Those Unforgettable Homosexuals

Ever since I heard about Archie comics decision to include a gay character, Kevin, among their other characters, I have been forced to reflect on the state of homosexuality in our society. This thing has raised quite a few eyebrows among comic enthusiasts. I personally feel that it’s a very healthy step that Archie comics administration has taken. To keep up with the times that we are living with as of now, it is very important to include newer norms that are gaining more and more acceptance in society. Although homosexuality is not a new thing, its pattern as an accepted phase of human nature is something new. I still remember how shocked I was when I first learnt that Alexander the Great was a gay! Today, after living for six years in a students’ environment where free thinking is encouraged, I have become more comfortable with the fact that there can be a homosexual person in the neighborhood.

When I think about the possibilities of Kevin’s character, my mind also reflects back to my college years in Delhi University where being labeled as a homosexual was the cruelest joke that anyone could crack on you. Although in our hostel there existed a fabled gay society which was made up of guys who were single, it was all made in pure jest and there were no real gays in it. People used to furiously debate on these topics when among intellectual circles but in secret it was all blown out in pure jest! In the midst of this my mind revolves to those few self-confessed gay people that I came across during my college life. Even if they had been there rather for brief moments, they did succeed in putting a deep impression on my mind about such people who hide the most important thing about themselves purely out of fear of a society that refuses to accept it.

Whenever we think of gays, our mind immediately forms the image of an effeminate character with certain types of mannerisms (read Karan Joharesque). And if there is someone in the group who has such attributes, then he is condemned for good as he becomes the butt of all jokes after that. I have always come across such characters and I admit even I used to make fun of them. But that obviously doesn’t means they are all gays. In fact I have a good friend who has such mannerisms. But I can vouch for the fact he is not a gay as he has such a hot girlfriend! Woof! Well, anyways the fact remains that such mannerisms cannot under any circumstances make a person gay. Also, one tends to think about homosexual men only when this topic is raised up but they completely forget that there are lesbian women too. Infact the first real homosexual character I met in life was a lesbian girl. Although our interaction was rather brief, I must say that she did put a very deep impression on me which will last forever.

The first look at Jincy, and you simply couldn’t tell that she was a lesbian. Infact, she was rather attractive and any guy would love to flirt with her as I did for the first few moments. I met Jincy at her college fest and we hit off pretty well. As a group of boys who had entered the fest of a girls’ college, we were expected to hit gold somewhere in the crowd. And all of a sudden in the crowd, I caught sight of her. Nice chick, I thought. I tried to hit a conversation with her and it went off pretty well. She was a literature student and I, a history one. I tried everything to impress her about my knowledge of English literature and trying throw in historical perspectives wherever I could. I was particularly impressed with her level of knowledge and ways of perceptions about various things. We were going really fine when suddenly she took leave and went off to a girl and started chatting with her. I then started to talk to another female friend of mine who then joked as to what was wrong with my taste for girls. I was taken aback. It was then that my friend told me that Jincy was a lesbian and the girl she was talking with was her lover.

Sometime later Jincy came over to me and introduced me as an ‘intelligent guy’ to her girlfriend. I was at a loss of words as to how to carry on the conversation. She could read the awkward expression on my face which I so desperately tried to hide. And then she herself said, “So you found out that I’m a lesbian?” I went dumb for the moment. I really couldn’t think of what to say. She said that she had seen me chatting with my friend and so she could make out what she must have told me. She also said that she had come across guys with similar expressions when they found out that she was a lesbian. She knew I was trying to flirt with her. That embarrassed me even more and she could sense it. She said rather casually holding my hand, “It’s ok yaar. There’s no big deal if you flirted with me. You didn’t know. But I really like you. You’re a good-looking, funny and a very intelligent guy. Infact believe me, if it were not for guys like you all girls would have gone lesbian.” She could easily see the surprise on my face. No girl had ever said such nice words to me and she turned out to be a lesbian! In fact those words were the best compliments I have ever received from a girl! I was feeling both good and terrible at the same time. The only thing that managed to escape my lips was whether her parents knew about it. Her answer was no. Her face turned grave and she added that she didn’t know how she would break the news to them. Our meeting ended at that because I had to go and join my friends. Strangely, I met Jincy only one more time in the final year of my college and it was a very brief encounter in the Kamla Nagar market. It was a simple hello-hi stuff and nothing more. But I could never forget Jincy completely and for the first time I realized that there must be so many like her. Imagine the dilemma and the agony they all have to go through! I never knew what happened to Jincy and her girlfriend. Once again life seemed very unfair and the society seemed like a hideous monster!

Now when I come to homosexual men or gays to be more precise, the one memorable character that I had come across was one that we found in our nest of Hans Raj. We were in third year when in came a fresher named Sushant from Lucknow. Sushant was a very soft-spoken and shy guy and also one of the few freshers in the hostel who was really nice in showing courtesies to his seniors. So most of us took pity on him and didn’t rag him much. Sushant, an English literature student, had a very sensitive side to most things of life. Sushant was very fond of my batchmate Irfan and I remember how once me, Irfan and Sushant had an intense discussion on human behaviour way into the midnight. For the first time I realized the high level of intelligence that Sushant possessed. But then people had begun to suspect that he was a gay and there was also a rumour that he was in love with Irfan. Of course Irfan whisked it off as a silly joke.

