Featured:
January
Poetry by Robin S Ngangom
A derelict train of pain and memory offloads us at January.
Something freezes birdsong at dawn and
We see only ashen arms of woodless trees. And
Even if you hum at it, January is not going to leave.
Will the bluebird ever return to the heart’s forked branches?
I think of a world bereft of snow and
See giant fish beached by metal,
Waiting for the sixth extinction.
But I only wish you would forgive me slowly
For wounding the sleeping furry animal of your thighs.
And now, only a mist and granite sadness
On a road stretched taut between us.
I think if anyone were to mention the word ‘love’
Then everything will fall silently as snow.
Poetry:
February
by Yumlembam Ibomcha
Basket of Burdens
by Emisen Jamir
Ishaanou
by Nabanita Kanungo
Ema Sabitri
by Soibam Haripriya
Afzal
by Lalnunsanga Ralte
City of Women
by Linthoi Ningthoujam
Lost bowls and lost weapon
by Shreema Ningombam
Death Anniversary of A Witch
by Kamal Kumar Tanti
Review:
Reading Easterine Kire’s Son of the Thundercloud
by Shelmi Sankhil
Easterine Kire’s latest novella, Son of the Thundercloud, is a fascinating narrative in the mould of low fantasy. In blending Naga myth of creation with the redemption story of Christ, Kire inaugurates the beginning of a new era of literary experimentation in Naga literature in English...
Dan Lheimei Chaang by Meiphunlung Thaimei
by Senganglu Thaimei
Meiphunlung Thaimei’s Dan Lheimei Chaang (or in more standardized Rongmei Dan Reimei Chaang ) published in 1987 is a political drama set in the tumultuous years spanning from the 1950s to the mid ‘70s. It tells the story of the Zeliangrong people’s introduction to the first wave of Naga Nationalist Movement...
Lamjel by Thangjam Ibopishak
by Loiya Leima Oinam
Thangjam Ibopishak’s latest collection of poems is primarily about his evolving as a poet. Forty six years after his arrival in the Manipuri poetry scene, Lamjel (Race) delves into the link between poet, poetry and its journey. This link, as a defining theme of his eleventh book (written between 2012-2015)...
Visual:
Interview:
Kung Fu and Hustle
by Ranjib Mazumder
Filmmaker Kenny Basumatary talks about the fight to finish Local Kung Fu 2, the state of Assamese cinema and how being an actor-director is always an advantage. Films from Assam don’t really generate a conversation in national media other than the blink and miss appearances of Jahnu Barua’s continuous innings at the National Awards. But a little film, made on a paltry sum of Rs 1 lakh brought a welcome change in 2013. Kenny Basumatary’s Local Kung Fu pocketed extensive coverage not only because it managed to be a sound example of the indie wave, but also because it was a film that was exceedingly different from any other Assamese film....