PAGE TURNER - Pradip Acharya Recommends

Pradip Acharya is a former professor of Cotton College in Guwahati and a prolific translator in Assamese and English. He has some well known translations to his credit, including Ancient Gongs and When Seas Meet (translated from Assamese); and Krishnanga Kabir Kabita (an anthology of Black poetry translated into Assamese). Talking to Gitanjali Das, he says that writers from the Northeast have mastered different idioms and will evolve a vision of life in the years to come

Pradip Acharya

What does literature mean to you? Do you think it has any relevance in our day-to-day lives? According to you, does it have anything to do with all that is happening around us?

Literature is enriched understanding of life. And since it is the understanding of life, it has relevance in our day-to-day life in every way possible. When it comes to literature one does not write about something that is not relevant to our lives. When you advertise a fridge or a microwave, it relates to life in a different way. But when I talk of literature I mean creative literature. Anything you write cannot be literature.

How close is your relation with literature in general, and with literature of the Northeast in particular?

Literature cannot be general. It always has to be qualified. Often, it is qualified with reference to the region or language it originates from. Thus we have literature from the Northeast or we have Assamese literature, or Meitei, or Naga, or Hindi, or English.

What future do you see for literature from the Northeast?

I feel the future of literature from Northeast is very bright because there are so many good writers. We have different realities to express. Our writers have mastered different idioms and in time, they will also evolve a vision of life.

Name one book that had a lasting impact on you. In what way?

Dante’s Divine Comedy has made a lasting impression on me in many ways.

What book would you recommend for our readers and why?

No, I will not make any suggestions to the readers. Readers will find out what kind of books are to their liking on their own. Why should I impose my taste on them? My taste, like everyone else’s will be limited.

PAGE TURNERS - Monisha Behal Recommends

Monisha Behal isfounder member and chairperson of the North East Network, a women’sorganisation that has initiated several projects on women’s development withinthe region. She tells Uddipana Goswamishe feels happy when writers from the Northeast are read by people elsewhere

What does literaturemean to you? Do you think it has any relevance in our day-to-day lives?According to you, does it have anything to do with all that is happening aroundus?

To me reading fiction or non-fiction that deals with socialrealities is good literature. I personally feel that a truly good book is whenI am at work and look forward to returning home to read the rest of it! Onething is certain that celluloid has taken over the minds of people in differentways, decreasing reading habits of people. And yet, literature has relevance toour daily lives because people are reading, whether it’s is in the form ofnewspapers, journals, magazines and books.

How close is your relationwith literature in general, and with literature of the Northeast in particular?

I am not an avid reader like many of my friends. But theliterature of the Northeast attracts me because I work on issues of the region.Regional literature is wide ranging, from fables to grandmothers’ tales, ruralstories and those depicting contemporary problems. Being most familiar with the issues of womenI have gone through a range of literature dealing with the subject, in relationto our situation, the neo liberal contradictions that put women into risks andthe decline of food sources in the face of infrastructure development and bigbusiness. In this context, novels have actually represented the above-mentionedissues.

What future do yousee for literature from the Northeast?

Literature is all-pervading and it will always have a largereadership, especially in Assam. Journals and magazines in the vernacular are most appealing to readers.They deal with contemporary issues that many are familiar with. Since newspapersare widely read all over the region, they should do a lot of knowledge-sharingthat deals with today’s issues in a user-friendly way. The target should be theyouth and they must get to know things that are happening in the world ofperforming arts and sports which may give them an opportunity to make contactswith people in context here and nationally.

Name one book thathad a lasting impact on you. In what way?

There are so many I can think of, though the novels ofRohinton Mistry and Amitav Ghosh made a considerable impact on me. Thenarratives kept me glued to them because they relates to the now and then ofhistory as well the human struggle for survival and self-respect.

What book would yourecommend for our readers and why?

If one is interested in social issues (women in particular)then go for books that have been produced by Zubaan Publishers. It is anindependent non-profit feminist publishing house, based in New Delhi. I wouldrecommend it because of the translated poetry and novels of Northeast writersin English. For instance, Zubaan has produced Irom Sharmila’s poetry inEnglish. It has made it easy for me to understand her ideas and hersensitivities. Finally, it gladdens my heart when people of different walks oflife and cultures read our region's novels and non-fiction too. Such books areavailable in Anwesha in Guwahati.

