Locating Cultures: A Semi-Academic Essay On the English Poetry of the North-East"If India was the Jewel in the Crown of the British Empire, the remote North East of that country is its Hidden Jewel": Tony Howard. (contemporary travel writer) In an enthusiastic survey of the Indian English poetry scene Binod K. John says: ―The north-east has become a new haven for Indian poets writing in English,‖ and then mentions the names of poets all of whom live and write in Shillong. The Welsh poet Dafydd Rowlands, who, along with the other Welsh poet, Nigel Jenkins, visited the Khasi Hills in 1994, also spoke of ―a circle of writers based here in Shillong for whose work I have a lot of admiration.‖ There was no mention of any poet from any other part of the region. This of course was way back in 1994, when poetry in the north-east meant poets based in Shillong: Desmond L. Kharmawphlang, Robin S. Ngangom, Ananya S. Guha, Kynpham S. Nongkynrih, Anjum Hasan, Paul Lyngdoh, Almond D. Syiem, Gweneth A. Mawlong, and Indari S. Warjri. Since the time I have referred to here, circa 1990, Indian English fiction and Indian Poetry in English translation have gained ground. Death and illness of the earlier generation of poets such as Nissim Ezekiel, AK Ramanujan and Arun Kolatkar has meant that the new needed to take over. Even poets such as Jayanta Mahapatra find it hard to get published by the mainstream publishers; his most recent books having been published by small-town publishing houses. Similarly the gradual dissolution of the divide between the two rubrics ―Indian poetry‖ per se and ―Indian Poetry in English,‖ is further catalyzed with the increased incidence of translated work of regional poetry in English. Speaking of ―Indian poetry,‖ one is confronted by the vexed question of what is ―Indian‖ about it. But, by not bringing into its fold much poetry of value that is being written and published by the diverse ethnic groups in India’s north-east serves merely to further estrange the people of the region. True, some attempt has been made over the last one decade or so to include and discuss the works of Robin S Ngangom, Desmond Kharmawphlang, Mamang Dai, Kynpham S. Nongkynrih in anthologies and academic forums. But their relative obscurity as against the ubiquity of poets of dubious merit in high profile cultural events and in P3 circles has meant that the latter masquerade as the new and young Indian English poets ready to take over from the older generation of poets. Ironically enough many of these new poets from Manipur, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have been ―discovered‖ by the older generation of poets such as Jayanta Mahapatra and Adil Jussawala and praised in their reviews and lectures. In one of his earlier essays on Indian Poetry, for example, Jayanta Mahapatra mentions Robin while noting how Indian poetry in English underwent a sea-change and also a dramatic re-evaluation in the 1970s: ―It was the native culture that was showing in the poem of the Indian English poet,‖ instead of the earlier tendency to write a well-crafted poem, or a kind of poetry that was notable for its dry wit and irony. Barring these words of recognition, no serious attempt has been made so far to take on board English poetry from the region in relation to the rubric Indian Poetry in English. This critical neglect is perhaps best understood in the general context of the region’s long history of oppression and violence. topography. the diverse ethnic groups have numerous histories. Just as one kind of subimperialism that lasted well into the 20th century (the Bengali sub-imperialism) dominated the Assamese (not to speak of the rest) people of the undivided Bengal. What it does to any consideration of poetry in the north-east is open a Pandora’s Box. history and mythology of the region. In India’s political imaginary the term serves to describe a region that is both mysterious and dangerous. Myanmar and Bangladesh. mythologies. and identity politics. culture. without a reasonably clear understanding of the location. China/Tibet. and has been the subject of innumerable books. The issues that I address here would be mostly along expected lines: what sort of poetry is being written here? Is the poetry of the region worth any critical attention? Where does it stand in relation to Indian English Poetry? Though these are questions that are best addressed at the very basic level. the term NE has conjured up images of gun-toting militant outfits. along with notorious abbreviations such as. It also means that one cannot hope to understand any of the even better known north-eastern poets. and cultural practices. MNF. Many such people greet strangers from the north-east with knowing words and winks such as ―So. No wonder. For the same reason I shall confine my discussion mostly to the English poetry of the region and maybe some that is available in English translation. of what the people themselves of the region have rightly or wrongly perceived as having been ―internally colonized. which clearly comes from the centre-periphery model of location. For me the great attraction of the poetry of this region is the peculiar interface between its preferred .