But stories of Sushant’s alternate sexuality also began to circulate in the English department. Sushant had submitted a short story for the department magazine which was considered quite bold in its theme on homosexuality. The professor straightway asked him if he was gay and he boldly replied in the affirmative. After this we don’t what happened but after sometime Sushant’s father showed up and met the professor. The very next day he decided to take Sushant home and started taking out his luggage from the hostel. Here a little drama ensued. While his father tried to take him away, Sushant cried and pleaded to wait for sometime so that he could meet Irfan one last time. Most of the boys in the hostel came out to see this and were dumbstruck by what they saw. But his father took him away anyway. Irfan, who had been away to his department, came to have lunch in the hostel and heard the story. I don’t know how he felt but he kept silent for the rest of the day. Later we learnt that the professor had told Sushant’s father that his son was not mentally well and had developed alternate sexual feelings. Also, he had asked his father to take his son home so that he could be taken proper care of. While most guys made fun of the entire episode, Irfan remained silent. I on my part felt very angry on the professor. How could he do something like this to his own student? Such a narrow minded asshole! The last thing that is true about gays is there condition being a result of a mental disorder. Preposterous! I found it highly revolting. When I openly spoke against the professor in front of my other hostel mates, they made slight jokes about my intentions as well. But I didn’t give a hoot to that at all. But the fact remained that an intelligent and promising intellectual’s journey was halted because of his alternate sexuality. Life sure is unfair.

Ultimately, I don’t what became of Jincy and Sushant. But I know that there’s are not the only stories of this kind. There are many more. Although the Supreme Court has scrapped Article 377 and has made things easier for homosexuals in this country, they still fear the onslaught of the society. And they have their reasons. What can you expect out of a society to treat its homosexual citizens when it is itself guilty of crimes like honour killing, female infanticide and caste violence? Even as I conclude this article, I don’t know what the future holds for these people. The Archies may have introduced a gay character, but the questions on these people still remain uncertain.

*names have been changed to protect privacy.

I will not wait for Kalki!

When I was a young boy, I would often listen to stories of the various avatars (incarnations) that Lord Vishnu had assumed over the ages to protect mankind from various perils. And I still remember how my overtly religious grandmother would tell us the stories in her own enthusiastic way so that someday we would grow up to be devout young Hindus. The ten avatars of Vishnu have always been an obsession with me. And as I grew up, I began to read more materials on them. In this I began to look for a more modernistic approach on them and so I always looked for works done by foreigners and contemporary historians, most of them being Britishers. So by the time I was giving my matriculation exams, I had fairly good materials on the topic and was decently informed on each of the avatars. But it was always the last one i.e. Kalki which intrigued me the most. Kalki as we know it is yet to come and he is supposed to be the one who will clean this world of all evils and will end this Kali Yug (Dark Age) and usher in the Satya Yug (Age of Truth).

Reflecting on Kalki also forces me to reflect on the other nine avatars as well. Historically none of these avatars can be proven to exist. It is all but a gameplay of faith and devotion. But what is more important for me is the way each of these avatars has been shaped up in the annals of Hindu mythology. Here we have some avatars which seem pure works of imagery and fiction while there are others which seem to have got lost in the dust of ancient history. The only avatar which has historical relevance is the ninth one i.e. Lord Buddha. But Buddha’s elevation to the position of an avatar of Vishnu seems to be a rather political step taken by the Hindu priestly class in a bygone era.

When I look back at avatars like Matsya (the giant fish), Kurma (the tortoise), Varaha (the wild boar) and Narasimha (half man-half lion); I have no option but to discard them as results of fanciful imaginations. All these avatars mentioned here are short-termed ones and have a rather abrupt ending. Matsya’s relevance is only on a particular point because it comes at a stage where the Hindu scriptures speak of a great flood or deluge akin to the one mentioned in the Old Testaments of the Bible. But obviously we as rational human beings cannot accept that a giant fish saved the world from a great deluge! The avatar of Kurma also has a similar story where it is taken up to save the world. The avatars of Varaha and Narasimha were taken in two different instances to kill demons. Even the avatar of the Bamun (the short heighted Brahmin) was only for a few moments taken to subdue the pride of a demon king who was out to conquer the world. Bamun’s avatar seems to me a classic case where the Brahmin class tried to assert their dominance by showing that the first human avatar that Vishnu took after assuming earlier animistic forms was that of a high class Brahmin.

