Publisher’s Blurb

More than half a century of bloodshed has marked the history of the Naga people who live in the troubled north-eastern region of India. Their struggle for an independent Nagaland and their continuing search for identity provide the backdrop for the stories that make up this unusual collection.

Economic and unadorned, these stories bring alive the poignant and bewildering experiences of people caught in a spiral of violence. In doing so they speak of home, country nation, nationality, identity, and divert the reader to urgency of the issues that lie at their heart.

The Stories

1. The Jungle Major – story of an unlikely couple, making it against all odds and surviving a planned attack by the Indian Army on their house to capture the husband who became a major in the underworld activities of the village.
2. Soaba – read how a silly boy’s fascination to special convoy vehicles results in the tragic loss of his life.
3. The Last Song – the story of a little girl who kept singing for her school choir when they were attacked with guns during the function. And then continued humming her songs even when she was brutally gang-raped.
4. The Curfew Man – an injury forces Satemba to pick up a shady informant’s job he has no intention of doing. But the worsening of his injury presents him an opportunity to live an honest life.
5. The Night – acceptance is a virtue seldom valued. But its importance is highlighted in this simple story. Imnala longs for acceptance for her two bastard children by their fathers and also for acceptance from her immediate family.
6. The Pot Maker – the only wish of a little girl was to learn the art of Pot Making from her mother who was an expert in the art in all her village. But destiny had other plans, and she excelled in the art only at the cost of her mother’s sacrifice.
7. The Shadows – what you sow, so shall you reap. This story is a perfect example of this proverb. An illustrious officer of the underworld cannot avoid the fate that is destined for him after he wrongfully kills a member of his team suspecting him of being disloyal with the team.
8. An Old Man Remembers – Bad Things do not go away if you simply ignore them and decide not to talk about them. At the loss of his oldest friend a grandfather decides to share the story of his turbulent youth with his grandson.
9. The Journey – how a thirteen-year-old girl embarked on a new journey in a new term in school owing to hurtful comments from her friend.
10. A New Chapter – find out how Pumpkin Merenla wiped out her stinky association with a contractor, to add a new dimension to her life without an ounce of malice or ridicule.