‖ Even in academic circles. language. ULFA.‖ their subjugation and political neglect and exploitation at the hands of the Indian state. NSCN. the central university). Thus no one person is competent to speak of the subject in general. NEHU (acronym for the North-Eastern Hill University. so the undivided Assam perpetrated a kind of Assamese hegemony that ―Nagamese‖ is a legacy of. a ―heart of darkness. such that the language of one group is inaccessible to the rest. north-east. you are from NEHU‖? Thus. Even within a single political unit called Nagaland numerous tribes speak different languages/dialects. I shall try to move beyond them and into the contestatory sites of the region’s varied history. In their respective locations. Even the undivided Assam is a site for a ―million mutinies now. dialect. and carries on the colonial legacy is meant to describe what is territorially contained within the Indian nation-state between the flimsy Siliguri (chicken) neck and the international borders of Bhutan. it is not poetry but ethnic strife which comes readily to the mind of a ―mainstream‖ Indian whenever the north-east is mentioned. and identities of religion. surprisingly enough.‖ In other words. Nagamese is a lingua franca which bears a close resemblance to Assamese than to any of the Naga dialects/languages. the term homogenizes a location where no homogeneity can ever be imagined. the unfortunate phrase. another term that has served to describe the region has been.‖ The subject is only the proverbial tip of the iceberg in the context of difference and hegemony. Historically it is somewhat unknown. It perhaps still does in the media-fed minds of most ―Indians. violence and bandhs. For decades now. I shall therefore limit my discussion to only a few of the poets whose location and context I am reasonably familiar with. Mizoram and so on.‖ Still. The protagonists of Lyric wanted to write readable. transparent lyrical poetry. Seferis. Thus.. ―it was actually with the departure of the British from India that a new seriousness in the intention of poets and novelists writing in English became evident‖ (Mahapatra 286). Nagaland. which had initially swept the first generation of independent India’s English poets. it is much after the Welsh left that poetry here became truly modern. The same paradox is discernible in the history of poetry in the Khasi hills. Indian writing ―exhibits a sort of coherence that had been absent for many years.). The two leaders in this enterprise were Desmond L. Thus even the imagistic/thematic mainstay of the poetry. from the midnineteenth century till the mid-twentieth. the more the poem eschews the relation of self to society as an explicit theme and the more it allows this relation to crystallize involuntarily from within the poem‖( 217). but locally "rooted. The yearly magazine put together with a shoestring budget with contributions from the poets themselves. It carried a brief but programmatic announcement about their preferred aesthetic. Ngangom (1959-) [who is not a Khasi but is a Meitei from Manipur. and is applicable to the larger body of indigenous English poets from the region: that they ―cut their teeth on Lorca." This aesthetic may have originated in Shillong. Kharmawphlang (1964-) [who is a Khasi folklorist by profession] and Robin S. introduced them to the written tradition in poetry. Arghezi. Manipur.‖ that ―All individual lyric poetry is indeed grounded in a collective substratum‖ (220). Lyric) was brought out by a group of Shillong-based poets. In this last respect. ―unmodern. As Theodor Adorno says in ―Lyric Poetry and Society. In the early 1990s. But they also wanted it to be a poetry that was not run of the mill ―Indian‖. Jenkins observes that they (the Khasi poets) have all ―abandoned their native language as a creative medium and taken to English.