By Liz Ralte (EMN)
Mona Zote lives in Aizawl in the Northeast Indian state of Mizoram. She describes herself as a poet “disguised as a government employee”. She writes in English. She has published her poetry in various journals, including Indian Literature and Carapace. Her work was also featured in the Anthology of Contemporary Poetry from the Northeast, edited by Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih and Robin Ngangom. She publishes sparingly.
Zote’s poetry startles with its unsentimental and disquieting imagery, its register that moves from the formal to the colloquial and its determinedly fragmentary, non-linear style.
An IAS officer’s daughter, Mona Zote spent her childhood in Bihar before moving to Mizoram in her 20s.
To Mona Zote, “There are only two ways of writing a poem: either a line comes to you or you reach out for that crucial line”. She also mentions that she does not ever consciously worked towards building a world. She says that part of her present frustration is rooted in the sense of not being able to piece together the shapes of her environment. She claims, “It’s like standing too close to a stained glass window; you glimpse colours and suggestions of forms but the picture in its entirely is not discernible”. (The Hindu, Online edition of India's National Newspaper, Sunday, Jan 2, 2011. Building the universe of the poem, Ashley Tellis) (1)
In “Gunrunning”, she gives an insight into tribal insurgency but her stance is of studied nonchalance, almost cruelly ideal. The poem shows in part the complex history of Mizoram – the violence of believing in the violence of the insurgents when words have failed or they are of no purpose. Give up cigarettes, take up Opium instead…because, you know, it sends us dreams. (Nongkynrih, Kynpham Sing & S Ngangong,Robin (eds), Anthology of Contemporary Poetry from the Northeast, 2003, NEHU Publications, print.)
These lines seems to suggest that dreams are all that one had to hold onto in those times of turmoil and strife or it could be that Mona Zote is playing with her satirical view of the Mizo society. The lines could also point to the pretentious lifestyle of the Mizo people, who wants the newest things, the most in “vogue” material things that they could reach.
In the last lines, Mona Zote proclaims “We all like to feel so special”, seems to point out the individual feeling of wanting to feel unique, solidifying her stance of style of writing poetry. The poem captures the theme of post modernism like techno culture and hyper reality. According to this logic, society has moved beyond capitalism into the information age, in which one is bombarded with advertisements, videos and product placement. Mona Zote thus sets her poem in such a way that it is evident one is not able to escape the confines of the modern world itself – its restricting customs and traditions. On an interview she gave in The Hindu on January 2, 2011, Mona Zote on asked about her influences on her work, said that it was life.
For her, “writing is partly an effort to make sense of things and partly an attempt to keep from going insane. The absurdity of life, the inherent strangeness of whatever is considered normal. People and their byzantine reasons for doing what they do”. (, Online edition of India's National Newspaper, Sunday, Jan 2, 2011. Building the universe of the poem, Ashley Tellis) (3)
In “The Whores of Augus”, Mona Zote touch on the taboo subject of prostitution. One cannot but think about the state of Mizo Christianity, where rigid Christianity is propounded, and the existence of prostitutes or “fallen” women are ironical. Mona Zote seems to glorify their existence describing their “clean hands….cleanly folded” and questions why “we’re mad about them?” She gave these women a voice, not merely giving them negative effects like the majority of the community and in turn the world. She seems to establish the picture that these “whores” are women and human as well and the reader is reminded of that bit of humanity even in the lowest station of society. Zote challenged the established order of these stereotyped women because her identity as a “Mizo” and being a “Woman” are inseparable in the process of her writing poetry. She called the “whores”: Loving and wise Unpinning their damp dark hair, eyes gleaming
Mona Zote looks underneath the surface, with her describing the “damp dark hair” also points to the potent sexuality of women in these women and women in general. She in passing praised the sexuality of a woman and the powers she held in it. The gleaming eyes gave a view into a woman’s intelligence as these women are obviously clever and brilliant enough to “snare” men with their vivid sexuality and intelligence. What is evident in most of Mona Zote’s poems is her criticism of society or religion pertaining to Mizo society. It is evident too in “The Whores of August”, when she speaks of: And in the madonnaic embrace find What no perfect daughters would deny Sweetness in all their ways.
She compares the “fallen” women’s embraces as pure as that of the Madonna and critics the construction of the “perfect daughters” of the society, who are so constructed in the ways of society that they are left with no individuality.
Mona Zote proclaims that these “whores” have
“Sweetness in all their ways”, they might be on the borders of society but they escaped the molding plastics that society would ensnare them in. The neglect of the Christian society, the poetry seems to suggest, is the salvation to their expression of women’s individuality. (Nongkynrih, Kynpham Sing & S Ngangong,Robin (eds),
2003, NEHU Publications, print)
Even though Mona Zote’s criticisms of society and the church are varied in her poems, what readers must be certain is that her tribal identity is always present – albeit bitter and ironic. She is a great contributor to the awakening of Mizo society in terms of poetry in the mainstream modern literature of India. In one of her very famous poem “Rez”, she wrote: if they ask you about life on the reservation if they say they want to hear about stilt houses and the dry clack of rain on bamboo and the preservation of tribal ways give them a slaughter.
But Mona Zote gleefully informs “Rez” came out of an obscure news item about a shootout on a Native American reservation. She does acknowledge that she was “wresting with things here too - but not just from the Northeast. It doesn’t matter where you’re from; we’re all in our own reservations”. Zote’s poems are manic, wildly lyrical and on the spot in catching the feeling of modern Mizo culture and society.
