Nagaland
I teach English to college students. My area of interest is Naga writings in English.
Assam
A journalist-critic based in Guwahati, Aiyushman Dutta has been writing on culture, folklore and folk traditions of Northeast India. He has authored a number of books on Northeast Indian folk traditions for various government and non-government agencies. He had founded Eastern Beats Music Society and is the curator of the premier Guwahati International Music Festival. For more info, https://aiyushmandutta.wordpress.com/about/
Meghalaya
I am simply me
Tripura
“Positive thoughts and capability of adaptation to new places and things. Reading, Writing and exploring had always been my passion.”
FOUNDER MEMBER
Shillong
Ananya Guha’s list of honors is long. Featured in platforms such as The Telegraph, Indian Literature, Journal Of Indian Writing In English, New Welsh Review, The Statesman, Gloom Cupboard, Poets International, New Asian Writing, Glasgow Review & associated journals, Muse India, Kritya, RaedLeaf Poetry, etc., and included in several anthologies including Harper Collins Book Of English Poetry.
Assam
Teaches English in National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam. Writes short stories and poems and is interested in emerging literature from North East India.
Tripura
I am presently working in a government degree college as an assistant professor in English.
Tripura
Arindam Nath is DIG of Tripura Police. He has earned good recognition in the field of literature. His books are ‘Tarmuj Pagla O Anyanya Galpa’, ‘Sub-Inspector Karamchander Diary’, ‘Dui Bhubon’, ‘Amar Priya Ashtadashira’, ‘Nam Rekhechi Banalata’, ‘Bridging Souls – A Journey from Mahabharata to Bharata’ and ‘I Adore’.
Assam
I have been a reader foremost, and my love for books has found itself translated into works of verse and a novel which is under progress. I have two published works of verse; ‘A Rose By Any Other Name–A Collection of Thoughts in Verse’ and ‘Build On A Dream–Another Collection of thoughts in Verse’.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Assam
Arup Kumar Dutta is an internationally acclaimed Indian author and freelance journalist based in Guwahati, Assam. He writes short-fiction, long-fiction, non-fiction, newspaper editorials, articles and columns, satirical pieces for adults, as well as juvenile novels.
Meghalaya
She is an Assistant Professor in the EFL University. She is a poet, a translator, a reviewer and a critic. Her translation of Imtiaz Mahmud’s Maxim is published by Chaitanya Publishers, Bangladesh. Her upcoming publication is a translation of Imtiaz Mahmud’s Kalo Kautuk (Black Humour). She has a keen interest in Tribal Poetry, particularly from NE India, and has developed study materials on Tribal Poetry for UGC-E-Pathsala.
Assam
“Professor of English, (currently Chair) Gauhati University, specializing in Drama and Theatre Studies. A Fulbright alumna (2015-16) at the CUNY Graduate Center, New York, her PhD was on American drama. She has widely published in the areas of theatre and film studies; her poetry has appeared in Guftugu, the Journal of the Indian Cultural Forum.”
Tripura
“A painter and documentary film maker on the ethnicity and culture of Tripura, Ashes has been translating extensively from Kokbarak and Bangla to English. His areas of academic interest include colour-emotion parameters, landscape-literature correlations, performance and theater, refugee narratives of partition and formulation of a distinct North Eastern aesthetic and critical paradigm. A strong dissenting voice that perpetually counters perceived notions of marginality attributed to NE creativity, Ashes is an exponent of North Eastern centrality.
Nagaland
Avinuo Kire is a writer and teacher from Kohima, Nagaland. She has contributed to various literary journals and anthologies. Kire has authored a collection of short fiction stories titled The Power to Forgive and Other Stories (Zubaan) and a volume of poetry titled Where Wildflowers Grow (Barkweaver). She has also co authored Naga Heritage Centre: People Stories- Volume One (PenThrill), an anthology of documented oral narratives from Nagaland. Avinuo currently teaches English at a local college in Kohima. She continues to write and is presently working on her next book.