‖ ―unpostmodern‖ aesthetic that is outside the fold of its supposed ―Indian‖/‖mainstream‖ counterpart. but the success of these poets prompted the poets elsewhere in the region to follow suit: Arunachal Pradesh. clearly stated that most Indian English poetry is academic has been produced under the influence of Anglo-American modernism was cerebral and obscure. This precipitation will be more perfect . nature. can be seen as an ideological outhouse for its lyrical/romantic mode. and has made Shillong his home]. Jayanta Mahapatra (who has himself only recently begun experimenting with Oriya. they share a trait with many other Indian English poets. what Jenkins says about the ―talented younger generation‖ of Khasi poets is valid only with certain qualifications.generic mode—that of the lyric—and the political/ideological motivations and compunctions. This heady mixture of the romantic and the political is often mistaken to be a late-romantic. some would think) says. through the Welsh.. of course. Mahapatra further draws a line . He argues that ―… in every lyric poem the historical relation of individual to society within the realm of subjective spirit … must have been precipitated in the poem.‖ (ibid. a poetry magazine (significantly called. and not very successfully. Neruda and the hard-edged modernists of the third world‖ rather than of the Anglo-American brand of modernism. Though the British. if neglected or oppressed. the contemporary fear of the native culture being swamped by other alien cultures is no less justified. dialects and location. particularly to the first Welsh missionary Thomas Jones (1810-49) for having handed down the Khasi alphabets to them. The Khasis. the Mizos too have their own varied and diverse historical and cultural divisions and subdivisions into clans. Buddhists in the region claim that their religion preceded the Hindu influence. Famous for its schools and colleges. with their mind-boggling diversity of languages and cultural practices have been marginalized. in the late sixties and the seventies it joined the ―mainstream‖ and was engulfed in violence and mindless blood spillage. and. have all experienced . If in their poetic infancy the threat to its indigenous nature came from the whites and the local non-Khasi insiders. Shillong was the capital of undivided Assam. their contemporary resistance to non-native cultures is not unmixed with admiration and gratitude. the dialectic between the beauty of the land and the inhumanity and horror of violence. In conditions like these sub-nationalism grows. this princely state merged with the Indian State in 1949. Writers and poets had become one with the anguish they saw and felt‖ (ibid). and some wrong-headed policies. Nagas too live in two or three other parts of the NE other than Nagaland. The poets of the region. The consequent tension and ambivalence has made their poetry more sinewy and the best that is being written by the Khasis themselves shows a healthy avoidance of raw anger and rhetoric. And the Khasis can neither forget nor forgive their erstwhile mentors for the near-decimation of their indigenous culture. between the private world of love and the public world of hatred have contributed to the richness of the poetry here. politics and history in the region. But suddenly. Apart from this love-hate attitude of the indigenous to the foreign. These religious and linguistic factors –29 dialects out of which only 5 are recognized by the Manipur Government – further complicate the Manipuri culture. for all their diversity. are grateful to the Welsh for their many acts of kindness. Even so. In any case. Undoubtedly. One can begin by using Meghalaya as a test case for examining the intricate relationship between poetry. when a Sylhet Muslim. one of the three major ethnic groups. shortsightedness. and the current scenario of the ethnic and non ethnic intermixture seems to have been seeded much earlier—in the 1880s. Amjad Ali contributed the first-ever Khasi book of poetry to their written tradition. Besides this. takes the form of militant nationalism. the Khasi written literatures are barely a century old.between that earlier generation and the one that followed. locating the latter in the late 1970’s: ―Terrorism and needless acts of violence became the order of the day in states like Punjab and Assam. and making them educationally advanced. it used to attract a large number of students from all over the country. the peoples of the north-east. Manipur’s history is even more complex: with the infiltration of Hinduism-Vaisnavism in the 18th century as well as Christianity and the British in the 19th century. As recently as three decades ago. The mutations and adaptations of Hindu mythology are wellknown. After India became independent. But the Welsh benediction was not entirely an unmixed one. and perhaps irrevocably alienated through governmental apathy. and had become a virtual melting pot. or is happening.. Yet nature is not seen merely as an aesthetic object. The purpose behind providing these bits of information is to alert ourselves. This has happened in remote central European.. hooded eyes/ stealing tiny lights from the fire. and this is precisely what has happened. a