All the avatars mentioned so far were the earliest ones and also on very short term basis. Also they were taken only on special occasions. Varaha is the only one among them which makes an appearance more than once. It is rather interesting that Mohini which is a female form of Vishnu is not regarded as an avatar although she makes quite a few appearances in Hindu mythology. She plays an important role in the episode of the churning of the ocean, she and Shiva also have a son in a story; and also she makes an appearance in the Aravan episode of the Mahabharata. Then why is she not in the list of the avatars? Maybe the concept of a female avatar by a male god wasn’t appealing enough for the priestly class of that era. This is a classic instance for me where sexism played a huge part in the non-elevation of a potential avatarial candidate. For me Mohini surely deserves a place among the avatars of Vishnu if the other short-termed ones mentioned above are to be regarded as avatars. I hope all my feminist friends take a note of this.

After these avatars, the rest which come have a proper lifespan and have a proper story to be told. Although they betray every historical fact imaginable, they do help us in understanding the philosophy and the patterns of society formations of the early Vedic period. These avatars also come in a particular era from where events and places mentioned in their stories have some historical relevance. The two great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata also help us a great deal in chronicling the era and also we have a decent amount of information from that period thanks to the various archaeological findings. So I was greatly overjoyed when I first heard the news that Krishna’s Dwarka city had been discovered off the coast of Gujarat years ago. But obviously controversies and debates continue to haunt them. Krishna’s Dwarka is still under a lot of scrutiny as to its authenticity. Rama’s birthplace Ayodhya has been claimed up by as many as five different places including one in Afghanistan. And obviously one of these Ayodhyas led to the biggest communal carnage in independent India that our generation was unfortunate enough to witness.

Among these later avatars that have a more stable lifespan then their previous counterparts, Parashuram has got to be the most violent one. Right from the act where he chops off his mother’s head at the behest of his father to the later parts where he single-handedly carries out a mass murder program to kill every single Kshatriya on earth, Parashuram’s story is full of violence and bloodshed. Also if we analyse carefully, Parashuram is also perhaps the only avatar which is more human in its behaviour and outlook. Perhaps this avatar also shows how we humans in our want for revenge and justices totally throw off all logic to the winds and indulge in mindless violence that sucks the innocents in it as well. This imperfection is one important feature of the character of Parashuram which is not seen in the other avatars which are derived to be as perfect as the God who reside in them. It is one instance where even God, in the form of a human, becomes imperfect like him and commits acts of mass violence. Also Parashuram’s story also gives us a picture of the first instances of caste violence or to be more precise the rising of a person against a particular class in early Vedic times.

Next after Parashuram, comes Rama, the hero of the great Indian epic, the Ramayana. Rama is shown to be the embodiment of everything perfect. He is shown to be the perfect son, husband, brother, etc. Rama’s birth is mainly taken to kill the demon king Ravana, the ruler of Lanka. The Ramayana is a perfect example which shows the early struggle between the Aryans and the non-Aryans in India. The Aryans in this period were in an expansionist phase in India and were contending for power with the non-Aryans who were holding their grounds. Rama for me must have been a great warrior of that age who must have won great victories against the non-Aryans which probably resulted in his position being elevated to that of an avatar. His greatest victory must have been against Ravana which is the crux of the Ramayana. But then again I have serious problems with the way Rama treated his wife Sita after killing Ravana, when he made her go through the Agnipariksha; and also for the next time when he banished her to the forest after he became the king. Here we find that Rama is not a perfect character and he has to live up to the public image that he has built around himself. So even if Rama is considered to be a perfect character, he is in all practical sense, imperfect. So Rama in simple terms was a victim of image branding!

Next in line is Krishna. Krishna is a cunning, witty and extremely successful politician. Also when we read about this exploits in the Mahabharata, it becomes clear that he is an unparalleled master of jurisprudence. The way he leads the Pandavas to victory in the Kurukshetra War only shows his mastery in the fields of politics and strategy planning. Krishna’s forte lies in the fact that through the medium of logic and arguments, he converted most acts of cheating and treachery into acts of wisdom and common sense. For him victory was more important than upholding ethics in the battlefield. Krishna’s famous sermon to Arjuna which becomes the revered Bhagwad Gita, is a perfect example of how he treats duty above all ties and relations. And this simple philosophy is the pillar of strength behind all of Krishna’s politics and strategies. Krishna’s cunning ways make him more close to our dear politicians of today. Surely, it is no wonder that a character with such a successful career in politics was elevated to the position of an avatar.

Now when we come to the ninth avatar i.e. Lord Buddha, we must realize that the scene in the Indian scene had undergone a change. The Vedic period of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata had ended and now had come the age of the Mahajanapadas, which were the first great kingdoms to be recorded in the annals of Indian history. Buddha’s period coincided with a very important phase of history. This was the time when kingdoms like Magadha, Kosala and Kashi were vying with each other for political supremacy in Northern India. This was also the period where history actually began to be recorded in India. And in the midst of this came Buddha with his message of peace and non-violence. Buddha’s attempts, to me, were neither to form a new religion nor to claim godhood. His prime motive was to start a reformatory movement within Hinduism which had then become too complicated for the common masses. This reformatory movement which eventually evolved into a separate religion i.e. Buddhism, gave a jolt to the Hindu priestly classes when they saw the huge conversion to Buddhism as a potential threat to the very existence of Hinduism. It seemed but only a very appropriate step to declare Buddha as the ninth avatar of Vishnu. This was a strategic move as far as religion is concerned. It definitely served as a counter step to the conversions to Buddhism and also by including Buddha in the Hindu pantheon of avatars, the concept of the ten avatars or incarnations of Vishnu drew to a prefect closing phase. Also, Buddha’s close relations with kings like Prasenjit and Bimbisara was a big factor for his consideration as an avatar.