Manipur
By profession worked in Coal India Ltd. for more than 30 years and retired as General Manager . Worked in different parts of India, but mostly Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and NE region particularly Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. Whereras creative writing is passion and find solace. Try best to be humble and a good human beings.
Assam
A publisher by inheritance, and an unknown geopolitical analyst by choice.
Nagaland
I love writing poetry, random thoughts. Yet to publish any work but have a collection of poems on various themes.
Aizawl & Bangalore
I teach at Mizoram University. I also write a bit of poetry, fiction, and occasionally translate folklore.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Shillong
Desmond L Kharmawphlang is a poet and folklorist. He has published books of poetry and collections of theoretical essays on folkloristics pertaining to North East India. He has represented the country in numerous conferences outside the country notably in Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Norway, the United States, Finland and Greece. He is on the Executive Board of the Belief Narrative Network of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research and is the Vice President of the Indian Folklore Congress. He lives in Shillong, Meghalaya where he is Professor and Head at the Department of Cultural and Creative Studies of the North-Eastern Hill University, where he teaches folkloristics.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Assam
Dhirendra Nath Bezboruah is an Indian journalist, writer and the founder editor of The Sentinel, a Guwahati-based English language daily. Born in 1933 in the Jorhat district of the northeast Indian state of Assam, he started his career as a lecturer, after completing his post graduate studies at Reading University, UK. When The Sentinel daily was established in 1983, he was selected as the founder editor, a post he held for a number of years. He was associated with the Media Trust, Assam and was the working president of its celebration committee in 1992. The many books he has published from Assamese into English includes The Cavern and Other Stories, a short story anthology written by Bhabendra Nath Saikia. He received the B. D. Goenka Award for Journalism in 1997 and the Nachiketa Samman of Panchjanya weekly in 2001. He is also recipient of Katha Award for translation. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2016, for his contributions to literature.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Assam
Dhruba Hazarika, born in Shillong in 1956, was educated at St.Edmund’s School and College. After receiving his Masters in Economics, he joined the Assam Civil Service in 1983 and was inducted into the Indian Administrative Service in 1999. He retired as Chairman of the Assam Public Service Commission in July 2018. Editor of the college magazine, The Edmundian, he has penned short stories and articles in various journals, and is also the author of two novels (A Bowstring Winter, Sons of Brahma) and a collection of short stories (Luck), published by Penguin India. He won the Katha Award (1996) and the DY 365 Literary Award (2014). A founder member of the North East Writers’ Forum, he is currently its President.
Assam
Editor, ASAM BANI
Assam
Dipankar Jakharia is a personal finance columnist with The Assam Tribune. His fortnight column “Money Smart”, started in the year of 2013, have found thousands of readers on Sunday Supplement of Tribune. Before that he was with The Sentinel as a columnist for their supplement Milange. He’s also is an avid blogger and has published many travelogues in different print publication houses in the country.
Educated in Guwahati and Kolkata, he is a founder of North East India’s first full service wealth advisory farm DIPABH. He lives in Uzan Bazar- Guwahati with his two daughters and wife and enjoys his occasional trips to hills around immensely.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Assam
With twelve books, eighty short stories, over 500 columns, poetry, interviews with famous personalities, author, journalist and columnist Indrani Raimedhi has lived a life dedicated passionately to the written word. Vladimir Nabokov has once said that all the raw material a write requires happens before the age of fifteen. And it could not be more true of Indrani, who grew up in picturesque Shillong, living with her parents and younger brother in a quaint cottage that overlooked the panoramic hills, the ramparts of Tripura Castle, nodding pine groves and a stream whose song still resonates in her heart.
Kohima, Nagaland
Emisenla Jamir is currently working as Assistant Professor (English) in Kohima College. Her story, “Deliberate Delirium”, was published in an anthology of short stories titled Raconteurs from the Hills (PenThrill). She has also co-authored a collection of women’s poetry titled Woven Words (Heritage), by the Department of English, Kohima College, Kohima.
