Editorial

Charging Individuals:

The North East Poetry Today

           In a civilized society traditions signify what people do think and act. Following the earlier traditions in latter times each tradition builds its own niche, grows old, dies one day and repeats the cycle again. Every human being must understand these phenomena. The fact is that, tradition develops, supports civilization and purifies one’s soul. Today, for each and every one the social and the personal are inter-twined.  The truth is that, he has been, and has seen, through the phenomenal rise and fall of political, social and moral stances over many years. It’s a tradition, a great tradition. So, in the process of this rise and fall we try to create an atmosphere to preserve and promote this great culture of the universe.

      On the pages of poetry from North East India various new experiments and their results could be seen which indicates matured thoughts. The celebrated writers of the region have their first creative writings published in either a local magazine or newspaper. But the poets, the writers write without taking much pain, even sometimes there is lacking a common platform where one can share certain aspects. They know that to enrich their poetry they must acquire some extraordinary elements out of their serious study and experiences. Therefore they do not want to ignore certain aspects like the trend of psychoanalysis introduced by Freud and Young, Karl Marx and the Soviet Revolution, which brought about new realizations and sympathy for the downtrodden. This has not been out of reaching; as such in this light some of the poets of the North East region still feel comfortable in projecting all the facts in their own ways.

         It is found that only few poets of the present generation are acquainted with this rich literary standpoint. It is because knowingly or unknowingly, or somehow the present generation is mostly diverted or perverted in their mere interests for whom the literature has been in a looser position. Individually I feel that poetry is more difficult than writing a short story or a novel. As all know, poetry is more refined expression of one’s own feelings, emotions, joys, sorrows and so on. Poetry has its own language, which varies from poets to poets. In fictions the fundamental aspect is that it has a wider canvas. The writer can use it according to his own requirements and as per demand of his characters. In case of poetry it is not like that.

        The other aspect which a poet should maintain is that his objectivity. Actually his target is his readers as well as his society. So a sort of social responsibility is always there. It’s correct that nobody decides at first that he will write this or that only for certain readers alone. Even then there is a social cause for which the writer, the poet feels to write or he/she is compelled to write. So, the poet writes for the people. And this is why he/she must be committed to the society, which is his/her second interest. As all know his/her first interest is the commitment to his/her own conscience. I feel the poets from North East are dedicated and they always try to keep this in mind. But how the poetry or fiction will turn into a new direction or what sort of inputs will direct it to its highest height, it is too early to comment on the poetry of North East. However based upon the activities of the poets, the writers, we may say that they are trying now to hear the call of the hour. Sometimes they are endeavoring to analyze the characters of a modern man, the significant aspects of his life, his sensitive reactions, etc. and have brought to light the insecurity, anguish and quest of the modern man in a very successful way.

Like our tricolor the poetry from North East is colorful. Let consider the language, style, form or diction—whatever we take into account the poetry of this particular region is quite distinctive. Every poet from each language or state has his or her own identity. It’s not a matter of identical subjects. May be it’s because of individual identity; but it’s a matter of pride that many poets from this region have already reached a height and attained their own niche. Yet some common aspects and elements of the region have their influence in the minds of the poets and receive adequate responses in the process of permutations and combinations. The Assamese, Bodo, Khasi, Kokborok, Mizos, Nagas, Manipuri, and of course English poetry of this region have their own identity. Therefore from the point of language, style, subject and regionalism the features of North East poetry can be marked as distinctive. The approach for humanism and universal truth is also sufficiently nourished as a cause and effect of their inner self. Hence on the basis of growth and development, the North East poetry today is in a comfortable position and can fulfill a reader’s great expectations.

But what should be the keynote for the poets as a whole?

Yes it’s a significant question.

One accepts the story of Ramayana at different levels; as a mere tale with impressive character studies; as a masterpiece of literary composition; or even as a scripture. According to R.K.Narayan, as one understands developing, one discerns subtler meanings; the symbolism becomes more defined and relevant to the day to day life. The Ramayana in the fullest sense of the term could be called a book of “perennial” philosophy. At the same time it’s a masterpiece of literary composition. But why and how is it possible?