I would also like to mention a few limericks that Idiscovered here in Assam and about Assam. To quote one, (with due permissionfrom the author):

Party activist ofMaligaon

An upcoming partyactivist from Maligaon

Was adept in numbingand settling any row

He was asked to leavehis brain

at the MLAs domain

but was allowed toretain

his crowd gatheringknow-how.

I would think these limericks, more than hundred in number,must be read.

PAGE TURNERS - JV Hluna Recommends

Founder member of Mizoram People’s Conference, JV Hluna has authored five books in Mizo and English: Education and Missionaries in Mizoram, Church and Political Upheavals in Mizoram, Khandaih harhna, Zoram Walsh Missionary te chanchin,  Zawlkhawpui Senmei chan Ni and Brig T Sailo chanchin. He tells Sanjana Baruah that it is important to ground literary creations in reality and Northeast abounds in such writings

What does literature mean to you? Do you think it has any relevance in our day-to-day lives? According to you, does it have anything to do with all that is happening around us?

Literature as they say is an imitation of life and an expression of what is experienced and witnessed in our day to day lives. As such, it offers a reflection of life – or a picture of life as one among us has understood it. It also provides a lesson for those who are willing to learn.

How close is your relation with literature in general, and with literature of the Northeast in particular?

As a student of history I have been particularly interested in literature that displays strong historical links, even if they are creative works of fiction. Although this is a personal preference, I also believe it is important to ground our creations in reality. The literature of the Northeast is particularly fertile in this aspect, probably because of our many social and political trials. Two out of five among my own books are biographical while two others were recollections on events that took place in Mizoram.

What future do you see for literature from the Northeast?

The great increase in the volume of works published from the Northeast in itself is evidence of its growth and development. Literature from the Northeast is also being increasingly read by a wider audience. More and more people are now interested in learning more about the relatively unknown region and looking at what this unique region has produced. With the emergence of younger and more talented writers, literature from the Northeast will soon find a place of pride, especially if more books are translated to reach a wider audience. Also, we have to offer opportunities for comparative study.

Name one book that had a lasting impact on you. In what way?

The Bible. Whenever I read it, I found new teachings for life, for the individual as well for the nation.

What book would you recommend for our readers and why?

I would recommend the Bible. It is a good literary text. It also has historical importance and moreover, the book contains moral teachings.

PAGE TURNERS - DILS LK Sinha Recommends

Dils LK Sinha is the president of the Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Sahitya Parisad and has authored numerous poems, books and plays. Talking to Gitanjali Das, he says that he fears the extinction of his language

What does literature mean to you? Do you think it has any relevance in our day-to-day lives? According to you, does it have anything to do with all that is happening around us?

Dils LK Sinha

Literature is the reflection of life in terms of humanity. It is a means to the ultimate truth in the inner soul of man. Through poetry, I try to spread knowledge about the Bishnupriya Manipuris, which is on the verge of extinction, and at the same time I try to express feelings which are hard to share in other mediums. Literature mirrors  society. We learn about things that happened in the past through books. In the same way, our posterity will find out what we feel now through our writings. Everything happening around us, from terrorism to price rise, finds an outlet through literature.

How close is your relation with literature in general, and with literature of the Northeast in particular?

I won’t classify literature because I feel it is general. The word mother, in whichever language you utter, addresses the same person  everywhere. I feel folk literature in Assamese, Bodo, Rabha, Mising, Manipuri, Mizo and others are very developed. I have a collection of Bishnupriya Manipuri folktales to my credit. Folk literature is a very interesting genre. It attracts readers of all ages. Bishnupriya Manipuri is a marginalised community, but we feel we are very much a part of literature in general.

What future do you see for literature from the Northeast?

The future of Northeast literature is very bright. With book fairs like the 13th North East Book Fair being held and books focusing on the region being published, the future ahead is bright. However, I fear that Bishnupriya Manipuri literature will become extinct. More and more elite litterateurs and scholars are joining our cause. But our literature is not as developed as Assamese, Bodo or Mizo, because it does not get financial support from any quarters. Moreover, there is no political patronage from the state. People associated with Bishnupriya Manipuri literature have translated many books into this language. The Gita has been translated a number of times by different writers since 1920. We are working with zeal without pondering much about how the future unfolds.

