Arindam Ganguly, OP
BHUBANESWAR: Orissa POST interacts with noted poet and novelist Padma Shri Mamang Dai of Arunachal Pradesh who was in the city to participate in the Sarala Awards presentation ceremony as a chief guest. The former civil servant and Verrier Elwin award winner earned rave reviews for her book Arunachal Pradesh: The Hidden Land. Her other notable writings include River Poems, Stupid Cupid, Once upon a Moon time and The Sky Queen. The Padma Shri award winner for literature in 2011 also recollected the rare contribution of Late Biju Patnaik as a pilot who had travelled extensively in his Kalinga Airlines Dakota aircraft dropping supplies in the north-east province. Excerpts from the interview:
OP: How do you see Orissa on your first visit?
Mamang: I must say Bhubaneswar is a city of many beautiful temples. I enjoyed visiting Puri beach and Konark. For a writer, travelling is very important because it helps you explore reality from close quarters. That’s how it enriches a writer’s experience.
OP: Do you have any exposure to Oriya literature?
M: I had met novelist Prativa Rai many times at literary festivals. I personally know poet Jayanta Mahapatra. I had met him in Shillong for the first time. Now, I called on him at Cuttack. He is not doing well these days. I pray for his good health.
OP: How much travelling helps an author?
M: Travelling removes the barriers in the mind. It gives the writer dynamism since no author should stick to a particular dogma or ideology. The readers as well as publishers expect you to be versatile. They would not like the author to get bogged down by particular subject, space and theme. Also the writer should never contemplate on the objective or meaning of a book for the reader who should deduce his own meanings from the work of art.
OP: Initially, you began your career as a poet. Then there was this transition to the fiction genre?
M: My long literary journey broadly comprises journalistic writing and creative writing. Although poetry and fiction are special to my heart, each poetic line conveys a distinct imagery which the readers may experience themselves. But in a novel, there are multiple characters and each one has a journey separate from the other and every journey has its own charm to transport the reader to their respective logical destinations.
OP: Arunachal Pradesh has an ancient oral literary tradition. The younger generation is losing interest in such traditions. So, how do you see the present day scenario?
M: I had written several short stories for the young. I had blended oral traditions with the modern. I think, the taste buds of the new generation are different. In order to attract them to this new trend, the creative process should also be altered from the beaten track. We can narrate ancient stories in a modern way. Hence treatment becomes important. If the stories are told through illustrations, cartoons and games they will keep the children glued to the medium. This might help them to get back to their traditional roots.
OP: Many young writers these days are coming under the impact of authors like Chetan Bhagat, Durjoy Dutta and Ravinder Singh…
M: As a writer I can only say this: Keep your options open. First choose the genre before you start writing.
