Red Chillies

By Sridala Swami

113° Fahrenheit on
the third day of May.
In Guntur,
every red chilli in the market
as if by concert
bursts
into sharp-tongued flames

and

the air breaks
into loud
applause.

“Red Chillies” from Pratilipi. (Via)

Also, in the same new issue, a short story by Sumana Roy entitled “My Mother’s Lover,” and, for readers of Hindi, an interpretation of Asad Zaidi’s poem about 1857.