debated. People may vary in their notions concerning the old and current. These lines written by Auden inspired me to put this subtitle:
“What they call History
Is nothing to vaunt of,
Being made, as it is,
By the criminal in us:
Goodness is timeless.”
I have my own interpretations of ‘time… then and now’. I would like to share it with you all and wish you all a happy reading season here!
Time now and then!
The old man
Who does not move,
Speak, or listen
And has least of sight,
Once thrilled the world!
Alok Mishra
Editor-in-Chief
Selected Poems
Read the Poetry Section
Poets in the February Issue:
- Clark Cook
- Colin Jeffery
- Alicja Kuberska
- Leilanie Stewart
- Ewa Zelenay
- Richard Atwood
- MG
- Ken W Simpson
- Justin Clemens
- Michelle Noonan
- Diana Wends
Selected Stories
Read Selected Stories here
- Howard W Robertson
- David Barnett