The Department of English at North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) organised a national symposium on Temsula Ao and the North East today in collaboration with Sahitya Akademi.
Born in 1945, Ao was the first female author in the English language from the North East to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2007 and Padma Shri in 2013. The late writer was also a former NEHU faculty member and was well-known for her books of poetry and collections of short stories, such as ‘These Hills Called Home’ (2005) and ‘Laburnum for My Head’ (2009).
In her inaugural address of the symposium, Prof Malashri Lal, national convener of the English Advisory Board of Sahitya Akademi, highlighted the important contributions Ao made to North East literature and said that Ao opened up the stories of the region to the rest of the world.
In his introductory remarks, Prof Jyotirmoy Prodhani described Ao as the great matriarch of North East literature and highlighted how the story of her life was powerful and inspiring for all.
The Dean of Humanities, Prof Moon Moon Mazumdar, as the chair of the first academic session, spoke about Ao as a writer and described her as one of the most important voices from the North East. She also recalled her association with Ao as a professor of English and the Dean of Humanities at NEHU.
In the session, Prof Mala Renganathan discussed the various dimensions of Ao’s short stories when Prof Desmond Kharmawphlang recalled his experiences with Ao as a teacher and later as a fellow poet who shared her interest in music with him. Prof Esther Syiem, who presided over the valedictory session, described her memoir, ‘Once Upon a Life: Burnt Curry and Bloody Rags’ as a significant literary achievement that narrated the stories of universal predicaments of a woman.
Prof KC Baral, former Director of EFLU Shillong and former Pro Vice-Chancellor of EFLU Hyderabad, in his valedictory address, read by Dr Preetincha Barman, explored the rich body of her literary works as a poet and a critic.
In her concluding remarks, Dr Setolu Tunyi paid a rich tribute to Temsula Ao as the most important female voice to come out of Nagaland.
