New Delhi: Writers from Meghalaya Janice Pariat and Desmond Kharmawphlang took part in the six day long annual ‘Festival of Letters’ organized by the Sahitya Akademi with a focus on tribal, oral and Northeastern literature concluded here on Saturday.
Four authors including Pariat from Meghalaya talked about writing in a region consi-dered tumultuous, their struggles and aspirations. Pariat became famous in the literary scene few years ago with her collection of short stories, Boats on Land that explores the lives and fables of Meghalaya.
With her subsequent novel, Seahorse, she shifted to Delhi and considers it important to move beyond labels and geographic boundaries. She got a lot of help and mentoring from older, more established writers from the region and would love to mentor younger writers if they approach her.
A session on North East literature was a part of the itinerary, where panelists discussed about the writers and their work. Chaired by Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer Subodh Sarkar, the panel included Assamese poet Pranay Phukan, Khasi-English bilingual writer Desmond Kharmawphlang, Manipuri poet Ibomcha Singh and Bengali poet Binayak Bandyopadhyaya.
The Akademi is organising a Tribal Language Poetry festival which saw tribal poets from across the country reciting poems in their native languages. This was followed by the respective translations in either Hindi or English.
The Akademi, which has its centre for tribal and oral literature in the Northeastern part of India, has recently opened a new centre in Delhi. ‘Purvottari,’ a writers’ meet for authors hailing from North and North Eastern India was organised as part of the six-day long festival.
The festival also featured a young writers’ festival called ‘Yuva Sahiti,’ and ‘Spin-A-Tale’ for children besides a host of cultural performances from different parts of the country like ‘Raslila and Pung Cholom’ from Manipur and ‘Cheraw’ or Bamboo dance from Mizoram. According to Sarkar there is a change in mindset, what with Indian language writers finally realizing that writers from Assam, Manipur and Mizoram are equally strong. He felt that North East literature is emerging in the gamut of Indian literature.
Sarkar felt that translations can be the ideal way to rediscover literature from the NE region. For several years, Sahitya Akademi magazine has been publishing the works of writers of the North East, and others need to follow suit, he reminds.
It was recollected that last month attention of India’s book lovers was drawn to Easterine Kire of Nagaland and Janice Pariat (Meghalaya) — both were shortlisted for one of the most prestigious literary awards in the country. Kire eventually won it for her novel, When The River Sleeps.
