Nagaland is a land that is shrouded with labels of terrorism, instability, unrest, kidnapping at one end and the exotic beauty of the hills with different cultures, lovely music, and hardworking people on the other end. The prevalent stereotype shows a paradox which is true but the stereotypes polarize and end engagement. So how does one escape simplistic prejudices about a community or people? The best option is to travel to distant lands and engage with various cultures. Since this is too much of an ask, so the next best option is to read literature about various peoples to know their history, identity, culture and community. But plain reading of facts is very tedious and hardly inviting. At such a juncture work of fiction laced with history, anecdotes, cultural moorings and pertinent issues, is the right mix to get started. Within such a premise let me introduce “Bitter Wormwood” by renowned Naga writer of the Angamese Tribe, Easterine Kire.
Now one may wonder what exactly Bitter Wormwood is. We will come to that at the end. Easterine Kire’s central character of the narrative is Moselie which means “One who never plots to harm other person”. He is commonly called as Mose. The book opens with a muder of a young man in the market of Kohima in the year 2007 with the protagonist being present at the scene. Then the author takes us on a journey from 1937 when Mose was born to his mother Vilau and father Luo-o. The village life of Naga Hills with its rituals and dynamics is brought well to the fore. Mose’s Grandmother Khreinuo and his friend Neituo add lot of layers and dimensions to the story. The introduction of the radio in the narrative helps to connect the fiction with the history of the Naga struggle. The buildup of paranoia in the villages to the full blown underground movement along with the roles of Gandhi, Nehru and Naga National Council (N.N.C) leader A.N. Phizo is brought out well. The General Election of 1952, the occupation of Naga Hills by the Indian Army, the murder of Mose’s Grandmother, the abrupt ending of schooling of Mose and Neituo, the beginning of underground movement, Mose and Neituo joining the underground movement is a brilliant confluence of narrative and history. The underground engagements, the jungle years, the subtle romance between Mose and Neilhounuo transports us to vicariously live the adventurous life. After the creation of the state of Nagaland in 1963, Mose and Neilhounuo come out their underground engagements to lead a normal life which turns out far from being normal. The struggle for existence, the haunting power of the army thanks to AFSPA is very sensitively depicted. With the introduction of Mose’s grandson Neibuo, the issues of Naga youths studying in places like Delhi is very beautifully brought out. Issues of being different, racism, rape against women are sensitively handled. In the context of the murder of Richard Loitam, a Manipuri boy in Bangalore, this angle of the book calls for serious introspection of the people of the so called “Mainland India” to review their attitudes towards students and people from the North East.
What is most fascinating about this Book? Most of our discourse regarding to North East India in general and Nagaland in particular revolves around the binary of State versus the people. But this book very sensitively brings forth the pain and the trails of the people of Nagaland, the atrocities of the state but most importantly it also highlights the pain of the common man who is caught between the crossfire of The State and the Underground Movement. The yearning for sanity in life is the restless breath of the novel. The pain of being pawn in the larger game of struggle between ideas of nationalism and distinct identity of people makes the reader very uneasy and restless. The struggle of being a Christian state coexisting with manifold evils is dealt with erudition and care. And to the nagging question of what is ‘Bitter Wormwood’, it is said that it is a herb that one places behind the ear to keep bad spirits away. In the struggle for freedom and a life free of fear ‘Bitter Wormwood’ is a talisman that symbolizes the yearning of man to live in peace and harmony in spite of a history laced in struggle, blood and oppression. At a personal level this novel helped me know about the many layers of Nagaland which I missed interpreting in the Academic articles and books. Let me end this book review by expressing huge respect to Easterine Kire for the wonderful blending of the art of storytelling with academic engagements of the history and livelihood of the people. Happy Reading.
( This book Review is wriiten for a Journal so had the limitation of keeping the language academic)
<photo id="1" />
No comments:
Post a Comment