What is the idea of home? Read a book of stories and poems to find out more
An illustration titled Seen, Not Heard by Thejakhrienuo ‘Thej’ Yhome. Pic/Homeward: Towards a Poetics of Space (Zubaan)
Homeward: Towards a Poetics of Space (Zubaan), edited by Soibam Haripriya, is an anthology of stories, poems, and illustrations. The book details the ideas of home and homeland (the nation at large), focussing on stories from the Northeast regions of India or, as Haripriya writes, “the problematic geographical directional category glossed as ‘Northeast’ India”. The phrase highlights India’s limitations in the knowledge of its heterogeneity, and the overall exclusion of Northeast narratives in majoritarian and mainstream culture — news, films, literature, etc.
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The stories are an insight into the concept of belongingness in the face of political violence and racial discrimination in one’s own country. “The nature of what it means to belong is not just a sentiment. It is mapped by geopolitical facts and changing laws,” writes Haripriya, who is also a contributing author.
Each writer puts down their own constructs of home from their experiences in celebrating or trying to celebrate their roots, losing a sense of home when trying to carve space in a new and unaccepting city, redefining the shapeshifting ideas of belongingness and unbelongingness, and their dealings with a populace that views them as strangers. What you will find in these pages is a step to acknowledge these lived experiences.
In many ways, we look at home as an ideal, when it is far from it. In this book, you’ll come across different accounts of home — you might recognise some, you will definitely open your eyes to other accounts, or you might just end up outlining your own definition. For instance, Leki Thungon uses “back home” as a way to placate the otherness that her identity is subjected to. Thungon writes, “...the warmth given by the idea of back home is only matched by the support of a friend who listens.” Or, in this case, reads. We recommend you pick up your copy soon.
Title
Homeward: Towards a Poetics of Space
Edited by: Soibam Haripriya
Genre: Anthology, writings from the Northeast
Publisher: Zubaan
Cost: Rs 440
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