shame that splits our present from our past.paroxysms of ethnic strife. by their light I examine the great hurt I carry in my soul for having denied my own. The visitor’s explanation is in the nature of a supplication with the intention of reassuring the wary native: “We came. the flora and the fauna. We come with longing. and what results is this: The stories burn our memories like a distant meteor searing the unnamed gloom. And two of his finest poems emerge from his forays into these jungles: ―Letter from Pahambir‖ is quintessentially Khasi.. demands an explanation from the city man for their visit. political and mythological associations inevitably crowd in. who is also the ―tiger man‖.. Middle-East and Latin American countries. . Desmond’s researches into his land’s enchanting folk traditions have taken him into deep jungles.We are ourselves Our worst enemies”. . if necessary to warn each other lest we generalize. but all kinds of historical.‖ The village chief. In these times is born what Tariq Ali calls the literature of ―real conflict‖ (Ali 143). “to learn.” I plead. They have been caught in the crossfire between state terrorism and the terrorism of the insurgents. (―Letter from Pahambir‖) The last lines inevitably go beyond the romantic exclusivity of the self to the interconnectedness ./ gnarled hands extended. This honesty on the part of the poet is fused with the wisdom of U Di. The lover of women or men is at the same time a lover of the land. not to teach. Behind every private lyric utterance lies a web of socially significant resonances which every reader needs to catch. The speaking subject in most of the lyrics one encounters in the poetry of the region is not the withdrawn romantic self. our hearts tapping a rhythm spawned in shame. in India. Pahambir is an inaccessible village where U Di ―squats on the floor. we are the forgetful generation. I am a Nyishi a tribal claiming to be a man…. The poem leaves a deep impression on us because we haven’t read or experienced anything like this before. drinking his rice-beer and eating his cured fish. One can observe a similar movement in his ―Letter from Paham Rioh Village‖: I am being entertained by a stocky. (The Man and the Tiger) But for him. the furtiveness of birds. the language does not separate him from his fellow tribesman. with twinkling eyes and leather face of fifty five summers. Like Desmond he too is busy connecting to his roots through legends and folklore. I write in English which is not my language you see. The Nyibu [his tribe] had read the entrails of the chickens and presaged that six dead monkeys shall lie beside a stranger in the house (The Man and the Tiger) . bare-footed man. But the man’s evocation of the past merges with the present of the corrupted successors of that tradition. nor from the rest of humanity. the age of animal droppings. In spite of all those talks about rationales and scientific temper a primordial sentiment lurk somewhere in us begotten in the days of chaos.) from Arunachal Pradesh says. The poet listens to the ―strange‖ native and says: I remain silent all the while as I did yesterday. I am in the house of a notorious poacher.of the subject and the object. when he took me to deep jungles and taught me the meaning of an upturned leaf. There is a similar guilt consciousness among poets from the other regions. Yumlam Tana (1976. It grieves me that you should love these broken ridges and valleys more than some of my own people. Nigel Jenkins. and ends the poem thus: My only query are your people as you are? “A land worth fighting for. and has a collection from Writer’s Workshop. is double-edged in that it is both a frontal attack on the outsider who is out to marginalize and even destroy his native Khasi culture. and the betrayal of the ―unthinking‖ Khasi women. thus. (―Encounters with a Welsh Poet‖) Paul Lyngdoh (1976-) also lashes out against the unscrupulous home-grown politicianbusinessman-bureaucrat nexus. He connects this colonial past to the postcolonial present. he has published poems in The Telegraph. spattered the ferns with our fathers’ blood and spoke to us in gunfire tones. Unsurprisingly his poetry is . Some of his best poetry springs from his attempts to make sense of his ambivalent attitude towards the colonial past.” your words. now a member of the Meghalaya legislative Assembly. He was a Welsh man. godsent young man entered once our mist woven hills. and enjoying a tremendous political following in the state.Another young Khasi poet. literature and the Bible. brought spite. The Tommies. and on the corrupt officials at home. (―On Top of a Hill‖) Yet this is not merely an expression of conservationist’s concern. His irony. he remembers Jones. Addressing his Welsh benefactor. A former student leader. however. brought us letters. and says: A paleface. This is evident in his ―Land for Sale‖. Nature is inextricably entangled with unhappy memories of the colonial past. Almond Dean Syiem (1967-) also laments the ravishing of his land: I’m standing on top of a hill which is bare like a naked woman whose breasts have been uncovered by a ravishing madman. overtly political. and not a few poems are marred because of their belligerence. and write of the uncorrupted land. after all theirs is a matrilineal culture.