Name one book that had a lasting impact on you. In what way?

Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali, TS Eliot’s poem ‘The Wasteland’ and the Upanishads have made an impact on me. They have given my life some sort of a direction. Eliot’s poem is an amalgamation of the East and the West. His philosophy of life has really inspired me. He has taken so much from different cultures.

What book would you recommend for our readers and why? 

I would suggest they read the Upanishads and the Vedas. I don’t feel they are religious books. They reflect love for humanity. I would also ask them to read Eliot. Terrorism and the emptiness of our society are evident in his poetry.

PAGE TURNER - Sajal Nag Recommends

Professor of History at Assam Central University, Silchar, Sajal Nag has authored a number of books like Roots of Ethnic Conflict and India and North East India. He feels that literature from the Northeast will soon dominate the Indian literary scene

What does literature mean to you? Do you think it has any relevance in our day-to-day lives? According to you, does it have anything to do with all that is happening around us?

Sajal Nag, Professor

Literature to me is the representation of life, but representation cannot be ordinary depiction. It has to be such that it attains a higher form and becomes an art. Since literature is about life it has certainly relevance to everyday life. It emerges out of life and enriches culture. It makes civilization. In fact, the government should provide free copies of some important poetry, fiction and essays to every family for reading. Literature informs, it makes you aware and makes life meaningful. It makes people strong and sensitive. People must know their daily life, their tears, their laughter are all meaningful. These have reverberations somewhere else. Literature is the mirror of what is happening around us.

How close is your relation with literature in general, and with literature of the Northeast in particular?

I am very close to literature. I cannot sleep unless certain books of fiction and poetry are beside my bed. I may not read them all the time, but the thought that they are there and I can read them whenever I want makes me comfortable. It makes me sleep peacefully.

For me, literature has no region. Hence I read anything, be it from the North east, from Bengal, or elsewhere in the world.

What future do you see for literature from the Northeast?

I am aware of Assamese vernacular prose and poetry. Assamese poetry, I think, has made tremendous headway. It has moved ahead with such force that it is difficult to ignore it anymore. I am sad that some of the prominent young Assamese poets are not writing anymore.

English prose and poetry, I feel, comes naturally to the people of the Northeast. Suddenly there is a flood of books from the region, each of them fabulous and remarkable. I do not want to name them, but I think the poets and novelists from the Northeat are soon going to dominate the Indian literary scene.

Name one book that had a lasting impact on you. In what way?

I have just read Temsula Ao’s These Hills Called Home and Easterine Kire’s Mari. These had a tremendous impact on me as I was working on the Second World War and the impact of counter insurgency operations by the army on the Nagas. I feel the official information that I had on them had come alive and become more meaningful with these accounts.

What book would you recommend for our readers and why?

I would recommend Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih’s poetry collection. I always have a fascination for political poetry which is very rare and difficult to write. I think Kynpham’s poetry is extremely political. Mixed with aesthetics, it makes for wonderful reading.

PAGE TURNER - Rajkumar Meghen Recommends

Manipur’s rebel supremo, chairman of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), Rajkumar Meghen, might have stayed underground for decades, but not from the aroma of realistic and revolutionary literature. He speaks to Pankaj Borthakur, while being produced in court in Guwahati.

What does literature mean to you? Do you think it has any relevance in our day-to-day lives? According to you, does it have anything to do with all that is happening around us?

Literature is the reflection of our genuine thoughts and feelings. I see literature as a mirror of our life and society. It has significance and relevance in our daily life. I love realism in literature rather than its fictional aspects. As a human being, I have to work for the people who are deprived of their rights in their motherland. As a medium of social change, literature can do a lot for generating democratic thoughts in the real sense among the people.

How close is your relation with literature in general, and with literature of the Northeast in particular?