Agartala, Tripura
A Bengali from the hilly state of Tripura, Gitanjali Roy is pursuing her Ph.D from Tripura University on Digital Literature and she is the first scholar from India to work on this area. She has been teaching English Literature since 3 years in the government and private colleges of her state. Presently she is working as an Asst. Professor in ICFAI University, Tripura. She is a bi-lingual writer in English and Bengali.
Gangtok
Guru T Ladakhi, was born and lives in Gangtok, Sikkim. He graduated from SRCC, Delhi University with Honours. The wrong place for a person of his disposition. His poetry has appeared in many journals and is now being taught in schools and universities. His first collection of poems called “Monk on a Hill” was published by Speaking Tiger and launched in Jan 2017 at Guwahati Lit Fest.
Assam
Jahnavi Barua is a writer based in Bangalore. Her first book, Next Door, a collection of short fiction, was published by Penguin India in 2008 to wide critical acclaim. Her second book, Rebirth, was published in 2010 and was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize and the Commonwealth Book Prize. She was awarded the Charles Wallace Trust Fellowship for Creative Writing in 2006. Her books are on the syllabi of universities such as Jamia Millia Islamia and Mysore University and her short fiction has been widely anthologized She is currently working on her third book.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Assam
Meghalaya
Teaches literature at NEHU, Shillong. He has translated Sheelabhadra’s collection of short stories, Madhupur Bahudoor into English, authored the book, Creativity and Conflict in the Plays of Sam Shepard and edited Culture, Ethnicity and Identity: A Reader and also has translated Rajbanshi poetry into English.
Assam
Krishna Barua is a former teacher of Handique Girls’ College, Guwahati. A Ph.D in English Literature, she won the Katha Prize for Translation in 1998 for translating Arupa Patangia Kalita’s story, Doibokir Din. It was published in Katha Stories, volume 8. She has also translated from English to Assamese. Writing stories is an activity she enjoys and writes mostly for pleasure.
Agartala
Post graduate in Agricultural Sciences, joined Tripura Police Service in 1998 and subsequently elevated to Indian Police Service. Authored a book titled A BIT OF EARTH which is a compilation of 27 short stories which was published in 2017.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Shillong
Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih (Sohra, 1964) has published a number of books in Khasi (the language of his tribe) and English besides edited volumes and translation works of poetry, short stories and drama. He is the author of Around the Hearth: Khasi Legends (Penguin) and the co-editor of Dancing Earth: An Anthology of Poetry from Northeast India (Penguin). His debut novel, Funeral Nights, is due to come out later this year from Amazon’s Westland.
His collections of poetry in English include Moments, The Sieve (Writers Workshop), The Yearning of Seeds and Time’s Barter: Haiku and Senryu (HarperCollins). Individual poems have appeared in national and international journals, including The New Welsh Review (Aberystwyth, Wales); Planet: The Welsh Internationalist (Aberystwyth); Karavan (Stockholm); PEN International (London); The Literary Review (New Jersey); Wasafiri (London); The Sentinel Literary Quarterly (London), Dog-Ear (London), Cordite Poetry Review (Carlton, Melbourne), Presence (London), Modern Haiku (Lincoln, USA); Simply Haiku (Pasadena, USA); Poetry International Web (Rotterdam); and The Heron’s Nest (Nassau, USA).
His awards include the first Veer Shankar Shah-Raghunath Shah National Award for literature (Madhya Pradesh, 2008) and the first North-East Poetry Award (Tripura, 2004). He teaches literature at North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, where he lives.
Shillong, Meghalaya
Loves literature, especially poetry.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Assam
FOUNDER MEMBER
Arunachal Pradesh
Mamang Dai is a poet and novelist from Arunachal Pradesh. A former journalist, Dai was President, Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists, and has written extensively on culture, politics and customs of the state. She also worked with World Wide Fund for nature in the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspots programme, and was Member, Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (2011-20017).