The numerous exploits of Sri Rama had one objective.  It was restoration of peace at all fronts. So, the one and only reason of all bloodshed was restoration of peace in that society at large. The Ramayana shows the way to ideal living and how to restore “Dharma” on earth. Sri Rama is the inner Self or Atma, the embodiment of love, peace and effectiveness, acting through the mind, body and senses of human being. Sri Rama is also the embodiment of Dharma, of all codes of morality that hold mankind together in love and unity. His mind and behavior are pure and steady, because he is the embodiment of the inner Self & all life-promoting universal values. Sri Rama is the impersonate form of God. So, God impersonates in human experiences. He shows how to overcome the evil forces. His unique success in all spheres of life — mental & physical, casual & spiritual— has inspired people at large. And thereby supports that “spiritualism is synonymous with universalism”. So, in the present world of turmoil and constraint the Ramayana can teach wisdom of perfect leadership, ideal brotherhood, tender & faithful relationship, sincere devotion towards God, parents & teachers and how to practice meditation & yoga, ideal education & marriage, natural & holistic health care, ideal living, art & music and all sort of community services. I have mentioned this only because the modern writers, poets can find so many aspects here. It has lessons in the presentation of motives, actions and reactions, applicable for all time and for all condition of life. Not only in the areas of military, political or economic power do we see the evil antagonists of today; but also at less conspicuous levels and in varying degrees, even in the humblest social unit or family, we can detect a character who is striving to establish peace and justice. A writer can teach people how to protect people with individual happiness. The real power comes from within us. That’s why the inner self (Atma) administers actual codes of living.

The most of the poets of the North East region understand this aspect and are charged with this type of sensibilities. They are enriched with lots of ethnic essence. In most of the states, even in most of the tribes there are several minor stories which also depict the same kind of forces. Therefore any writer of this region could pick up his or her choices. In a brief note I do not want to mention any names but can say that they are striving in a befitting manner and actually in a safe position. Several poets have attained Indianness, if we consider them in wider perspectives. To elaborate it we must go through their poetry in details. But to give hints here I can say that they are successful whose poetry has attained fame because of their style as well as subjects. The use of symbols, images and an essence of ethnic beauty are always there in their poetry. The self diction, brilliant sensibility and above all the superb style dominates their poetry. It’s a fact that the North East is very rich in flora and fauna. The poets know how to use and take help of this. The use of unique elements in poetry is one of the major aspects normally we find in most of the poets. The crisis, whatever may be, always effects the poets. As they are very sensitive in most of the social issues they formulate and develop their own reactions. Even they are very sensitive to the substantial occurrences in history of this region particularly during post- independence period. The rise and fall of the region, the composition of seven states, the composite culture of the people and so on so forth, also give shape to their feelings in a different and democratic world. To some poets this kind of feelings generates widespread distress and unremitting deprivation—with relatively little adverse impact on practical life. But the general sense of pessimism and defeatism that characterizes so much of discussion on poverty and hunger in the modern world gives real pain to the poets. The pictures of misery and starvation that arouse sympathy and pity across the region in time and again also gets significant importance in the mind of the poets. In brief the desperate situations also appear with a new dimension in the minds of the poets of this region. Therefore, the creation of the poets in North East is totally different and bears a unique characteristic. And we can rightly say that they touch upon most of the subjects in their own ways and with self perspectives. They are very poetic in nature.                              

The speech delivered in the Multilingual Poetry Meet at Porbondor, Gujrat, organized by Sahitya Akademi.

Hridayananda Gogoi

Email: hridayanandagogoi@gmail.com, hridayanandagogoi@yahoo.co.uk

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Preserved:

(Editorial No 4)

The time is favorable now. May be this is my realization, but it's true that even now no one is sure whether peace will be achieved soon or not. But the situations prevailing now a days are  always heading to a different angle.

Apart from such realizations I can suggest another aspect. It's like a mirror. The point is that unlike others I can tell you in this way.

Individually I feel that poetry is more difficult than writing a short story or a novel. Because poetry is more refined expression of one’s own feelings, emotions, joys and sorrows and so on. Moreover, poetry has its own language, which varies from poet to poet. In fictions the fundamental aspect is that it has a wide canvas. The writer can use it according to his own requirements and as per demand of his characters.

 The other aspect which I think should be maintained by a writer is that his objectivity. Actually his target is his readers as well as his society. So a sort of social responsibility is always there. May be true that nobody decides at first that I am writing this for so and so or this will be adequate to these readers. Despite this, it is correct that there must be a social cause for which the writer feels to write or he/she is compelled to write. So, the writer writes for the people. And this is why he/she must be committed to the society, which is his/her second interest. As all know his/her first interest is the commitment to his/her own conscience. I feel the Assamese writers are dedicated and they always try to keep this in mind. But how the poetry or fiction will turn into a new direction or what sort of inputs will direct it to its highest height, it is too early to comment. Hopefully the Assamese writers are trying now to hear the call of the hour. In fact sometimes they are endeavoring to analyze the characters of a modern man, the significant aspects of his life, his sensitive reactions, etc. and have brought to light the insecurity, anguish and quest of the modern man in a very successful way.

Therefore I like to ask ourselves what sort of logical attempts have we made to focus on these serious subjects? If we need it to be focused outside at all then we have to shock out certain steps through which we can create an atmosphere to attain such things.

(Preserved)

Editorial No 3

In which way India is heading? Sometimes it gives us lot of pains, because uncountable incidents, political and non political situations troubled in different states has made it clear that  progress & developments are always stopped by such misfortunes. Even such situations paralyze everybody.