‖ which is a mountain near Kohima. otherwise a fine poet from . Nini Vingiriau Lungalang (1976-). But one would have been surprised indeed if all the Khasi voices were male. Mawlong. Monalisa Changkija (1960-) and Easterrine Iralu (1959-) have shown much promise. Yes. his more recent poems are remarkable for their fine control of anger and disgust. A woman’s anger is heard in the poetry of Indari Syiem Warjri (1962-). another Khasi woman poet who merits mention here is Gweneth A. only Mamang Dai (1957-). Let then the wisps of mist that stroke The flanks of old Puliebadze! She goes on to admonish fellow tribesmen to take care of the sacred place. Along with Warjri. Published in the New Welsh Review this poem shows how poetry can be born out of a sincere emotional response to social reality.. says similarly. Naga myths and legends and mourn the destruction of its old glory. The scene is that of a violent day of ethnic conflict. Nini sings of ―the stern sentinel trees [that] silently guard The secret pulse that throbs beneath the skirts Of ancient ancestress Puliebadze. Of all these poets from the region. She is reacting to inhuman brutality that follows militant nationalism. Monalisa. again. Among the Naga women poets. It could well be a scene in Bosnia: I do not call you “brother” who wage war on children and watch as they choke in silent anguish. Walk with care for here is holy ground …. I have seen our rice fields Turn into factories and hills Reduced to barren brown Our rivers have dried And our once sparkling fish Lie dead on sandy banks. Her angry outburst is as much local as universal. But. ―Puliebadge. Her poem on ―The God of Revenge‖ is bold in its theme and her utterance sincere. / from everywhere. instead of being other-directed. who in their pro-establishment security write great poetry of artistic merit. but with a painful lack of social concern. Irony. Dai’s poetry too is remarkable for its highly evocative imagery and finesse of phrasing.‖ She often reminds one of many of the beauracratturned poets.Arunachal Pradesh. In the first he mourns ―the two lives snuffed/ out in this storm of blood/ [which] lie unmourned by alien skies. She breathes a palpable nostalgia for a rapidly disappearing past: I know From faces that I meet In these lives That have crumbled That the past lives In these eyes That the jungle shows Desmond evokes the same sense of nostalgia but his emotion is more politically charged and historically conscious than Mamang Dai’s. than abusive. first by the British who came ―with gifts of bullets. Mona Zote (1972-): . and their more recent poetry tends to be more self-critical. eschews the expression of political concerns. curfew and all.‖ The poem depicts the trouble-torn streets of Shillong.‖ In some of their early poems the Khasi poets like Kharmawphlang were driven more by anger than by any awareness of the tragic corridors of history. in the second. is being increasingly used as a device to neutralize the tendency towards invective. (―The Conquest‖) A similar strain of irony is also discernible in the young poet from Mizoram. Though he cannot yet forgive the “alien patrons”: Hiding under dark cloaks of my alien patrons. I was taught to be ashamed of my own. and the tomb it has become laughs and cackles without end. he laments the rape of his land. all this has changed. Mercifully. not believing in identity politics. blood-money and religion. and resigning from the administrative service has founded the ―Arunachal Heritage Society. as in some poems quoted above. She belongs to the Adi community. Yet.‖ and then by the ―plains men‖ ―from the sweltering/ plains. His ―The September Song‖ and ―The Conquest‖ can be sited here. Kharmawphlang despairs at having to express himself in English: My burdensome English learning assails me. and strives to eschew the Anglo-American modernism that the earlier generation of Indian poets succumbed to.‖ where one notices a blend of the deeply personal and the flagrantly political. He steeped in folklore and ―local colour. Robin’s poetry here is deeply passionate. ―To my parents who in making love also made poetry. His heart bleeds as much for his homeland. Belonging to the second part of the book under review with the subheading ―Subject and Objects. and therefore. the ―strange case‖ of Robin S Ngangom does not appear strange or unique after all. our literature and performing arts.