Agartala, Tripura
I am a professional journalist. Presently, I am Executive Editor of Tripura Times. I contributed to national and international media. I acted as PR Consultant for several organizations. I also authored a book ‘The Eyewitness – Tales from Tripura’s Ethnic Conflict’ ( Lancer -2009). I write on varied subjects regularly.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Mizoram
FOUNDER MEMBER
Assam
Assam
Meenakshi Goswami is the Principal of CNS Higher Secondary School, Tezpur, Sonitpur, Assam. The Rastriya Madhyamik Sikhsa Abhiyan, Govt of India also engages her as a State Resource Person for conducting training programmes in Assam. Earlier, she was also a Visiting Lecturer at Post Graduate College of Education, Tezpur and a Faculty Member of Spoken English at Tezpur University, India.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Guwahati, Assam
Novelist, short story writer, translator, columnist, music reviewer. Some books are “The Collector’s Wife”, “A Monsoon of Music”, “A Full Night’s Thievery”, “Blossoms in the Graveyard” (translated from Kobor Aru Phool), a biography on R G Baruah, several children’s books, and numerous articles. Many of her works have been translated into other languages.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Nagaland
Journalist-Poet Tiamerenla Monalisa Changkija is the only woman Editor, Proprietor and Publisher of an English Daily – Nagaland Page – in the Northeast. She was awarded the 2009 Chameli Devi Jain Awarded for an Outstanding Woman Mediaperson.
Mizoram
Mona Zote is a poet living in Aizawl. Her poetry has appeared in various journals including the Cordite Poetry Review, Indian Literature, IQ Magazine, India International Centre Quarterly, Carapace as well as in anthologies such as Dancing Earth: An Anthology of Poetry from North-East India, the Oxford Anthology of Writings from North-East India, and The Borderlands of Asia: Culture, Place, Poetry.
Dimapur
Author of ‘Book of Emotions:Unstained’. Graduated from St. Joseph College, Jakhama. I’m 23 years old currently pursuing my Masters in Literature. My hobbies are reading books, and writing poetry and quotes.
Assam
A literary enthusiast, with an ardent eye for the sublime, who writes poems on simple issues and at times giving way to sincere emotions.
Kohima
Neikehienuo Mepfhu-o is from Kohima, Nagaland. She has done her Ph.D in Comparative Literature – a comparative study of Naga and Native American Tribal Literature. She currently teaches Functional English at Kohima College, Kohima.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Nagaland
FOUNDER MEMBER
Sikkim
Pankaj Thapa is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of English, Sikkim Government College at Tadong where he has been teaching for the past 36 years. He did his schooling and graduation from St. Edmund’s School, Shillong, and his Masters in English from the North Eastern Hill University, Shillong.
Assam
I am a retired member of the IAS and a Tantra scholar. I have written two books, the last being published by Routledge in its second paperback edition: for more details, please search “Prem Saran” on tandfindia.com.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Manipur
Raghu Leishangthem Born 5th august, 1959 at Thoubal, is a science graduate of Guwahati University; Ex-General Secretary, Naharo Sahitya Premee Samiti, Imphal; Life Member, Writers Forum, Imphal; Ex-Joint Editor, Sahityagee Pao(a quarterly Manipuri literary journal); regular newspaper columnist, writing on a wide range of topics covering art and culture, social problems and literature; programme contributor, AIR and DDk, Imphal; Member, North East Writers Forum, Guwahati and Co-Convenor, Literary and Cultural Organisation Commitee (LICOC), Manipur.
Guwahati
Rajib Das is the author of two novels — “An Army Abandoned” based on the Second World War and “Krisnaa and Ranee” set in rural Assam. He is also the founder editor of Twist & Twain, an online literary magazine for emerging writers.