Rajkumar Meghen, Chairman, UNLF

I was a student of political science and international relations. Besides this, I had to stay far away from the crowd for decades during my struggle. I could not avail of the chances of reading masterpieces in the jungle. But I cannot forget the aroma of revolutionary literature that inspired many leaders of the world who had fought for the rights of people. I always preferred revolutionary literature in general when I was a student. Believe it or not, it was revolutionary writings of Ho Chi Minh that had inspired me a lot to carry out struggle for our people’s rights.I believe literature of the Northeast is developing as I have heard that many young talents have come into the realm of Northeast literature.

What future do you see for literature from the Northeast?

It is a very difficult question to comment on. But I can say personally that literature from our region should focus on the actual picture of deprivation and suffering of all sections of the people, irrespective of caste, creed and religion. This kind of approach, which we saw in our past also, will strengthen the sense of brotherhood among all the people of the Northeast. Realistic literature will play a significant role in the development of the Northeast, I hope.

Name one book that had a lasting impact on you. In what way?

I should not mention only one book in this regard. I read the writings of Ho Chi Minh many times in my life, which inspired me a lot to carry on with the struggle against the colonial power for the rights of Manipur and of the Northeast as a whole. Minh was the president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and he fought against colonialism.

What book would you recommend for our readers and why?

It depends on the tastes of our readers. I cannot recommend their books as I was not a voracious reader. I like books on Minh because he inspired me a lot. Readers have their own choices. I feel that sensitive people have always made the right choices for themselves when it comes to books.

PAGE TURNER - Rudy Wallang Recommends

Rudy Wallang, member of ‘Soulmate’, a band from Meghalaya, is a blues-guitar player, songwriter and singer. He tells Gitanjali Das that music can spread knowledge about Northeast’s rich literature.

What does literature mean to you? Do you think it has any relevance in our day-to-day lives? According to you, does it have anything to do with all that is happening around us?

Literature means knowledge. I read newspapers and magazines daily to find out what is going on around me. To me any kind of information is important. I mostly like magazines related to music such as Guitar Player and Guitar World which build up my knowledge about music. Coming to books, it depends on what I am reading. Fiction transports me to a different time and space which I enjoy.

How close is your relation with literature in general, and with literature of the Northeast in particular?

Rudy Wallang, Musician

Basically, I am not a bookworm or literary person. If a friend recommends a title, I read it. I read thrillers and biographies of musicians like Frank Zappa and Beatles. My daughter likes books by Sidney Sheldon and I borrow them sometimes. I am not too familiar with northeastern literature. Of course I read articles appearing in certain publications from the region. I remember reading Khasi folktales as a child. I enjoy listening to those stories if someone narrates them.

What future do you see for literature from the Northeast?

Music can go a long way in making people aware of the rich culture and literature of the Northeast. There are a number of folk bands in the region. There is a folktale in Khasi, ‘U Sier Lapalang’, which was made into a folk song by late Bah Dewisingh Khongdup. The song consists of about 27 verses. It’s about a young stag and some hunters. This song has been sung by many folk musicians. Our band has also sung a few verses from it in the song ‘Shillong’. But the problem with folk songs from the region is that most of them are sung in local dialects. However, they will help the people of the region to remember their roots. Music has a greater reach than literature. If you put melody to a story people will take it in better.

Name one book that had a lasting impact on you. In what way?

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach has inspired me a lot. The story of the book has a simple message: Follow your dreams and make things happen. Another inspiring book is the Bible. I’m a spiritual person, so they are food for my soul.

What book would you recommend for our readers and why?

If you haven't read Jonathan Livingston Seagull then you should. I guess any person can identify himself or herself with the main character of this book. I also like Paolo Coelho’s The Alchemist, Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet and The Book of Wisdom from the Holy Bible.

PAGE TURNER- KC Baral Recommends

Director of English and Foreign Languages University,Northeast Campus, Shillong, KC Baral is a well-known critic and writer. He tells Seven Sisters Post that one should not just read but have dialogues with books

K C Baral

What does literature mean to you? Do you think it has any relevance in our day-to-day lives? According to you, does it have anything to do with all that is happening around us?

Literature is always ‘on the side of life’. It teaches us how to respect life and how to remain human when humanity is embattled. It is universal as it brings home infinite creative possibilities and has relevance not only for today but for tomorrow as well. Literature depicts the ‘here and now’, our existential conditions, and also transcends them in asking why things happen as they do while proposing alternatives. From the mundane to the ideological to the spiritual, literature is the only human creation that transports us to the unknown and unknowable.