Now, the question which arises is who is going to be the last avatar of Vishnu i.e. Kalki? What will be the considerations that will work to the forming of the Kalki avatar? Preists have over the ages given various premonitions of Kalki. The most obvious being that he will be born in a Brahmin family (again the Brahmin dominance!) and that he will usher in the new age of Satya Yug (Age of Truth). So far after analyzing all the avatars, one can wonder as to what will it take to find a Kalki from among us! So when will this Kalki come? Should we wait for him? Or is it that he has already taken birth and is waiting for his right time to come forth? My view on this is that I will not wait for any Kalki! The way the previous avatars were selected clearly makes it out that only a hero from among us will be elevated to the post of Kalki. The later avatars like Rama, Krishna and Buddha were given the status of avatars as late as the Gupta period. So most probably, in the future, some desperate priest in an attempt to save the last straw of Hinduism will declare some fairly successful personality to be Kalki who will obviously fit the bill of the avatar. So I say no point in waiting for Kalki. We should all strive to be what we expect of a Kalki to do for us. For the truth is that until and unless we ourselves do something to improve the prevailing situation of the world we live in, nobody will come to save our unfortunate arses. Who know? Kalki maybe none but one among us!

Or maybe Kalki is just a metaphor. And we all need to look for a Kalki in ourselves.

Burha Luit.

Ask a Guwahatian what would he miss the most outside Assam? You may get a myriad range of answers. But whenever, this question is asked to me, pat comes the reply. Brahmaputra or the Burha Luit (Grand Old River). There is something unbelievably mystical about this river. Starting from the Himalayas in Tibet, flowing through the heart of the great Assam valley, joined by the Ganges in Bangladesh and finally flowing into the Bay of Bengal... it has a journey which resembles any man's including mine. Although my journey has to go a long way still!

My earliest recollection about the river was as a child when I used to go to it's Ghat with my late grandfather to watch the fisherman go about their early morning catch of fish. The sight was magical! The sights of so many fish boats floating about on the river waters, which were again bathed in the blood red rays of the rising sun gave forth an unbelievable feeling to it. It was as if the river had come alive from a deep slumber. Watching the boats hold their own against the torrential waves of the merciless river was a sight in itself. My grandfather had once told me how he as a youth had a narrow escape from getting drowned in the river. The river, for him, was a merciless demon which took away more lives than it used to give to the Assamese people. For him, it was the Blood River! This I realise every year when the Brahmaputra's torrential floods cause havoc throughout the state. And watching the flood waters creep into my home as well every year made me aware of this.

The Old Blood River may have given many people jolting memories, but for me it was this river which taught me what being strong means! Ever since my childhood, I had always wanted to swim across this mighty river. But till date it has never happened because I know the Luit's strong currents are waiting to suck me into them. All my skills as a swimmer melt away the moment I realise this. Whenever I sit down by the river Ghat in Guwahati, I get the peaceful feel that I cannot get anywhere else on earth. But then again, I always feel that the merciless River God is laughing at me amd saying,"So chap! When are you going to conquer me after all?" This feeling of insignificance has always raged a storm inside that has actually made me overcome my other fears. Afterall, if I dont conquer my other fears, how will I ever face the merciless Luit when it challenges me the next time. In my quest to face the Luit boldly, I actually went ahead to conquer most of my fears, which in turn made me stronger from the inside.

But under all this cloak of ferocity, I know there is also a much calmer and sensitive side to this river. The sight to watch the sunset by the Brahmaputra is a sheer joy! It is during these moments that I feel the river whisper to me,"Hark you chap! Sometimes it pays to be ferocious. But never lose touch with the more calmer self in you. Afterall, that is what you really are." The Old River never lets me forget that under the wild insensitive creature that I portray before the world, there is a fellow who just loves his quiet moments and would not trade them for any strength in the world. Bloody old river! On one side it challenges the wild side of me to conquer it. And then again it keeps reminding me the virtues of patience and calmness.

Perhaps it is waiting to be conquered by me. It is only making me stronger with each encounter. Afterall, Brahma's son choses its challengers very cautiously. Just wait you old demon! I will get even with you someday...

Identities- Musings on Reasonings and Choices

The Oxford English Dictionary refers identity as the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. There can be vast variations as to how a person perceives or identifies himself as. Identity can be a very complicated matter if we take social norms to considerations. Especially when we take up the case in a vast country like India.

In India, a country where so many myriad communities and sections have sprang up in course of history, has huge differences on the basis of identities. Over the course of history, various ethnic groups and communities have sprung up. Most of the population of this country are descendents of races who migrated from outside. Most of these races have intermingled with each other to such an extent that most identities have merged with one another or have given birth to newer identities as well.