Manipur
Retired AGM of IUCB LTD. Has 7 (seven) volumes of poetry, 3 (three) children literature books to his credit . Edited 1( one) poetry anthology. Honours include Sahitya Academi Award (2002) in “Mei mamgera budhi mamgera” (poetry), Bal Sahitya puruskar(2014) in ” Sana kokchao amasung bhoot ningthou”(children stories), along with others 4(four) states level literary awards. Member NEWF, Guwahati, Founder member writers forum Imphal, life member of manipuri Sahitya Parishad and naharol Sahitya premee samiti imphal recognised by Sahitya Academi New Delhi.
Assam
A Sahitya Akademi Awardee for Children’s Literature, (English), studied Economics and Human Resource Management only to land up telling tales and lies and passing them on for fiction. Author, communication skills consultant and free-lance editor, more of a love-to-stay-home kind. Rises real early in the mornings to feed waiting birds on the lawn. Produced and directed daughter Sandie and son Jerry with co-producer Hemanta Narzary!
FOUNDER MEMBER
Shillong
I teach in NEHU, Shillong. I am a bilingual poet and translator who writes in English and Manipuri.
Guwahati, Assam
SAIKH MD. SABAH AL-AHMED is a young Guwahati-based poet, lyricist, columnist and a freelance journalist. He was awarded the Reuel International Prize for Poetry (2019) for Best Upcoming Poet from North East India. He was also awarded the ‘Certificate of Excellence’ by the United Nations Association (UNA) – Assam for his ‘outstanding literary achievements in the field of poetry and journalism’. He is the author of the poetry collection Tranquil Musings – collected poems and two non-fiction titles Contemporary Chronicles – Polity, Society & Culture and Past of the Present – A Historical Quest. His popular monthly column in The Assam Tribune titled ‘Urban Musing’ chronicles the subtle nuances of the city of Guwahati.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Manipur
Saratchand Thiyam, born in 1961 at Imphal, an Engineer by profession, is better known for his writing – as a poet, a travel writer, a sports writer and a columnist. There is no sphere of writing where he has not lent his pen. He started writing poetry at an early age.
Dimapur, Nagaland
I teach at a university in Dimapur, having pursued my higher education in Hyderabad. Growing up in a fairly traditional home but also being privileged to have worked with people from different cultures and countries, I have always been interested in the idea of community in different places under changing circumstances and the possible narratives that can emerge from these relationships.
Agartala, Tripura
Hello! This is Samarpita Dey. A Post Graduate in English from Tripura University and an amateur writer. To be honest I have a writer trait, that is I can’t fish out words when under compulsion! So, I hope this much will suffice as of now.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Guwahati, Assam
A Simple Man who loves Writing and the Stage Language – Thestre
Guwahati, Assam
In these years of majoring in English, one thing that I really believe is the fact that writing and reading regularly act as a great impetus to pseudo perfection in the language. The forum has undoubtedly helped in keeping both habits alive. I have always wanted ti be a part of the literary world. And I believe that, this forum is my first and most important step to this world of my life long dream.
Guwahati, Assam
I’m a person who firmly believes that the word “”Impossible”” says “”I’m Possible.”” And, that is where I draw the threads of creativity from, be it for my writings, paintings, singing, or in the ability of dealing with any situation. I write for certain international blogs, and news portal/ organizations. My work is mostly inclined towards climate change/ sustainability, women empowerment, debatable topics, among others.
As far as my academics is concerned, I’m a triple Master’s-degree-holder with: M.A English (Lit.); MBA and M.A Mass Communication (university topper – best ten- in Delhi region). Also, I was in best ten rank in B.A English Lit. I believe in hard work for studying, and smart working, professionally. I have a total work experience of >8 years in the genre of corporate communication, and have had an experience of working with various national & international media, including CNN-IBN, NDTV, DD, Al Jazeera English, and Finland Times.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Assam
Srutimala Duara is a writer and an academician. She has published novels, collections of short stories, poetry books, books on travels.
