Posts

Basket of Burdens

Poetry by Emisen Jamir from the Beginnings issue

I carry ticking minutes
in my bamboo basket.

Ishaanou*

Poetry by Nabanita Kanungo from the Beginnings issue

~ for Linthoi

Ishaanou cannot trace
the wild etymology of her name.
The rags of faith come loose
from the ends of her phanek
in whispers of a language
she had once deciphered
with her rice-body.

Kung Fu And Hustle

Interview by Ranjib Mazumdar from the Beginnings issue

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. A slapdash mix of action, comedy, and romance, Local Kung Fu was a surprise hit in Assam, making Basumatary’s dream of being a legitimate filmmaker a tangible truth.

Ema Sabitri

Poetry by Soibam Haripriya from the Beginnings issue

‘The death of the sun
is the death of the shadow
I lost him
in so many
different ways’

Afzal

Poetry by Lalnunsanga Ralte from the Beginnings issue

When Afzal refused to talk about violence
There was a hushed murmur of confusion,
A re-checking of notes.
Who is to play the other now?
An idea was expected to appear
Instead, here was a man, human.

City of Women

Poetry by Linthoi Ningthoujam from the Beginnings issue

(for all the women I met in the city)

Dear woman,
we met in the city of flocking birds
our migrant hearts slung on slender shoulders
looking for a ground to stand and perhaps, speak.

Lost bowls and lost weapon

Poetry by Shreema Ningombam from the Beginnings issue

In my one-windowed kitchen,
Two pots of rice sat
One of alloy and another of clay
With dry marigold garlands hung around their necks
They look like two deserted gods in an abandoned temple.

Death Anniversary of A Witch

Poetry by Kamal Kumar Tanti from the Beginnings issue

(Dedicated to the countless women killed on the suspicion of being witches)

Breaking the earth sprouts
That burning body

In the air, hangs a screech
Slowly, it fades into thousand screams

Reading Easterine Kire’s Son of the Thundercloud

Review by Shelmi Sankhil from the Beginnings issue

Son of the Thundercloud. Easterine Kire. New Delhi: Speaking Tiger Books, 2016.

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

Review by Senganglu Thaimei from the Beginnings issue

Dan Lheimei Chaang. Meiphunlung Thaimei. 1987.

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. It assumes the voice of the lesser known participants; the forgotten and the nameless foot soldiers who sacrificed their lives in a political movement that would later take divergent courses in the next half a century.

Lamjel by Thangjam Ibopishak

Review by Loiya Leima Oinam from the Beginnings issue

Lamjel (Race). Thangjam Ibopishak. Imphal: Irungbam Publications, 2015.

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), unfolds in the form of odes to people who have shaped his artistic sensitivity, through the metaphor of sailing, and not insignificantly, the looming spectre of death. Other themes include his worship of nature mainly inspired by a sense of atheism, and the frank appreciation of the female form.

Glasses in loops

by Korou Khundrakpam from the Blog issue

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam tempus lorem lacus, non ultricies mi blandit quis. Etiam semper nisl non fermentum lacinia. Vivamus gravida ullamcorper vestibulum. Pellentesque molestie velit quis sodales gravida. Phasellus consectetur pharetra nulla, sit amet mattis ante pharetra a. Vestibulum imperdiet commodo ante, nec finibus nibh consequat quis. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam tempus lorem lacus, non ultricies mi blandit quis. Etiam semper nisl non fermentum lacinia. Vivamus gravida ullamcorper vestibulum. Pellentesque molestie velit quis sodales gravida. Phasellus consectetur pharetra nulla, sit amet mattis ante pharetra a. Vestibulum imperdiet commodo ante, nec finibus nibh consequat quis. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam tempus lorem lacus, non ultricies mi blandit quis. Etiam semper nisl non fermentum lacinia. Vivamus gravida ullamcorper vestibulum. Pellentesque molestie velit quis sodales gravida. Phasellus consectetur pharetra nulla, sit amet mattis ante pharetra a. Vestibulum imperdiet commodo ante, nec finibus nibh consequat quis.

Update on this

by Korou Khundrakpam from the Blog issue

A blog post

by Korou Khundrakpam from the Blog issue

Newer Posts