Recognising identities is not an easy fair. If we look into the matter then we find that the rulers who ruled this vast country from time to time have always given much importance to the recognition of identities to stay in power. Recognition of identities has often meant various benefits and privileges to the groups concerned. An example of it can be sited in regards to the prestige and honour received by the Rajputs in the Mughal court. The British were the ones who started to take note of identities on a more concrete basis than any previous power. While conducting surveys, they perhaps made the first real accounts of the various identities that existed in India. Although all this was done for strictly administrative purpose, it surely served the tide of people becoming conscious of their respective identities.

In today’s Indian society, identity is a very important issue. The issues of caste and reservation have made people all the more conscious about their respective identities. The Hindu caste system and the subsequent entry of the Muslims on Indian soil have given rise to various identities that divides the Indian society on a large scale. Now the question arises as to how we should go about in the process of recognising identities in today’s modern world. In the post-independence era, the questions of identities have given rise to various issues and movements. An example of it can be the age old Naga liberation movement which hinges on to the theory of a separate identity from that of the Indian diaspora. The question of reservations is an entire display of the politics of caste identities. The Kashmiri separatist movement is also based on the idea of a separate identity. And then again, when we move down South, we find among the Tamils the idea of rejection of everything North Indian because of their theory of the Dravidian identity.

The ways of reasoning and choice are a part of the argumentative system to arrive at a conclusion. By reasoning we mean to give opinions and reasons to substantiate a point. Reasoning can be a very important tool in the overall process of recognising identities. This society has many divisions. And often it becomes important to ascertain reasons as to why a particular identity should be given to a group. An example of it can be the Gujjar stir in Rajasthan as regards to the demand of SC status by them. Here a set of proper reasoning has to be ascertained so as to come to the conclusion of whether they should be given the SC status or not. A set of reasons regarding their economic and social status can help us in arriving to the point of their status as a Scheduled Tribe.

The use of choice may be another way to come to the basis of an identity. Choice is a way by which the power of decision is vested in the concerned person or group to choose his or their identity. This sense of choice can give us a direction in their thoughts regarding themselves and also as to what has been the cause of their mental makeup regarding the question of their own identities. This is a very intricate way in which we get closer to the subject and learn about their overall socio-political makeup leading to their present choice of identity. An example in this case can be sited of the Tibetans who regard themselves separate from the Chinese who occupy Tibet. Even though the Chinese occupy Tibet and propagate various theories to project Tibet as a part of China. But the Tibetans still hold on to the theory of them as a separate nation and maintain the idea of Tibetan independence.

So we find that reasoning and choice play very important roles in recognition of identities. Identity may be a very complicated issue when we get to the ground realities and issues. But we can always look to various ways to decode identity and arrive at cohesive conclusions to help it deconstruct our socio-political structure.

A Ray of Light for the Darkness

“I wish I could see. I could have painted pictures then.”

This single quote tells us so much about a boy’s aspirations that have got murdered because of the fact that he is a blind. Meet Ram Singh. He is a student of Class VI at the Institution for Blind which is situated at Amar Colony near Lajpat Nagar in New Delhi. He is one of the 140 blind boys who study and reside in the school.

Ram Singh belongs from Rae Bareilly in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Like most boys in the school, he is also from a poor rural background. He is the son of a farmer and has been blind ever since his birth. He has a younger brother back in the village who studies in Class I. “I am so happy that my brother can see,” says Ram Singh with a smile, “He tells me a lot about the colours that make up this world.” The disability surely proves to be hampering his movement to an extent. But then one cannot help but admire the fact that he moves around so effortlessly and also that it may have come after so much effort.

Though he finds English rather difficult, Ram wants to speak the language perfectly like his English teacher. Ram likes mathematics very much. “It is the most interesting game ever made.” says Ram. As he sits with his Braille book open, he tells me that he would like to be a music teacher someday. He loves to play the tabla and is taking lessons in learning the keyboard. Though Ram considers himself as not very good in sports, he like most boys of his age loves cricket and idolises Sachin Tendulkar. I can see the obvious disappointment in his face when I tell him that Tendulkar is not as tall as he thinks him to be.

Ram Singh like the other boys stays in the school hostel which is in the first and second floors of the school. The boys stay in dormitories which hold ten boys each. The boys make their own beds, wash their own clothes and also wash their dishes themselves after every meal. One might think that so many chores are too much for a blind boy of his age. But ask Ram and he surprises you with his answer. “Believe me nobody really likes to do all this things. It gets cumbersome at times,” says Ram, “But then again we cannot forget that we are blind and the world outside is harsh to us. We have to help ourselves to survive in this world.”

Ram tells that before coming to this school, he used to be pestered a lot by the other children in his village. Here in the school, living among boys of his group and the constant support by the teachers has brought in a sea of change in boys like Ram. He has made some of his best friends here. The school is like a home to him. He doesn’t prefer to go back to his village too often as the attitude of the village folks towards the blind is still not very favourable.