Her article “A visit to Kaziranga and Sivasagar” is included in the state Class IX English text book. She is an Associate Professor in the department of English, Handique Girls’ College, Guwahati. She was awarded the “Naari Shakti Award” in April 2015 by Lion’s Club and “Woman of the Year 2016” by International Human Rights Council (Assam Chapter) in 2016.
Assam
Swapnil Bharali is a resident of Guwahati, Assam, a businessman by profession and a writer more by passion and to a slightly lesser extent, by choice. He has remained a regular columnist with The Assam Tribune, Assam’s premier English daily, and is a popular travel and flash fiction writer. He has a travelogue titled “Call of the Mississippi” to his credit. He is currently the Editor of the popular city weekly, G Plus and is also the Secretary of the North East Writers’ Forum, Guwahati.
Tripura
I am a research scholar at Department of English, Tripura University.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Assam
FOUNDER MEMBER
Manipur
Electrical Engineer by profession, writer by inclination. Writes short story, poetry and essay in English and Manipuri. Also translates from Manipuri into English. His works have appeared in volumes published by OUP, SAGE Publications, Marg, Penguin Books, National Knowledge Commission, Rajpal & Sons, etc. and are taught in universities.
Sikkim
Tashi Chophel is a poet and a bureaucrat based in Sikkim. His writings have been featured in the Cordite Poetry Review, IIC Quarterly, Seminar, The Sentinel, Weekend Review, Nagaland Page and Sikkim Now. Anthology appearances include Eastern Muse – Poems from the East and North East India edited by Malsawmi Jacob and Jaydeep Sarangi, Pratik edited by Yuyutsu Sharma and the recent Sahitya Akademi’s Modern English Poetry by Younger Indians edited by Sudeep Sen.
His first collection of poems is How To Collect A Folk Tale.
Guwahati
Tinat Atifa Masood, is a writer by choice, an actor for fun and a lover and a dreamer by default. She is also a socio-political activist, producer-director, poet, blogger, a singing enthusiast, with over 29 years of compering behind her. Awarded as the Youth ICON of India 2013, and the Naari Shakti Award in 2018, she is proud to have carried the mantle as the President for 2016-17 for Rotary Club of Guwahati, the second woman to lead the oldest club in the city! She has a poetry book 10:20 to her name! She had also chronicled the picture biography titled, A VISIONARY: The Life and Rise of Tarun Gogoi.
Sikkim
Employed as an Assistant Professor in Sikkim Government college. Also an amateur poet still struggling with his verse.
FOUNDER MEMBER
Manipur
His works of fiction like The Anagarika’s Swansong, Red — Camellia Green, The Ahoms, The Bag have received critical acclaim at both home and abroad, as have his 16 non-fiction books like The Brahmaputra, Unicornis, Cha-Garam—The Tea Story, The Final Frontier, The Roving Minstrel, Gauhati High Court-Heritage and History, Pothorughat etc. His 17 juvenile adventure novels include The Kaziranga Trail, Blind Witness, Smack, Lure of Zangrila, Revenge, Save the Pool, Oh Deer, Footprints in the Sand, The Counterfeit Treasure, A Story About Tea, The Crystal Cave, The Boy Who Became King etc. His books have been translated to many Indian as well as foreign languages such as German, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Czech, Hungarian etc. Three of his books have been made into feature films while two have been brought out in Japanese Braille. Among his awards are Shankar’s Award, Journalist Welfare Foundation Award, Kamal Kumari National Award and Life Time Achievement Honour by AWIC, the Indian Chapter of International Board for Books for Young People. Between 2004-2008 the Government of India appointed him Director, Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre, Jakarta, and Indian Cultural Centre, Bali, with the rank of a Counselor in the Indian Embassy, Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2018 the University of Dibrugarh conferred the D. Litt (honoris causa) on him while the Government of India awarded him the Padmashri.