How close is your relation with literature in general, and with literature of the Northeast inparticular?

I have been a student and also a teacher of literature forlong. It is an intimate domain for me; I’m also an amateur writer of sorts. Iknow most of the writers from Northeast writing in English and in vernacularpersonally. I’m really grateful to most of them, for their generosity insharing their works with me, and often gifting me with their publications. Iedited Earth Songs: Stories fromNortheast India, a volume of stories in English from the region, forSahitya Akademi a few years back. I’m a participant, sometimes a critic andmost of the time, a passionate admirer of the freshness and quality ofliterature here and of the writers’ commitment.

What future do you see for literature from the Northeast?

NE literature has already arrived with the force of itsplural voices and articulations. The future is already inscribed and secured,for I strongly feel that the creative energy that circulates as well asmanifests in the written words holds immense possibilities.

Name one book that had a lasting impact on you. In what way?

There are many books that have sensitised me to multiplethings. As one grows up, it is difficult to stick to only one type of book;reading habits and choice of themes change. Among the few authors whose worksthat I love to return to are Dostoevsky’s TheBrothers Karamazov, Thomas Mann’s Deathin Venice, Ben Okri’s The FamishedRoad, Milan Kundera’s The UnbearableLightness of Being and Raja Rao’s Kanthapura. I’m also a fan of Oriyawriters such as Fakir Mohan Senapati, Gopinath Mohanty and Surendra Mohanty.

What book would yourecommend for our readers and why?

Reading is a matter of personal choice. One should read andkeep on reading, for each culture has its habit of reading. We in Indiaculturally patronise listening and speaking over reading. My suggestion wouldbe not just to read a book but to listen to it and have a continuous dialoguewith it. Only then is meaningful reading possible.

PAGE TURNER - AC Bhagawati Recommends

Renowned anthropologist AC Bhagawati heads the North-Eastern Regional Centre of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA). He tells Gitanjali Das that literature is the last hope of revival of understanding among the northeastern communities

AC Bhagawati, Anthropologist

What does literature mean to you? Do you think it has any relevance in our day-to-day lives? According to you, does it have anything to do with all that is happening around us?

Literature means something that instills a sense of hope in life and future. It provides us with enlightening ideas. It must never digress from reality. It mirrors the society to some extent but there is always scope for imaginative thinking of a positive kind.

How close is your relation with literature in general, and with literature of the Northeast in particular?

I am not particularly close to contemporary literature. I belong in the discipline of anthropology which is in the domain of social sciences. However, literature has always been a close companion of the discipline. There is a kind of organic bond between the two, especially in the northeastern situation.

What future do you see for literature from the Northeast?

The future is great to the extent that the creative writers in the Northeast remain rooted in their societies and try to ignite the people into creative thinking. Unless we recreate the understanding between the different communities, we can never have a well fortified present and future. Literature is our last hope of revival of understanding between the northeastern communities, especially children’s literature, as the children are our future.

Name one book that had a lasting impact on you. In what way?

I can’t be partial to just one book. I really enjoyed reading Rita Choudhury’s Makam. It is a combination of life and creative thinking. A humble attempt at creating cultural understanding are the books in the domain of simple story-telling like Burhi Aair Xadhu by Lakshminath Bezbarua or the various other folktale collections. They have always been a source of inspiration for me. Recently I read a book which escaped me in my childhood and youth, NEFAr Xadhu, published in 1957. It’s a collection of stories written by children studying in the schools of Arunachal Pradesh, then NEFA (North East Frontier Agency). The stories are about the life of the communities of each of the tellers.

What book would you recommend for our readers and why?

I would ask readers to read a book which has a concrete message of how relevant children can be in protecting the environment. It is called Kaziranga Trail written by Arup Kumar Dutta. I made my children read the book and lo and behold, one of them became a nature lover after reading it and entered the domain of environmental science and protection of wildlife. It is a very simple book with the help of which adults can get an insight into how children can be agents of change.