‖ So that by the time the poem ends.When out of the honeycomb of right Church drums busily advertise The high percentage of faith.‖ and in his first two collections (1988) he deals mostly with his childhood relationships with Cherrapunjee. One discerns the same self-directed irony in many of Robin’s works. ―The Strange Case of Robin S.‖ (the first part is called ―The Book of Lusts‖) this poem is a reflection on the subject’s relationship with one of the ―objects‖ called Manipur. where the love of the land inextricably merges with the love of the flesh. and irony has emerged as the main rhetorical tool: Patriotism is the need of the hour. Robin’s poetry is deeply indebted to the Latin American and Caribbean as well as African poetry. patriotism is honouring martyrs who died in confusion. Ngangom. The anger of his early works has given way to meditative poise.‖ but also in the two epigraphs taken from Rilke and Neruda. Kynpham Singh Nongkynrih (1964-) is a prolific poet. as for its people. who is most direct in the articulation of identity politics. its mists. ./ Hatred sprang and razed the crops‖ But such immaculate phrasing is more a rule than an exception in Robin’s inspired artistry. But the relationship quickly grows beyond the deep subjectivity of ―I misplaced a bronze bell‖ [emblematic of his cultural identity] /somewhere…‖ to ―our intentions‖ and ―our past. In fact. The passion behind the poetry is indicated not only in the dedication. waterfalls. All through the book Robin keeps springing surprises. patriotism is preaching succession and mourning our merger with a nation. as much for his beloved. and inflicting them on hapless peoples patriotism is admiring the youth who fondles grenades…. his way with words match the turn of emotions. His is the plight of many or most Manipuris of his generation: ―But where can one run from the homeland…?‖ One is greeted by some amazing phrases: ―We sowed suspicion in the fields. This is from his most ambitious poem. patriotism is declaring we should preserve native customs traditions. furthest removed from the lyrical impulse of his peers. Tabish Khair has recently pointed out how a ―funny lack of humour‖ characterizes Indian poetry in English (Khair).‖ Though less often. his commas are as big as bucket’s holes. As pears become metaphors for the irreversible conquest. Nongkynrih laments the incursion of foreign cultures. ―Likai‖ and ―Sngi Thiang‖ (―A Day in Cherrapunjee‖: II and III). for example: I can make love to women and improvise. that ―like them we shed our old ways/ and having shed them we find/ no spring to bring the flowers back. He revisits the very ―spots of time‖ with which Khasi folklore is inextricably woven: ―Dainthlen‖ and ―Noh Ka Likai Fall‖ named after the woman. what is? Again. . and give us not only a window view of the picturesque place.. he hits back at those look-down-uponers who are materially better off than ―A poor teacher. jostle with personal memories of childhood. And when I kiss one we close our eyes. Ngangom among the worthy defaulters. ―Maybe my husband is jobless now. While you grunt and ejaculate prematurely within three minutes on your painted partner as she smokes during the act perhaps with a cigarette held between her toes. He includes Robin S.” (―Only my Tenant‖) Listen to him. as well as the myths associated with them. (―The New Professor‖) A ―mere‖ college teacher. and is certainly not true of Nongkynrih.‖ says a landlady in one of his poems.gorges. (―Values‖) If this piece of satire is not funny. “but he will get a job one day maybe after my fourth child.. like Kharmawphlang.‖ He admires ―their youthful forms‖ but ultimately only ―strange flowers‖ ―boss around‖ and ―like flowers. even Kharmawphlang’s and Ngangom’s poetry shows wit interspersed with serious poetry. only strangers and strange ways have come/ to bloom in this land‖ (―Only Strange Flowers Have Come to Bloom‖). There is a sinological flavor in these naive ―story-poems‖: simple and direct narratives. Attempts to resurrect the dying myths. if not baseless. Take the following lines of the latter. The accusation of Khair is debatable. but also a peep into the very heart of its people. who knows . and his full stops as unwieldy as shot-puts. my empty hands. Instead of sounding shrill notes. his poems sing songs of quiet protest: And I saw my self-selected pain. alone without joy or pain. one would rather not. alone without your friends. In a poem written as early as June 1987 Ngangom declared: When you write you are silent silent with your thoughts. the volume is dedicated to Mahapatra.