Writer and critic Miguel Fernandes Ceia interviews author Daisy Hasan, whose debut novel The To- Let House explores the forgotten conflict in Shillong, Meghalaya. Excerpts:
Do you think that people who have lived their whole lives within the same conflict are able to understand what it is like not being in one?
In a more philosophical sense, I think that conflict is endemic to the human condition so there is never a time when one is not dealing with some kind of conflict: either against something outside oneself—a political, social or cultural conflict—or a more personal conflict with one’s own morals, psyche or personal ‘demons’. Having said that, I think people who have spent long periods of their lives in the midst of long drawn-out conflicts might find it difficult to adjust to ‘normal’ situations.
What kind of psychological impact does this have on the people? Do you think that people manage to forget conflicts around them as a means of coping?
Conflict can make people psychologically insecure and perhaps, insular. However, on a day-to-day basis, we do ‘normalise’ conflict in order to carry on with our lives.
Do you think dialectics between conflict and a personal story is a product of the fact that, in the past, there were fewer women writing on less compelling subjects, or there not being enough strong role models?
There was always compelling subject matter to write about—a story becomes compelling or not depending on how it is treated by the author. Today more women are educated and liberated than they were in the past so they are more confident in expressing their own point of view. This is, of course, not to undermine the pioneering work of women writers in the past.
How do you see your writing? Is it cathartic or do you do it as a means to raise awareness about issues in the lands you describe…
It is both. In the first instance, it is a quest for personal, emotional and aesthetic fulfillment, but in so being, it also acquires some relevance to wider struggles and quests not just in the lands one writes about but also universally.
Hasan’s debut novel is available from Tara Books.