Feb-March 2023 issue
Feb-March 2023 issue
I am delighted to bring out our first issue of Confluence for this year. In December last year we published our twentieth year anniversary issue as an expanded issue. I am very grateful to those readers who have greeted me personally and through social media on the publication of this milestone issue. As usual, in this issue we have put together a variety of genres from some talented writers. Also we are introducing some new writers in this issue and I am sure our readers will welcome them. Some readers have suggested that Confluence should carry more writings on the topics of issues affecting us. I believe any modern literature should reflect the issues that affect us on a day to day basis. Through articles, stories, poems and paintings we should discuss these issues with an open mind and bring more awareness among our readers and wider public. Many of our writers have done this in the past but I would like to ask others too to consider writing on these topics whenever they are able to do so. I am sure creativity can be used to provoke debates and discussions within the society to find solutions to some of the important problems affecting us. Many of us have been thrilled to hear and experience what the AI (Artificial Intelligent) could do to us in finding answers to many questions we face on a daily basis. However, the recent launch of some AI based virtual products has created a serious debate among the intellectuals and policy makers about the threat they could pose to society in general. Can AI be a threat to us as the most intelligent creatures on earth? Can this be used for malicious purposes too, as evidenced since the invention of computer chips? Many serious questions remain to be answered. I am very pleased to say that some of our writers have expressed their desire to get involved in the production of Confluence and assist us in various ways. I wholeheartedly welcome their suggestions and will certainly utilise their talents wherever we could use for our future issues. I am sure it will speed up the production of our issues and help us to release each issue on time while enhancing the quality of the magazine too. We are greatly indebted to Prof. Subhash Chandra, one of our longstanding writers for sharing his expertise with us on certain matters and volunteering to proof read the magazine, in the capacity of an editorial advisor. Dr. Meenakshi Mohan too has been advising us on various editorial matters recently and I thank her very well. I hope our readers will find the entire issue an interesting read and I look forward to hearing their feedback soon.
