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The first bi-monthly talk of the Naga Scholars’ Association of 2017 seen here in progress at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.[/caption]
Dimapur, Jan. 19: The first ‘bi-monthly talk’ of the Naga Scholars’ Association (NSA) of 2017 was held at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
A note from the organizers on Thursday informed that the session had Naga novelist Easterine Kire as a speaker. Kire is a The Hindu Prize winner, in 2015.
The novelist discussed her latest book ‘Sound of the thundercloud’ and gave a special lecture on ‘not writing Bollywood,’ the organizers stated. The press release explained: “...she narrated the difficulty as creative writers from north east, who are expected to follow certain prescribe format like Bollywood which constraints and limit the space for creative writing. As interesting as the title sounds, Kire began by clarifying that the catchy title of the talk has nothing against Bollywood (She herself is a big fan of “Sholay”!) but it was used merely for deriving lucrative examples and reliable analogies.”
According to Kire, Bollywood thrives on a peculiar “formula” of action and romance which is farfetched in real life. The formula has a “heroizing pattern” that categorize individuals as black and white, or either as hero or as villain.
“This feeds people with the false assumption that applying such formula in real life can bring success. The audience always fails to realize that Bollywood formula is only for entertainment purpose,” the organizers stated. “Thus, the talk revolves around such credulous “formula” in the sphere of writing (creative and academia both) with Kire questioning the supremacy and validity of its existence.”
Further, Kire said that during the nineties, writers were often made to believe that there was a certain way of writing, a formula and a pattern that needs to be followed. Such is the case with north eastern writers, she said. “They are often demarcated and expected to write and talk about conflict, violence and political scenario so much so that Kire humored the crowd saying that ‘next time a person asks you regarding the political situation of north east, tell them to read the newspaper instead.’”.
The writer also talked about her early experience as a writer when her works, some of which are now popular, were rejected a couple of times by publishers for not meeting the “criteria prerequisite of a north eastern writings.” They often asked for more political themes and ‘violence check etc,” the press release stated. “Even her recent novels were hardly reviewed, promoted or publicize because of the themes employed.”
Kire also expressed displeasure against dictation saying that the existence of rule and formula deprive writers of their independence to think creatively. “Writing, to her, is more than pleasing people or satisfying her readers. Writing, to her, is a balance between creativity and constructive analysis. Hence, writing should come straight from the heart, ‘Dil se direct,’ rather than springing out from an expected or given themes,” the press release stated.
Thus, one of Kire’s concluding remark was that, “We will write what we want to write, not what we are expected to write”, defies the long executed formula and encourages us to think beyond the box and to write from our heart, beyond what is given and expected.
“So, being a community/region with rich culture and heritage, we should explore means and ways to narrate our own folk tales and assert our roots and identity rather than simply confining to ideas that is subjugated to us within certain frames and contexts.”
