Hello to all, and welcome to yet another new issue of Ghudsavar!

It is a testimony to the impertinent tranche of history in which we now find ourselves that the English poetry section of this issue begins with three beautiful poems from Chinese poet Shibin Li, imagining not only Iran, but also the unique characteristics of each culture as much as connections between them. As you proceed through this issue, you will realise that war is constant and omnipresent in life: in the Hindi section, Smriti Amrit's poem 'गुलाब की चप्पल' (a wordplay on 'Gulab's Slippers' and 'Rose Slippers' – Gulab is a name as much as the flower rose) talks of the rose-coloured dreams that deceive our hearts and wits, thus enabling those in power whose means of staying at the top is through exploiting others. To bring an appropriate closure to an issue that starts with Li's poems evoking Iran, I end it with one of my own poems which I had written after being tormented on hearing about the massacre of little schoolgoing girls in Minab. Usually, I never publish any work of my own in this magazine, for I would consider that unethical, being its Editor, but the need to end the issue with a poem that presents an appropriate ending, considering the way it begins, was an overriding consideration here for me.

I hope all of you will enjoy each of the selected poems in this issue: I hope that your affection, respect and support for Ghudsavar continue as strong as ever. As always, I hope that English readers will also try their hand at reading some of the Hindi poetry, even if only through a translation app. There is so much for all of us to learn and draw inspiration from each other: perhaps this is all that is needed for people and countries to stop fighting with each other and stop bringing scoundrels to power.

Greetings!

Ankur Agarwal

Editor, Ghudsavar Literary Magazine

26 April 2026, Lillestrøm, Norway

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