A new Bengali/English webzine, Urhalpool, has been launched by the local New Jersey group Shrishti. The magazine is edited by Gautam Dutta and the first issue consists of contributions from some great writers like Sunil Ganguly, Taslima Nasreen, Sreejato, Subodh Sarkar, Maillika Sengupta, Alolika Mukherjee, Jyotirmoy Dutta and others. The issue also includes interviews of Bratya Basu, Suman Ghosh, Gautam Ghosh, Noam Chomsky and others. The cover is painted by the celebrated artist Paritosh Sen.
Urhalpool is indeed a commendable effort. But as with most magazine, be it print or online, the challenge is sustaining it for the long term. I hope the publishers of this magazine keep up their good work through perseverance and love for literature and art.