To overcome this people have to be bold and energetic. It's a fact that real things must come from the real source. Unless people do not feel for greater interest as well as for the cause of the society, big shots will never be thrown by any one from outside. So the prime work is to feel for the people, for  the society. The feelings for own self will automatically be generated out of that.

The recent incidents took place in several states including Assam, West Bengal and in some other Northern states showed that progress is always paralyzed and cost several innocent lives. The most concern is that some unseen, miscreants are always trying to harm the smooth pace of the social growth only because of their mere selfish interest. The duty of everyone is to identify those evil forces and to hand over them to the administrative authorities. As a citizen it's our duty. We must feel proud by rendering this service to the Nation.

Amidst such odds and hours of stones we must see the bright sunshine. For an accomplished writer it's easier to grasp those rays. A deep sense of belonging to the Nation as well as strong feelings for the people will enable also us for breaking into other related fields. Now, this kind of feeling can generate an act of responsibility, an act of confinement. We must welcome that.

With that hope I thank you all for taking part in our journal,

Wishing you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008 .

Editorial No 2

It's my great pleasure that we have been receiving tremendous response from various corners of the globe. Some people say that we should cover more areas, some say that forum for discussion should be there and some are of the opinion that it's highly intellectuals and demand serious concerns.Really I feel all that.As far as demands are concerned I am trying to honor all. Our space is defined, our time is defined, and why not our concerns?This time, I have added some new features, apart from regular affairs. Anybody wishes to contribute/comment can send directly to my mail and our team will upload the same after proper steps.A discussion has been started on the issue appeared in column NEWS ANALYSIS : Borders as Bridges. The first discussion is  appearing now. Participants are requested to send their data within 1000 words.Hope this will generate a new horizon in our minds.With these words I wish all of you a HAPPY AND SAFE  DEEPAWALI.With thanks,

Hridayananda Gogoi Email: hridayanandagogoi@gmail.com, hridayanandagogoi@yahoo.co.uk

Editorial No 1

To realize why one web journal is required I must say its background. On the very day when I decided to realize one of my dreams I confirmed that I should first follow in the line which I never explored, but attracted me most. The innate aspects are common to all, but first I have to search those things which nobody might ignore. As I have decided why not I choose things related to life and its aspirations as a whole, the first things came to my mind was that unless we see the world with the eyes of a writer we can't see it completely as well as properly. So I felt comfortable to start a website with the ideas, feelings, reactions, views and so on so forth, not only meant for a particular region but beyond. Because I feel that with this website the writers will get a vast world to share his or her feelings and views so to say, to receive a good response and better connectivity. And moreover it is a fact that there is no particular web journal from this part of the globe where one writer can achieve that sort of requirements.

That was the beginning of the whole episode. And to speak the truth that type of idea to look beyond was the inspiration from my editor as well as friend Padma Bhusan Chandra Prasad Saikia to whom I am always indebted a lot.

This is why we have started this web journal. I feel happy to say that it is just a humble beginning of a big mission which, I hope with the support of my friends will go a miles. However I must say that it does not represent all such things of the region, but will enable its viewers to grasp a good idea and what are things actually going on.

To give an account of the subjects we have covered I must say that it is very difficult to get the matters in time. But we put our best effort. It is true that once we had interest in startling images of European surrealism or the traditional surrealistic images of Urdu & Persian poetry. But in contrary, we have turned to the classical traditions which had nurtured us in order to make a unique synthesis of these with our socio-political aspirations. This took several decades. Some of our writings will depict such type of sensibilities. On the other hand, the reference to the treasure of pain evokes in many cases. Besides pain, what else can love bestows. That is a common question asked frequently by several writers. Moreover, we like to express our doubts, but to the last, we retain the hope of 'the rising of a sun'. Our hope is for all suffering humanity, wherever it might be, and without reference to caste, color or creed.

That is why we will keep in mind while covering materials for the site to give more stress on realities, reliabilities, acceptability and an open mind always looking beyond. Whither it's fiction or non fiction it will depend upon the reflections of life and its surroundings. In creative works we will not compromise. And no other influence will be considered in case of selection for the site is concerned. The writer is our source. We will generate them while necessary.

The last but not the least thing is that, if someone is interested to a lot in the name of our organization they are welcomed and requested to feel comfortable in making contact with us. Hope it will enrich us both.

Lastly, it's my humble appeal to you all to contribute for this web journal in a big way and make it a regular habit in writing something and mail it to us so that we can select the good pieces out of those.

Keeping mind all these I thank you all and sincerely acknowledge your company.

Looking forward,

Hridayananda Gogoi.

Email: hridayanandagogoi@gmail.com, hridayanandagogoi@yahoo.co.uk