The Summer
... begging the forgiveness of butterflies,
and beauty that we destroyed
in our hunt for life---Mamang Dai
I must confess that as children, the people of my generation knew very little about the North-eastern region of the country. Nevertheless, we were familiar with the famous Assam tea, Assam silk, the Biku festival, Kaziranga National Park, the hill station of Shillong, Chirapunji, the place with the highest rainfall in India, and, the annual floods in Assam, affecting thousands of people. Later on, as grown-ups, we learned about insurgency and ethnic conflicts in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Manipur.
India’s North-Eastern region, often considered remote and mysterious to the rest of the country, comprises seven states known as the “seven sisters”—Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, and Mizoram. Sikkim, which became a state in 1975, is also now a part of the North-East.
I am glad that I could visit Assam, Mizoram and Manipur long time ago and Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in more recent times. I was enchanted by their verdant beauty. The names of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, although not ethnic, evoke sheer poetry.
NE-Literary & Poetic Heritage
If one delves deeper, as I did, one discovers in the north-east a region rich in cultural diversity, where each state carries its own unique identity, history and heritage.
The Northeastern states share a deep-seated connection with nature, which finds profound expression in their poetry and literature. Rooted in oral traditions and folklore, these literary treasures have been passed down through generations, preserving the region's myths, legends, and indigenous knowledge. However, amidst modernization and socio-political challenges, this intimate bond with nature is facing erosion, underscoring the importance of preserving these cultural and linguistic legacies.
The most prominent concern expressed in many poems is a sense of loss and the all-pervasive shadow of violence—a land where “the ugly thud of the boots of both the extremists and the Indian Army” stands out as a reality.
Since the introduction of English and Hindi, a new generation of writers has emerged. Says one writer--“The troubled political climate, the beautiful landscape and the confluence of various ethnic groups have given rise to a body of writing that is completely different from Indian English literature”.
PART-1
Due to constraints of space, I am forced to divide the blog into two parts, for easy reading. Part-1 deals with the states of Assam, Arunachal Prasesh and Meghalaya.
NE Poets from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh & Meghalaya
Assam: A Beacon of Literary Excellence
It is indeed difficult to sum up what I have learned on this subject, in a few pages. The little research that I undertook shows that Assam has a rich tradition of poetry dating back centuries. From the lyrical verses of Hema Saraswati (13th century) and Madhava Kandali (14th century) to the socially conscious compositions of modern icons like Bhupen Hazarika, Assamese poetry reflects the ethos and aspirations of its people.
The Bhakti movement and Assam's folk heritage have significantly influenced its poetic landscape, fostering a tradition that celebrates both the spiritual and the mundane.
I am amazed to see an endless list of Assamese poets, which includes Srimanta Shankaradeva (1449–1568), a polymath and social-religious reformer; Madhavadeva (1489–1596) a saint, composer, poet, playwright and scholar; Lakshminath Bezbaruah (1864–1938); Mofizuddin Ahmad Hazarika (1870–1958); Padmanath Gohain Baruah (1871–1946 , regarded as the “Pitamaha” of Assamese literature); Hemchandra Goswami (1872–1928), a writer, poet, historian, teacher, and linguist who published the first Assamese dictionary; Ananda Chandra Agarwala (1874–1940), known for translating English poems into Assamese; Hiteswar Barbarua (1876–1939), known for long narrative poems in blank verse and sonnets; Raghunath Choudhury (1879–1967), a prominent poet of the romantic era, known as the “poet of birds”; Jyoti Prasad Agarwala (1903–1951), a noted playwright, songwriter, poet, and filmmaker, revered as the “Rupkonwar of Assamese culture”; Hem Barua (1915–1977), considered the father of modern Assamese poetry; Nabakanta Barua (1926–2002) known as “Akhud Kakaideo”; Hiren Bhattacharya (1932–2012),popularly known as Hiruda, a prolific poet who won numerous awards and accolades; Nalini Bala Devi (1898–1977) being the first woman Assamese poet to be awarded a Padma Shri and Nirmal Prabha Bordoloi (1933–2004), renowned as a poet, lyricist, and folklorist who won the Sahitya Academy Award in 1983.