His website is www.arupkumardutta.com
Education:
Service Career:
Published Works:
Positions Held:
Awards:
Other Activities:
He has been broadcasting over All India Radio (AIR) since 1956. His programmes include talks, interviews, quizzes, English by Radio, running commentaries on tennis and cricket, a highly popular one-hour programme of audience participation called Open House and three radio documentaries (two of them on the national hook-up).
The one produced for the external-services of AIR on the Tea © Research Centre of Tocklai, Jorhat was later bought by Radio New Zealand. He has been interviewed several times by the BBC for its English and Hindi radio broadcasts as well as for BBC TV, Newstrack, Eyewitness, NDTV, Sahara and other TV channels. He also anchored a fortnightly programme on the North-east telecast by Doordarshan for six months.
Hobbies and Sports:
Photography, carpentry, tennis, table tennis, cricket, swimming and rifle shooting (mainly in the past).
Family:
Bezboruah has three grown-up children (two daughters and a son) and four grandchildren.
Address:
Home: “Shanti”, 134 Maniram Dewan Road, Chandmari, Guwahati – 781 003.
Telephones: (0361) 2660202, 94350-10656 (cell)
E-mail: dhiren_bezboruah@yahoo.com, dhiren_bezboruah@hotmail.com
Mamang Dai is a poet and novelist from Arunachal Pradesh. A former journalist, Dai was President, Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists, and has written extensively on culture, politics and customs of the state. She also worked with World Wide Fund for nature in the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspots programme, and was Member, Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (2011-20017).
Dai received the state Verrier Elwin Award for her first publication Arunachal Pradesh- the hidden land (2003) featuring the folklore and traditions of Arunachal’s different communities, and is a recipient of the Luminous Lummer Dai Literary Award, 2017- by the Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society, She has featured in several national and international forums, and her publications include novels: The Legends of Pensam, Stupid Cupid, The Black Hill, and River Poems and Midsummer- Survival Lyrics (poetry).
In 2011 Dai was awarded the Padma Shri, (literature and education), and the Sahitya Akademi Award, 2017, for her book The Black Hill, in English.
Dai lives in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, India.
A Member of the North East Writers Forum, India, she is also into sports organisations and anchoring at various functions. She has been awarded on International Women’s Day 2007 by the Indian Medical Association and on India’s Republic Day 2013 by the Govt. of Assam for her dedicated service towards human resources, arts and culture. She has been awarded The State Award for Teachers by Govt.of Assam on 5th of September 2018. Meenakshi is a proud recipient of the prestigious OIL SHIKSHYA RATNA PURASKAR – 2016′, in recognition of all round excellence as an educationist. Her debut book of poems “The Sensuous Zephyr” was launched in Melbourne on 11th January 2014 where she was invited for poetry session. Meenakshi Goswami also participated in many International Poetry Festivals. Her poems are published in the International Multilingual Anthology of poems Amravati Poetic Prism 2016, 2017 and 2018 and also in many other Peer Reviewed magazines and Anthologies.
In commemoration of 25 Years of Poetry (1984-2009), the Poetry Society of India awarded Monalisa Changkija for her “remarkable contributions to Poetry in Nagaland”, on December 14, 2009. She was also felicitated for “selflessly contributing with outstanding poetries to the growth, development and change in Naga society and beyond”.
In recognition of her esteemed accomplishments in the field of Literature, the Naga Students’ Union, Delhi, has also presented Monalisa Changkija the NSUD Inspiration Award 2013 on October 18, 2013, during the formal commemoration of the Union’s 50th Anniversary at New Delhi.
For the year 2013, Monalisa Changkija was awarded the Nagaland Governor’s Award for Distinction (Outstanding Achievements and Contribution) in Literature on January 26, 2014.
