THIRUVANATHAPURAM: And it was so deep that Mamang Dai, an IAS officer of Arunachal cadre, left the civil services to give voice to the stirring in her heart. Many years later, Keki N Daruwalla introduced her first collection of poetry, ‘River Poems’, establishing her as one of the most prominent voices in Indian English literature. Her first published book was however a non-fiction work, 'Arunachal Pradesh: The Hidden Land' which documented the customs and the culture of a land that is still hidden by a veil of mystery for the rest of the world.
Her writing has diversified since then and she has to her credit two novels - 'The Legends of Pensam', (2006) and 'Stupid Cupid' (2009) - and children’s stories published in Katha - 'The Sky Queen' (2005) and 'Once upon a Moontime' (2005). She has been a correspondent for various newspapers, including The Telegraph, Hindustan Times and The Sentinel, and has also worked for All India Radio and Doordarshan. She was conferred the Padma Shri in 2011.
On her maiden visit to Thiruvananthapuram last month to take part in the Southern and North East Writers’ Meet organised by the Sahitya Akademi, Dai talked about her home state which nurtures the poet in her, and which is on a gradual process of evolution from its tribal moorings; her efforts as General Secretary of the Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society to bring the literature of the state to the attention of the reading public.
What it means to belong to Arunachal
Does it actually make a difference? I think it is only these days that people are becoming more and more conscious of geographic and ethnic differences, and wanting to segregate writing into North East and Southern and so on.
Arunachal was, until recently, a purely tribal state, left out of administrative policies. While
we are fortunate not to be displaced from our
territory due to historical and geographical reasons in the past - the British policy of non-intervention and the Inner Line Regulation Act followed in the Nehruvian era, there is a rapid change that is happening now. Along with political changes, the satellite TV has also brought in a revolution. We are slowly transforming from a remote frontier with a 2000 year old history into a full-fledged state. Elections are a pretty new concept.
Arunachal as the source of poetry
I feel privileged to have the great store of oral traditions of my land. The narrative ballads of birth and creation of man and his surroundings are so long they can last for many days when chanted by priests. The Adi community to
which I belong see the world as full of life - the rivers, the rocks, the plants - it is more an animist religion that we had, you know, which got extensively influenced by Christian faith, though not as severe as in Meghalaya which was the British capital of the North East. I lived abroad for many years and came back to realise how beautiful Arunachal is. It is so movingly quiet and green that you are transported into another world of experience.
Literature from the North East
There is a vast body of writing done in these states, but do not reach the reading public. Language is a major hurdle as many of the finest writers like Thong Chi (Assamese) write in their mother tongue. The one factor which actually broke out the region to the world is 'Katha' which published vernacular writings from the North East. See, many of the languages are non-script and we must find ways of preserving the classical elements in the oral traditions, documentation of the languages itself is a major area that needs to be looked into.
The North East Writers’ forum, of which I am a part, has carved a separate niche for the others writing in English. Through this body, we hope we can translate writers from the North East and also publish young writers.
Reception is important
When ‘Pensam’ was published, I was hugely apprehensive of how it will be received back home. But I found that people wanted to read it, saying, “we are the people of Pensam”. The books from North East do not reach the book shops. But, if there is a peer-to-peer effort at translation, I think we can get more books to actually reach the readers, beacuse, it is easier if someone from the same culture is doing the translation. Through writings, it is their culture and their own unique experiences that people want to share.
Look East policy of publishers
There is this great Look East policy adopted by big publishers recently. And the new thing coming out of this is the sudden surge of interest in the oral tradition translated into English or fiction using that kind of backdrop. But, you cannot say at the outset that it’s harmful. It is producing an interesting crop of writing. It is a two-way thing. In the big cities of the nation, these tales from the unexplored lands might be well-received. And it also gives a platform for writers from a part of the nation that has only recently opened up to the outside world.
Writing in English and writing as a woman
I write in English because I was born and brought up in Assam and educated in Christian institutions. Since the Adi language and
many others are non-script, I will have to use the Roman script even if I write in it. I still speak my mother tongue and by temperament also I believe I respond to our old oral stories. Whether I write as a woman or not, well, my faith is that issues of womanhood will be portrayed in my writings without a conscious effort, they will come through. I also believe that women are very strong, in fact I wonder if all tribal women are like that.
The Padma and after
The state has been very supportive I must say. Apart from that, Padma Shri has not really made any difference. I am happy that perhaps it will trigger a wider interest in book reading back home. It gives me immense satisfaction to see that I am fairly read in my home state, considering that books and reading habit took a long time to reach the people of my state. I will continue to work on my mission of looking for lost histories - the good weavers or the ballad singers of this land.
aswathy@newindianexpress.com