Boys like Ram Singh come to this school and achieve the missing pieces of life which their disability steals from them. Even though their world is dark, it is not devoid of dreams. And it is evident in the way these boys talk and carry themselves. And one thing is for sure, Ram Singh and his friends will achieve their dreams no matter what happens. Wishing them all the best in life.

Poet of the Fallen

The first look at her and you can feel her warm smile. This is what I felt when I first met Ms Uddipana Goswami. The first look at this smiling lady in her 30s gave me the impression that she must be a poetic sort of a person. Poet she definitely is. But she is of the kind that we don’t find commonly nowadays. And this I gradually realized as our talks progressed.

Uddipana is one of the most prominent voices from Assam in Delhi. Writer, poet, researcher, journalist, and sociologist- she has many feathers under her cap. She has been one of the most prominent researchers on conflict issues in Assam and the Northeast. She has also been an exponent of Assamese literature on a global plane. Today when we talk of new-age voices from Assam, the name of Uddipana is taken with utmost respect. Very few writers have dared to have taken a stand that is quite different from the staple diet of Assamese pride that we have been fed on. A stand that has gone ahead to expose the loops and holes in the overall fabric of the Assamese pride that has actually resulted in the present chaotic situation in the state. The disintegration of the trust that was once shared among the various communities of the Brahmaputra Valley has been a subject that has highly interested Uddipana. And her writings and research have gone a long way in understanding the causes of that distrust. But what struck me the most was her poetry which deals on an emotional level with the being and its violent surroundings. Today she is pursuing her research at the School of Social Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, where she is settled with her husband Suman Chakravarty who is a senior correspondent with CNN IBN news channel.

Uddipana, who hails from Bamunimaidan in Guwahati, comes from a family of academicians. Now writing is something which came to Uddipana quite naturally as her parents are from academic backgrounds and her family had been associated with many literary luminaries of Assam. So it was no surprise when she mentioned that writers like Prafulla Dutta and Benudhar Sarma used to frequent their house in Guwahati and have guided her writing style. “Our family associations with such people benefitted me greatly as they would always guide us in matters of writing style and reading books.” said Uddipana, “This had a great influence on me and my siblings and we religiously got into works of writing and translations.” During school, most of her writings and poems got published in Assamese magazines like Sofura and Mousak. Translating is something Uddipana immensely enjoys and she has done English translations of poems by Hiren Bhatta and Lakshminath Bezbaruah. Apart from these, her academic writings, short stories, poetry and occasional translations have been printed in print as well as online from the USA, the UK, Australia, South Africa and Bangladesh and also in various publications across India.

Uddipana did her schooling from St Mary’s School and then her Higher Secondary from Cotton College. She then went to Delhi University for her graduation in English (Hons.) from Indraprastha College for Women. After that she did her PG Diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) after which she pursued a career in journalism in Delhi for a few years during which she got to work with media houses like Tehelka, India Today and National Geographic before turning to research. And with the starting of her research came the most important phase of her career where she got deeply into issues of sociological relevance and ethnic conflicts in the Northeastern region.

She first joined the Centre for Northeast India, South & Southeast Asia Studies (CENISEAS) in Guwahati which was started under the aegis of Sanjeeb Baruah in 2004. Making this new start was not easy for Uddipana as many thought that she was committing a professional suicide. “What they were paying me here was not even half of what I used to get back in National Geographic. People thought that I had gone mad to have taken this step and come back to Assam.” said Uddipana. But she was firm in her decision and got down to her work with all diligence. Her work was on the “Migration and Assimilation” patterns in Assam. After this she joined the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences in Kolkata where she got the opportunity to work under the likes of intellectuals like Partha Chatterjee. But this was unfortunately cut short by her marriage in 2006 and her eventual relocation to Delhi.

During the course of her research Uddipana got to extensively tour the areas that were hit by violence over the period. These included the troubled Bodoland areas which saw ethnic clashes between the Bodos-Assamese and the Bodos-Adivasis. “My travels during those times exposed me to the horrible realities of ethnic clashes. I got to experience the pain and sufferings that these situations subject innocent people to.” recalls Uddipana. Meeting with various people whether they were victims or were the perpetrators of violence and also meeting up with most leaders of the Bodo insurgency faction, Uddipana gained a more detailed insight into the pattern of ethnic violence that plagues our state even today. She specially recalls the inhuman conditions in which people live in the relief camps. “Relief camps are just only in name. Their conditions are nothing short of a concentration camp.” said Uddipana, “So many people live under a small hut with no basic facilities at all, and it is practically impossible for people sitting comfortably in Guwahati or Delhi to even realize as to the sort of hellish conditions these people are subjected to.”

Uddipana has also worked during the Karbi-Dimasa clashes and the more recent Bodo-Muslim clashes. “What appalls me is the lack of trust and growing alienation among the various communities in the region.” said Uddipana. Over the course of her research and travellings, Uddipana realized that the older generation had more sense than the newer one. “People back then had the sense to sit back and reflect on the problems then just resort to mindless violence in answer.” she said. Uddipana is also critical of the Assamese community in this respect. “As the dominating community of the state, the Assamese people should have given some respect to the hopes and aspirations of the other communities and their cultural affinities,” said Uddipana, “But the result was only negative and events like the Assam Movement and the Nellie massacre further widened the gap between the ethnic communities of the state. Before these incidents, the Assamese were a very outward looking people who were ready to entertain anybody with their hospitality. But these incidents only resulted in the Assamese people becoming more and more intolerant towards others.” One worthy point she makes here is that the Assamese people don’t like the commercial dominance of the Marwaris in the state and foul-mouth them. But they forget that Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Aggarwala was himself of Marwari origin. For her the false Assamese pride has been the cause of our undoing over and over again.