PAGE TURNERS - Lou Majaw Recommends

A musician from Shillong, Lou Majaw has attained fame both nationally and internationally. He tells Gitanjali Das that literature should teach people to start living like humans

Lou Majaw, Musician

What does literature mean to you? Do you think it has any relevance in our day-to-day lives? According to you, does it have anything to do with all that is happening around us?

You have to write something and get a very nice certificate for it to be considered literature. Literature can be about life, love, sunshine, peace, a rainy day or anything under the sun. When a person writes he lays himself bare. The relevance of literature depends on what one writes about. There are many that talk of history, of the Taj Mahal, Alexander, Hitler and what not. For me, this is not literature. Literature is something that should help society develop. It should teach people to start living as humans. Recently, I saw a documentary called Trial by Fire. It deals with religion, Babri Masjid, and so on. One is forced to wonder why one should bring all those things back. However, we have to bring up our past so that we can rectify ourselves for a better future. It’s like the road sign: “Stop, look, and go forward, don’t dwell on it.”

How close is your relation with literature in general, and with literature of the Northeast in particular?

You won’t believe it; I have no idea about literature, and for that matter, what philosophy is all about. I am just a high school kid. I know that I am born here to do something good. Be it through literature or music or anything, everybody is born to make a difference. I just want to make this world a better place in my own way.

What future do you see for literature from the Northeast?

I think the future of Northeast literature is very bright. We have got lots of creative minds. But let’s not talk only about the Northeast. We are not isolated from ‘mainland’ India. We are humans. The idea is to overcome our limitations. There are lots of people who exploit us, the environment, everything. We should go beyond that. I am talking about ‘silver linings and endless rainbows’. Everything doesn’t always have to be negative.

Name one book that had a lasting impact on you. In what way?

There are so many books. I remember the time when I learnt the alphabets for the first time. I learnt so many things from Alice in Wonderland. You can learn about survival, courage, bravery and a hell of a lot of things from Asterix, Phantom and Tanzan comics.

What book would you recommend for our readers and why?

I’ll suggest your readers like myself should go through the pages of Seven Sisters Post, and hopefully it will help us. It focuses on the Northeast, and I believe the people of the region should know about themselves. But why should we stay in a small pond? Take a step forward for the betterment of society. If you go to Delicacy and Khorika every day, KFC will run out of business.

PAGE TURNERS - M S Prabhakar recommends

Writer and journalist, M S Prabhakara, started his career as a teacher of English literature before turning to journalism. He is one of the most incisive observers of contemporary history today. Literature, he tells Uddipana Goswami, is what liberates us.   

What does literature mean to you? Do you think it has any relevance in our day-to-day lives? According to you, does it have anything to do with all that is happening around us?

Yes, literature certainly has all the relevance in our day-to-day lives. It means everything to me.  So long as you are alive, you use words, and literature is the most sophisticated way of using words. It enriches and liberates us every time. It gives us relief in crisis and joy in life. 

How close is your relation with literature in general, and with literature of the Northeast in particular?

I have a very close relationship with literature. In fact, I used to be a teacher of literature for many years. I enjoy reading old literature, especially old books. Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift, Eric Ambler, Dashiell Hammett are some of my long time favorites. I can never tire of reading Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire. Among the Northeastern writers, I enjoyed reading Jahnavi Barua’s Rebirth, Dhruba Hazarika’s A Bow String Winter, Mitra Phukan’s A Monson of Music. I also like the works of Temsula Ao and Easterine Iralu. However, I am not quite up to date with the latest trends and publications. I live in Karnataka now and the distance affects my knowledge.  

What future do you see for literature from the Northeast?

Northeastern literature has a bright future. The only problem I foresee is the limited readership. For instance, the percentage of people reading literature in English is limited. How many people do you think even know English? Then there is also the problem of readership for the writings in the diverse languages of the region. Despite these pitfalls however, the literature coming out of the region has a fine sensibility. I believe it can compare with any other literature of the world. 

Name one book that had a lasting impact on you. In what way?

Shakespeare has always been my favourite. His language, diction, sensibility, everything is excellent and I never get bored of reading his works. Troilus and Cressida is a play I return to over and over again. I love the play of emotions in it. 

What book would you recommend for our readers and why?

There are hundreds and thousands of books in the world which beg to be read. I cannot just recommend one particular book. But I do want that people should keep alive their habit of reading books.