Monalisa Changkija was awarded the 30th FICCI Women Achiever of the Year 2013-2014 for Outstanding Contributions as a JOURNALIST by the FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO), Northeast Chapter on April 26, 2014, at Guwahati, during the 6th Annual Event of the FLO (NE Chapter), honouring Women Achievers of Northeast (2013-2014).
Her poems are taught in the Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate English courses in Nagaland University. Nagaland Board of School Education has also introduced her poems in the Alternative English course for Class 9. The North East Hills University has also selected some of her poems for its M. Phil course.
Several MA, M. Phil and Ph. D students and scholars have written, and still write, their dissertations and theses on Monalisa’s poems, articles, features and Editorials.
Her first volume of poetry Weapons of Words of Pages of Pain was published in 1993.
Her second volume of poetry Monsoon Mourning was published in 2007.
Her short stories, poems and features have been published in several Anthologies, journals, magazines and newspapers.
Her book titled Cogitating for a Better Deal, a compilation of six seminar papers, published in 2014, was banned by the Ao Senden, the tribal Hoho of the Ao tribe, to which she belongs.
Monalisa’s fourth book, “Middles”, a non-fiction, published by Heritage Publishing House, Dimapur, Nagaland, was released on December 3, 2018, at Kohima.
He visited Sikkim in 1983, felt a karmic connection and decided to stay on. Soon after, he joined the Sikkim Government College as a Lecturer in English.
He enjoys teaching and has been invited by several universities and colleges including events such as the Jaipur Lit Fest, International World Book Fair and the Bhramaputra Lit Fest etc., to speak on topics ranging from Literature to his cartoons, which till recently, was his signature contribution in Sikkim Express, a local daily. His most recent invite was to speak on Northeast Literature and showcase his cartoons at the Vishwabharati University, Shantiniketen, in February 2019.
An avid fan of comics and graphic novels, he began his sketching on class text books before moving on to more traditional surfaces. Since then he has done a graphic novel The Boy Who Had A Dream a nomadic folk tale from Tibet written by the Ven. Ringu Tulku Rimpoche, and published by Finhorn Press of Scotland. He illustrated Yishey Doma’s Legends of the Lepchas, Kynpham Singh’s Stories Around the Hearth, Uddipana Goswami’s Where we come from, where we are going and Guru T Ladakhi’s book of poems titled The Monk on a Hill.
He has been a member of the Sahitya Academy, New Delhi, a judge for the Sikkim Academy of Fine Arts, judge at various literary and musical events including several Beauty Pageants. He enjoys books, graphic novels and animation films and has an eclectic taste in music. He is a founder member of NEWF, the North East Writers Forum and of CONVERSE SIKKIM, the Annual Writer’s Meet in Gangtok.
Saratchand Thiyam, born in 1961 at Imphal, an Engineer by profession, is better known for his writing – as a poet, a travel writer, a sports writer and a columnist. There is no sphere of writing where he has not lent his pen. He started writing poetry at an early age. With the encouragement of his late grandmother, Leirikmacha, his first book Tengali Karaba Podon, an anthology of poems, was published when he was only nineteen. He has participated in many poets’ and writers’ meets in a number of Indian cities and also in Dhaka and Sylhet, Bangladesh. He has also participated in the World Peace Conference at Athens, Greece organized by the World Peace Council as an Indian delegate in 2000. His poems have been translated in many Indian and foreign languages.
He is a recipient of Sports-writer of the year 1996-97 (All Manipur Football Association), Dingko Sports-writer Award, 1999 (Dingko Sports Fund), and Certificate of Honour, 2008 (Manipuri Sahitya Parishad, Assam). He was awarded Jamini Sundar Guha Gold Medal by Manipuri Sahitya Parishad, Imphal in 2002 Sahitya Akademi Award by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi in 2006 and Nilima Sinha Memorial Award by Bangladesh Manipur Sahitya Sangsad, Bangladesh in 2017.