Uddipana is also associated with Muse India, a literary e-journal which acts as a portal to the regional literatures of India. Here she is the Assamese literature editor. With Muse India, she has taken out two important issues- one was about the “Literatures of Assam” and the other was “Insurgency and Assamese Literature.” Uddipana said that taking out both these issues were a challenge for her. The first one, “Literature of Assam” was a concise effort to bring out the vast literature of Assam which included apart from Assamese, literature from other communities like Bodos, Karbis, Misings, Adivasis, etc. Here the main problem she faced was the non-enthusiastic response from many of the people she approached. People were simply not upbeat about the whole venture. She laughs that it might be because of the laid-back attitude of the people of the state. But I could sense that behind the laughter there was a strong resentment to this attitude. “I had approached some of the prominent writers from all the communities but most of them were simply not interested in the venture,” said Uddipana, “I got a rather good response from the Bodo and Adivasi writers who saw it as a good opportunity to showcase their literary strength. Eventually when it got published some people said that I had not represented certain communities of the state. But what am I to do if the people I approach don’t show any response?”

The next issue which was on “Insurgency and Assamese Literature” faced a different problem altogether. The problem here was the absence of such literature. Uddipana attributed this to the fact that not many people are bold enough to come up with such writings in the state. “There is a huge dearth of literature that caters to the insurgency situation in Assam,” said Uddipana, “Not many books have been written on this topic. And the ones which have been done have not been highlighted properly for various reasons.” She said that a fear psychosis prevails among the writers residing in the state partly due to the presence of the militants and also from the state machinery which is highly corrupt and fears exposure of any kind. And maybe because of this the writers who reside outside Assam are more vocal about these issues then the ones residing in the state.

In 2009, Uddipana came out with a book on poetry titled “We called the River Red: Poetry from a Violent Homeland” which was published by Authors Press, Delhi. This book has a total of 25 poems and each poem reflects the gradual realization of the self in terms of maturity and understanding of the surroundings around it. The first poem is on love. The second poem is on the self. The third is on the surroundings and the world we live in. And like this with each poem the level of maturity and its relevance with the society and the surroundings grows. So we have a poem on Goddess Kamakhya which relates on the self’s connection with the divine and there is also a poem on Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha who has had a huge influence on Uddipana’s writing style. The last few poems deal with violence and possess the most matured and bold overtones in them. Thus we have a poem on Nilikesh Gogoi who was an entrepreneur killed by the CISF on the Assam-Nagaland border. There are also poems referring to the ethnic clashes that plague our state even today.

From being a journalist, writer, poet and a researcher; Uddipana Goswami has come a long way. Today as she carries on her research in ethnic reconciliation, she still hopes that the various communities in Assam will leave all their ill feelings and work together for the betterment of the state. And her poems and writings are only a reflection of that hope which still shimmers on like the lonesome star in the night sky. Let’s hope Uddipana’s wishes come true and Assam shines like we all dream of. Here’s wishing her all the best for her future initiatives.

The 'Different' Storyteller

When I was asked to do an interview of Parismita Singh, I had just a fair recollection that a friend of mine had earlier told me that she had recently released a graphic novel. A graphic novel by an Assamese writer sounded quite fancy to me. But it almost immediately slipped out of my mind then. When her name was mentioned to me the second time, I had heard that her graphic novel “The Hotel at the End of the World” (2009) was getting very good reviews among the literary circles. And when I finally met her for the interview, I came to know that it was nominated for the Shakti Bhakt First Book Prize.

Parismita, 30, who is now settled in Delhi and works in the education sector, initially came across as the reserved type in contrast to the boisterous image of writers that I had in mind. But as the talks progressed, I realized that I was talking to someone who was more conscious of her work speaking rather than her herself doing all the talks. As a first-timer novelist, Parismita has really taken a step into the sphere that is less-trodden, not just among the North-eastern, but among the Indian circles as well. Graphic novels as a genre of story-telling are quite a less-explored zone in this country. For Parismita, graphic novels are only a way of expressing a message or a story through words and pictures and not really some out-of-the-world sort of thing as some people may think. “It is just a genre orientation to work with,” said Parismita, “Art is something which I have always liked and I decided to explore it through a graphic novel for my first book.”