I do remember Bhupen Hazarika (1926–2011), known as the Bard of Brahmaputra, who was a multifaceted talent, excelling as a playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, and filmmaker. He was affectionately referred to as “Xudha kontho” or “nectar-throated” due to his enchanting singing. His poems and songs emphasised humanity and universal brotherhood.
To quote a few lines from his poem The Wanderer: -
The world having embraced me as its own,
I’ve forgotten my own home.
I’ve become a wanderer.
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The stranger becomes my own in my mind, and my own people become distant.
Bhupen Hazarika’s songs have not only been translated into Bengali and Hindi, but also a number of other languages as well.
New Era Poets in Assam like Mahendra Bora, Homen Bargohain, Dinesh Goswami, Nilmani Phukan (Junior), Bireswar Barua, and Mahim Bora have introduced modernity to Assamese poetry.
11. Arunachal Pradesh: Bridging Tradition and Modernity
Arunachal Pradesh is home to diverse ethnic communities, each with its distinct language and culture. I was amazed to learn that with 26 major tribes and hundreds of sub-tribes, Arunachal has more than 90 languages!
Traditionally, Arunachal Pradesh’s literature was passed down orally through verse and song, with written references first appearing in Ahom burunjis (chronicles). The introduction of English and Hindi as mediums of instruction in 1972 led to a new generation of writers. Modern Arunachal Pradesh writers such as Mamang Dai, Rita Chowdhury, Dibang, Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi, Tamo Mibang, Takop Zirdo, Tony Koyu, Yabin Zirdo, Taro Sindik, Jamuna Bini, and Joram Yalam have made significant contributions to poetry.
They bridge the gap between tradition and modernity, infusing their works with elements of indigenous culture and contemporary themes.
Mamang Dai, a former civil servant, is one of the renowned tribal voices from the North-East. She recreated the pre-historic past of Arunachal Pradesh in The Legends of Pensam (2006), The Hidden Land (2003) and anthology The Balm of Time, River Poems.
“Dai’s poetic world is one of river, forest and mountain, a limpid and lyrical reflection of the terrain of her home state. Nature here is mysterious, verdant with myth, dense with sacred memory. There is magic to be found everywhere….”. Look, how profound are these lines!
The Voice of the Mountain
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There, beyond the last bank
where the colour drains from heaven
I can outline the chapters of the world.
............................................................
The past that recreates itself
and particles of life that clutch and cling
For thousands of years.
Her poem “The summer” quoted in the beginning is an expression of the collective anguish of our times.
111. Meghalaya: A Melting Pot of Languages and Cultures
Meghalaya, with its diverse linguistic landscape, is a melting pot of cultures and traditions. The people primarily speak Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia languages, corresponding to the state's main tribes. Bengali, Assamese, and English are also used, with English serving as the official language.
From the timeless verses of Thomas Jones Elias and Soso Tham to the contemporary expressions of Prof. Streamlet Dkhar, Khasi literature embodies the spirit of resilience and cultural pride.
Elias, a Welsh Christian missionary is credited with transcribing the Khasi language into the Roman script. He also compiled a Khasi dictionary.
Soso Tham (1873–1940), often referred to as the “Robert Burns of the Khasi Highlands”, is fondly remembered for his exquisite poems. One of his poignant poems reads,
Quietly he lives, quietly he dies,
Amidst the wilderness.
Quietly in the grave let him rest,
Beneath the soft green grass.
Meghalaya also boasts notable Hindi poets such as Nilmoni Phukan and Thangjam Ibopishak, Desmond Leslie Kharmawphlang and Desmond Karmawphlang.
The state now nurtures many young and talented English-language poets, carrying the legacy forward. Poems by some of the new generation poets in Meghalaya are impressive.
In his poem ‘The Wait’ Vancouver Shullai from Shillong again writes about NE identity.
How to love a broken man,
I am thirteen years of ignorance,
………………………………………………
I am Khasi, with no Khasi name,
Catholic, with no catholic name,
I am christened with imagination.
Watered with Precision,
And salted with Detail.
End of part-1 I have been able to show you only a glimpse of the poetry in the Northeast. Our journey into the world of poetry in the NE does not end here with the three states. We still have to traverse through the poetic heritage of the remaining states of the NE. They are planned to be covered in Part-11 of this write-up.
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(Based on an article by the author in Life Stream, Annual issue, 2022)