Painting the landscape

Book title: North East India – Land, People & Culture.

Author: Aiyushman Dutta;

Publisher: Assam Book Hive, Guwahati.

Pages: 113

Price : Rs. 1150.

As the sun rises over a tea garden in Assam, the green leaves gleam as the dew drops on it captures the luminous glow of dawn. The Celestial lake in Arunachal glimmers divine as the first rays of the morning sun touches its rippling waters. The shimmering Loktak lake stretches endlessly basking in the early daybreak. Suddenly, this serene tranquillity is intruded upon by the gurgling uproar of the cascading falls at Sohra. As Mizo girls dressed vibrantly in traditional attire sway in perfect rhythm to the steps of the Khullam dance, a group of Naga men folk exhibit their valiant legacy in a warrior dance. The floating Neer Mahal stands resplendent in the distance. And before you think nothing more can add to this visual spectacle, the view of a snow capped Mt. Kanchendzonga, its five peaks- the five treasures of snow, completes a sensational delight.

A coffee table book – North East India-Land, People & Culture, an initiative of North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC), under Ministry of Culture, Government of India, is written and edited by Aiyushman Dutta. For those who don’t know who Aiyushman is, here is the link to his blog –http://aiyushmandutta.wordpress.com. Based in Guwahati, he has written extensively on the north-east across various publications and portals. The book takes you through myriad facets of life in the eight states of the north-east. A region cut-off from the mainstream geographically and otherwise, the book endeavours to familiarise the unfamiliar.

The book dwells separately on the demography, language, history, places of interest for each of the eight states. Its emphasis on the diversity and richness of the region, as against the perception of ‘sameness’ by mainland Indians, is laudable. There are separate sections on music and dances, festivals, cuisine as well as handloom and handicrafts. These sections celebrates the peoples’ affinity to nature, love for peace, sense of sport and fair play, a natural disposition for the performing arts as well as an acute need to preserve one’s tradition and heritage. A magnificent view of the Tawang monastery, a glorious sight of the Brahmaputra washed in orange hues of the sun setting in the horizon, mist covered landscape of Arunachal; the graphics and the descriptive details in the book are enchanting almost to the point of being rapturous. Nevertheless, one would wish for a more careful editing.

For a region that has become synonymous with separatist violence and ethnic strife, the book presents a fresh perspective. The troubled waters may run deep and turbulent but it still does not take away from its beauty. And this coffee table book affirms that beauty.

SUMEELA ADHIKARIMAYUM

Published on February 24, 2012