Parismita hails from Biswanath Chariali in Sonitpur District of Assam, from where she did her initial schooling. She later completed her schooling from Mayo College in Ajmer, Rajasthan. She then went to Delhi University where she did her graduation from the prestigious St. Stephen’s College. The intellectual environment provided by Stephen’s led Parismita to experience different genres, and also led her to explore her artistic capabilities. “Although I always enjoyed writing and art, I was never into the comic book sort. I was never into the Batman or Superman kind of stuff.” says Parismita. It was also during her graduation years that Parismita had her first brush with graphic novels. “Some of my friends were really into graphic novels,” said Parismita, “and their enthusiasm led me to explore this theme in depth.” She fondly remembers her most favorite graphic novel from those times- Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” which she describes as being “class-apart” from the rest. Another graphic novel which she strongly recommends is the series of graphic novels on the Buddha by Japanese graphic novelist Osamu Tezuka.

Her book “The Hotel at the End of the World” tells the story of a hotel in a nowhere land somewhere in the North-east. And the story is taken forward by a group of travelers who have their own stories to take the plot forward. The rather scratchy and angular images of the book which are in Black &White have such cultural connotations to the North-east that the reader keeps getting transformed into the rain-soaked hilly terrains of the North-eastern region that the book implies. But then again, there are no direct references as to where in the world exactly are the events in the book set.

So we have a host of characters who are from different ethnic backgrounds and in some cases, it is rather difficult to make out who they really are. For Parismita, keeping the cultural anonymity of the characters and the location in the book was a requirement. For her, it was integral to the strength of the story that the setting of the story be nameless that they may give away a feeling not just of any place in the north-east but of anywhere in the world. “Many people have been actually intrigued by the setting of the story,” says Parismita, “There have been so many questions asked about the location that my publishers gave me a hard time asking me to give in a locational setting of the story in the book. But thankfully I managed to keep the anonymity intact.”

The story and the treatment given to it give out the impression that the inspirations are myriad. There are numerous references to the North-east in the book. A road to China, a mythical floating island that holds everybody’s attention, cell phone networks getting jammed due to the incessant rains and last but not the least, Japanese soldiers who keep dreaming of the snows on Mt. Echigo are forced to fight a battle in the “land of rain and jungle” are strong references to the North-eastern region. Parismita does agree that the references point out in the right direction, but is yet again puzzled over the demand for authentication of the location. The influences have been many, she informs, and they have been taken rather randomly. This is seen by the strong presence of the Buddhist art that creeps into certain places in the storyline. “I agree that the storyline has many inspirations,” says Parismita, “But this is just another story that I had in mind and decided to give the shape of a graphic novel. I am not doing a reworked version of folktales from the region. So nobody can really point if a certain part of the story has been inspired from a so-and-so legend or folktale.”

“My basis of inspiration for the characterizations has been many. Some of which are from the old stories which our elders narrated to us when we were children.” said Parismita. This was evident as she has dedicated the book to her grandmother Durgamoni Saikia. She further said that the character of the Night Walker whom death sends to gather people’s souls is a familiar figure to the people of the region. Also, Kona and Kuja are Assamese folktale characters whom she modified to suit the storyline. “I once met a lady in Guwahati who told me that the original Kuja is a hunchback and not legless as I had depicted.” she said. “It is true that the names are the same. But that is where all the similarities actually end away.” She says that more inspirations for the characters came up when she saw a man carrying another on his shoulders at the AIIMS crossing in Delhi. That was when she started to conjure up the first images of Kona and Kuja as they appear now in the book.

Although having released her first book as a graphic novel, Parismita finds little difference between a graphic novel and a comic book in terms of graphical treatment. “I could have considered myself as a comic book writer,” said Parismita, “But then comic books are lighter fairs and graphic novels are more intense and serious in their nature and story treatment. Plus, in our country have a strong prejudice towards comic books as being things of amateurish or childish nature. And this also affects the way in which graphic novels are viewed as well.” She further informs us that earlier graphic novel writers had a really hard time selling their stories. “Part of this was the non-enthusiastic attitude of the publishers who saw no market in it. “Some years back, graphic novel writers were struggling to sell to find a publisher for their stories,” she said, “Also if a publisher was found, then the next big hurdle would be to convince book shops in to keeping them for sale. But thankfully now the situation is changing. Plus, I was really lucky to find a supportive publisher like Penguin.” She believes that the attitude towards graphic novels will change totally in a few years time and we will have more graphic novels from Indian authors in the near future. “I just hope the constant linking of a graphic novel to comic books end up.” said Parismita with a sense of desperation in her voice.

If there is one thing that Parismita finds puzzling as well as annoying, is to be slotted. “One review of my book described me as an ‘Assamese graphic novelist.’ I found it rather strange as I had written the book in English.” said Parismita. But here she also added that she would love it if her book is translated into Assamese. “It was my resentment at being slotted that I decided to keep the location of the story as nameless.” said Parismita, “I really didn’t want this book to appear as a story from one particular area of the region. My fun as an author comes when people read the book and make their guesses.” She also said that she will “always be an Assamese.” But still she wouldn’t want the book to be tagged to the Assamese slot because of her regional background. For Parismita, it is more important that people accept the book as any other book ignoring the regional connotations it may give away.

Here’s wishing Parismita Singh all the best with her book and also hoping that we will see more fascinating work from her in the near future.