Our Correspondent
Kohima, July 18 (EMN): A booked titled ‘Kalopsia,’ a collection of 91 poems written by a tech student O Jungio was released by Penthrill Publication House as its 22nd book, on July 18 in Kohima.
Speaking about what led to writing the book, the writer O Jungio said that his book was vaguely shaped out from an “unfortunate moment.” One of his good friends met with an accident and passed away, he said.
His late friend use to be someone who was always up to something to change the society for the better.
‘Apart of me was faced with harsh reality,’ the young author said. Although he did not start to write from that moment on, he developed an idea how the book would be like.
Jungio is currently studying M Tech. in civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology at Guwahati. He said to read ‘almost everything.’
Dr Lily Sema, principal of Kohima Science College, said Jungio’s “emerging as author is a very big surprise.” However, this sort of surprises is ‘not new as the KSC have a countless of alumni who are very talented,’ she asserted.
‘You are an inspiration to all of us,’ she told Jungio.
The title of the book depicts life and existence that is alienated and marked with pain, she said during comments about the book. It is a “very frank story” using irregular sentence structures to tell readers that life is full of disturbances, and that there is a disconnection between life as it should be and life as it is.
Sema also said to have found that ‘funniness pervades throughout’ the book, coupled with elements of the society’s unfulfilled ambitions and love. It is very simple and beautiful to read, she added. Earlier, the principal had released the book.
Gopal Chetri, vice principal of Oriental College, also commented on the book in detail. ‘The outcome of the book is his interest in writing since he was in class Seven,’ he said.
Kalopsia, he said is a ‘condition, state, or delusion in which things appear more beautiful than they really are.’
Commenting his book, Chetri said that the author used rhetorical poems and prose to provide commentary on issues in a society.
“The central idea of the poet is to promote change by informing the general populace about a given problem and appealing to people’s sense of justice,” he said.
Further, he said to have found that the book expressed ‘gentrifications, class divide Pseudo elitism… mindset humour take on mundane things…’
Young people are “easily persuaded” by something which actually is not a reality, he said.
“The author wanted to talk about the prevailing environment in the societal set up,” Chetri added.
Further, he said to find the ‘cover of the book paints the mood of the book — it’s chaotic.’
“There is a hint of pessimism but it still is an art to behold and study,” he said.
Publisher of the book Vishü Rita Krocha commented that Jungio has “brilliantly captured his experiences and observations in life, most of which are undoubtedly set here in Nagaland and his life in the city.”
Krocha was of the view that one fails to appreciate the ordinary and everyday things which actually come to mean the most in the end.
“This is where I think poets come in and string words together and make you see the world with a different perspective,” Krocha observed.
The book will be available at Crossword, Bible House, Chapru in Kohima; and at OM Books and Fusion store in Dimapur, besides on the website Ilandlo.
