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Dear Comrades of DoubleSpeak,

As I write to you today, it is with a heart that carries both the weight of our times and the hope that sustains us all. The world, as we know, is passing through a crucible of crises that test the very fabric of our shared humanity. Geopolitical wars rage on across continents, displacing millions, breaking families, and casting long shadows over the promise of peace. Economic instability gnaws at livelihoods, widening inequalities and fuelling anxieties about tomorrow.

In India, as in many parts of the world, we see the crumbling pillars of social safety and education — institutions that were meant to be our sanctuaries and springboards. We witness with horror the persistent and pervasive crimes against women — acts that betray our collective conscience. Joblessness, particularly among the youth, deepens despair and fuels restlessness, as the promise of dignity through work feels ever more elusive.

And yet — and yet — amid these thousand crises, humanity refuses to yield entirely to darkness. People everywhere, despite their burdens, still strive to give shape to their dreams, their fears, their anguish, and their fragile hopes through words, through images, through acts of creation. In this, we are reminded of Tolstoy’s enduring truth:

"Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced."

And what is that feeling, if not the yearning for connection, for understanding, for a better world?

Tolstoy also reminds us: "The activity of art is… as important as the activity of speech itself, and as universal." In other words, art — whether it be poetry, prose, photography, or paint — is as vital to our survival as bread or shelter. It nourishes our inner life; it binds us through empathy, and it keeps alive our ability to imagine a future kinder than our present.

At DoubleSpeak, it is this unyielding faith in art as a force for good that drives us. We believe that in these times of fragmentation, literature and the arts can provide a common ground. Our zeal is to bring together voices — writers, poets, photographers, artists — from all corners, all walks of life, and all persuasions, so that together, we might weave a tapestry rich with diverse truths.

This magazine exists because of that belief: that collaboration across borders of geography and identity, rooted in empathy and in the defence of fundamental human rights, can help illuminate even the darkest corners. We wish to be a space where you can encounter perspectives that challenge you, move you, and remind you that you are not alone in your questions, your struggles, or your dreams.

But this vision cannot thrive without you. I urge all our readers to engage not as silent spectators, but as co-creators of this endeavour. Write to us. Send your critiques, your reflections, your disagreements. Tell us where we can do better, and where a work touched you or made you pause. Let us make DoubleSpeak not just a magazine, but a dialogue — a living, breathing forum of ideas, feelings, and shared humanity.

In closing, let me echo the hope that art keeps alive in us: that no matter how deep the crisis, as long as we continue to speak, to write, to create, and to listen, we will always have a path towards light.

In solidarity and hope,

Arpan Krishna Deb

Founder and Managing Editor

DoubleSpeak Magazine.