Monalisa Changkija is a poet and writer from Nagaland. She is the Editor and Proprietor of the
, an English Daily. Her books include .
She distinguishes herself as an intrepid journalist with her coverage of the Merapani wars fought between the police forces of Ngaland and Assam. Her articles, published in Nagaland and other parts of the country, on the grievances of the Angh of Chui and the gross human rights violations, especially of women there, created a consciousness amongst people of the often forgotten people. Monalisa Changkija has been at the receiving end of both insurgent groups and the armed forces for her reportage and her upholding of journalistic ethic. She has presented numerous seminar papers across India on varied subjects particularly on Naga issues, women’s status, human rights and media. (Poetry Intenational Rotterdam. http://www.poetryinternationalweb.net/)
Monalisa Changkija’s writings are political, cultural, feminists and over-powering. Monalisa Changkija, while bringing out the finer analytical element underlying each word in her poems speak against the socially constructed norms in “ bracketing” and oppressing women and hopes that within the undying spirit their “silenced voice” will one day emerge collectively towards real change and towards a gender equitable society she wants the women of today to believe in themselves as being the most important in life above all priorities in truly celebrating womanhood. The highlight of her poems are the raw honesty in which gave the freedom to read her poems in different contexts changing times and realities.
I see it nowhere written That your unironed shirts Deserve my attention More than my flying lessons.
(Nongkynrih,Kynpham Sing & SNgangong, Robin (eds), 2003, NEHU Publications, print. Also printed in
Simple but yet ultimately powerful she speaks for the woman individuality, taking a stance for women in general and particular of her state. She states how there is no written law or rule that household chores like ironing should fall into the women’s hands. Her mention of “flying lessons” which is rather fantastical seems to point out the free state of the poet’s mind and also indicates that a woman’s personal indications are no less important than that of a man’s.
The poem brings forth the refusal of accepting conventional patriarchal society and that simple household chores are a form of women’s subjugation as well.
The short 4-lined poem by Monalisa Changkija is a clear indication of her stance on feminism.
It is also featured in her book . The book contains several other short 4-lined poems which proved Changkija’s stance on women’s individuality. The poems are short yet over-whelming in their voices that shout out for the “women”. Another example would be – In bodies battered, bruise and bent Live unbroken spirits,
Children call them, “Mother” Society defined them, “Wives”. (Changkija,Monalisa,
2013, Heritage Publication,Dimapur, print)
In “Of a People Unanswered” (Section 3), Monalisa Changkija embodies her angst and hope, tracing a part of Naga history through the prism of poetry.
Don’t waste your time Laying out diktats And guidelines On how to conduct my life On matters personal and political. (Nongkynrih,Kynpham Sing & S Ngangong, Robin (eds), Anthology of Contemporary Poetry from the Northeast, 2003, NEHU Publications, print.)
Changkija’s voice is sharp and loud in this poem. She might be, as seen, be talking about herself, of the women’s status or the identity as a tribal of her community. The three combinations are strong as it is a cry each to establish a particular identity. It could be Changkija’s derision against opposers in her business and personal conduct. It could also be a Woman’s voice against subjugation against established patriarchal norms or the cry of a tribal individual fighting against the current of mainstream society. Whatever it is, the half of this poem can be taken as a cry against a threat of triple subjugation. “You may not know For you do not know beyond the AK-47 And so you survive and Prosper in darkness.” (Nongkynrih,Kynpham Sing & S Ngangong, Robin (eds), Anthology of Contemporary Poetry from the Northeast, 2003, NEHU Publications, print.)
In the following lines, Monalisa Changkija brings forth her strong gender consciousness. It is a memorable snub for the masculine gender signified by the gun “AK – 47”. The line “Prosper in darkness” is also a way in which the poet portrays the set ways of the patriarchal male. She seems to suggest that the old ways are “darkness” and that the man is too obtuse for the “light” - a new change. In the last three lines, she proclaims: But I am more Than a machine Or a mass of molecules. (Nongkynrih, Kynpham Sing & S Ngangong, Robin (eds), Anthology of Contemporary Poetry from the Northeast, 2003, NEHU Publications, print.)
Like Mona Zote, Changkija reaches out to the humanity in the readers. She gave an insight into individuality and that of being a human being, not that of one who is defined by social norms or identity. The poet proclaims that each individual has depth and that one is more than one what appears at the surface level.
Rootedness is visible both in the poems of Mona Zote’s and Monalisa Changkija’s poems.
Though they are satirical, vicious and critical of their respective land and culture, the roots of their people’s culture, the roots of their times and most of all, the roots of their past that is lost to them, have sunken deep into their poetry. Their irony is double-edged as they rail themselves and others in the same breathe. There is a lot of it in their poetry as they denounce, with anger and disgust, those who are turning their land into a habitation of headless and bodiless monsters. This can be observed as the chief reason why their respective poetries are found to have similar subject matters and “bonding” even though they come from different regions. The language of contemporary women writing from the Northeast is thus multi-faceted. There is a war with words; there is a subaltern history which is unwritten, a chain of folklore unsung. Poetry to them, critics claim acts as a resistance of any form of cultural hegemony of the mainland.
Changkija, Monalisa, , 2013, Heritage Publication, Dimapur, print
Nongkynrih, Kynpham Sing & S Ngangong, Robin(eds), Anthology of Contemporary Poetry from the Northeast, 2003, NEHU Publications, print.
, Online edition of India's National Newspaper, Sunday, Jan 02, 2011. Building the universe of the poem, ASHLEY TELLIS, website.
Poetry Intenational Rotterdam. .