‖ maybe people of his own community back home in Manipur. unveiled by memory and thirst . and consequently to the poetry I write. anger at his intellect being derided by the materialist. But not all poems in Ngangom’s first volume are personal responses to the condition of Manipur.. indeed. One of his most touching poems is the one on his mother. only/ if escorted by armed men‖ (―Homeland I left‖).. is the key to his poetry. silent without love. a clerk. like me. but this is the kind of humour that goes well beyond itself. and gory bodies dragged unceremoniously through our rice-fields. the entire history.‖ The irony is often cutting: ―I hear that freedom comes there. (―When You Write You Are Silent‖) Appropriately enough. was my naked shame. And the last reflection I saw. waged on our soil. The target of the satire is the ―newly rich upstarts.I have made a case for humour in his poetry.. who would declare in 1994 that ―Silence is a word which comes back over and over again into my life. might feel inclined to see a mother-Motherland equation. the contrast between the heroes of the past and the ―patriots‖ now: ―the neglected freedom fighters of World War II‖ (―To a Valley Known as Imphal‖). His anguish springs from the history of Manipur. a lifetime of silence..‖ (Mahapatra 283). .. (―Poetry‖) Silence. class III officers/ earn more than me. who by being a corrupt government official or unscrupulous capitalist pities the likes of the poet: ―for all my acquired learning/ a mechanic. Even in the lines quoted above the mood is one of anger. Though a metaphor-hungry academic critic..‖ Again and again Robin returns to his childhood years and contrasts them with the cruel present when ―a wicked war is. Theodor. 1995.Oxford and USA: Blackwell. 1995. if not in the popular understanding of the term. I have attempted to show that the cauldron of cultural and political effervescence and resurgence that north-east is. Tabish. The Sieve. 1995. with small dreams and leading a small life. Ed. ---------------. 1994. poetry in north-east springs from its mist and soil. and is an integral part of the broad rubric known as Indian Poetry in English. Binod K. River Poems. Nigel. ―Lyric Poetry and Society‖. and in spite of its rootedness. 1992. But even from this sketchy account it may have become quite evident how. Adil. Khasia in Gwalia. 21 Aug 1994. Shillong. Eds. 31 Dec 1995. Calcutta: Writers Workshop. Times of India 20 Feb 1994. John. no. Khair. ―A Range of Poems‖. Moments. Kharmawphlang. ―A Funny Lack of Humor‖ in the Times of India. this poetry strikes a sympathetic cord among a much wider audience in India and abroad. Nongkynrih S. 1988. historical and cultural context. and is deeply rooted in its ethos.199. ―Rhyme and Reason‖. Touchstone/U Mawshamok. 1988. Desmond. in spite of its inner contradictions. this is owing to its privileging of the lyric mode which. even though operates in an apparently personalized space. undertakes a sociological analysis by foregrounding an individual’s mediation of subjectivity in a social . Indian English Poetry From North East. Kynpham. References Adorno. (―A Poem For Mother‖) I had begun this review of the English poetry scene in the north-east with the modest aim of introducing unfamiliar readers to what is territorially. Brian O’Connor. Indian. 2003. 1988. Mamang. ―Literature and Market Realism‖. KS and Robin S Ngangom. Dai. Shillong: NEHU. than to its often corruptible leaders. New Left Review. Ranchi: Writers Forum. ——————————. for all your dreams of peace and rest during your remnant days I only turned out to be a small man. instead. May. ―Introduction‖. 1993. Swansea: Gomer Press. Tariq. is better understood through a greater attention to its poets and writers. Further. ——————————. Here. Swansea: Alun Books. and belongs to the category of the literature of ―real conflict. 1994. Nongkynrih. Jussawala. 2004. Indian Express Sunday Magazine. Calcutta: Writers Workshop. enjoy the touching self-deprecatory tribute to his ―Mother Apopki‖: Forgive me.‖ As I have argued. Ali. .One ought to. 2000. Gwalia in Khasia. Jenkins. Calcutta: Writers Workshop. The Adorno Reader.June1993. ————————. ―Romantic Lyricism‖. Paz. An Anthology of New English Poetry. 1994. Rupa: New Delhi. of Time’s Crossroads. ―Who Reads Poetry?‖ The Other Voice: Essays on Modern Poetry rpt. rev. Octavio. 1993. Words and the Silence. 28 August 1994. World Literature Today. Spring 1994. ------------------------. Hyderabad: Orient Longman. Jayanta. Robin S. Interview with Apphira. 1994. Ngangom. . 11 March 1994. Business Standard.Mahapatra. ―Mystery as Mantra‖. Makarand. Dafydd. in Partisan Review. Paranjape. Calcutta: Writers Workshop. 1994. Time’s Crossroads. 1988. Ed. Rowlands. 1994.