‘A Home is a Home Anywhere You Live’: A Small
Conversation with Padma Shri Awardee Mamang Dai
Dr. Aninnya Sarkar
Assistant Professor
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
G.H. Raisoni College of Engineering and Management,
Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
About Mamang Dai: Author Mamang Dai is a tribal woman of the Adi community belonging to
Pasighat, East Siang District of Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh. She is the holder
of the prestigious Padma ShrI Award in 2011, the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2017,
and the Verrier Elwin Award in 2003. She had a brilliant academic career,
cracking the sturdy IAS exam. But after indulging as a civil servant for quite
many years, Dai quit her government job and intruded into the professional
sphere of writing. She had been formerly associated with various illustrious
print media industries of the country, like The Telegraph, The
Sentinel, and so on. Till date, Dai has penned down many novels, poems,
essays, nonfiction, and many other pieces. She is also a social worker
nurturing in the areas of environment and wildlife protection.
Through her
writings, Dai has always tried to highlight the culture of her tribal community
or the people of her land. She attempts to address the issues of Arunachal and
Northeast. Her motherland carries a beautiful green terrain in a borderland
standing between Tibet and India. The people of Arunachal are deeply close to
nature; starting from their daily life practices to religious performances,
nature plays a very crucial role in their routines.
On 1st
July 2024, Aninnya Sarkar, Ph.D., a professor of a college in Nagpur, connects
on a phone call to the acclaimed author Mamang Dai in order to understand Dai’s
views and her way of looking at her characters specifically in her novels. Some
of the famous works of Dai are The Black Hill (2014), The Legends
of Pensam (2003), The River Poems (2013), Arunachal Pradesh:
The Hidden Land (2009), and Stupid Cupid (2009). Thus, this piece
of work is going to unfold a small conversation of author Mamang Dai with Dr.
Aninnya Sarkar that happens amid a lot of technical and connectivity issues.
Dai speaks on the positive development of Arunachal and explicitly announces
her works to be imaginary, leaving it in the hands of the reader’s
interpretations. Many researchers, academicians, and journalists have
interviewed her earlier on many topics and also discussed broadly in her
writings.
Aninnya Sarkar: How do you identify
yourself as a woman from the Adi tribal community?
Mamang Dai: There is no unique or
distinct way to identify a woman. It is like the same way all other women from
their respective communities identify themselves. Hahaha…
Aninnya Sarkar: Are the characters
like Hoxo and Nenem from the novel The Legends of Pensam present in the real
world?
Mamang Dai: Well, fictions are not
always real, and each has their own specialty; each fiction is different in its
own way. Similarly, consider my work as a piece of fiction that is imaginary
and enjoy it. My personal interpretations and my thoughts are all compiled in
the form of a book. It’s all up to you as a reader how you personally interpret
my writings and transform them into your thoughts. It’s a work of pure
imagination.
Aninnya Sarkar: What is your
experience being a borderland resident?
Mamang Dai: It is just like living anywhere
else on earth. Or quite as a person feels living in Gujarat or any other place.
It is all the same space for us. There is no difference between India and
Northeast India. A home is a home anywhere you live. So, no different feeling
living in the borderland; it is the same adorable feeling we possess for home.
Aninnya Sarkar: Do you support the
transformation in Arunachal or the development that has taken place?
Mamang Dai: Yes, the development that
has taken place is of great help, especially if I consider the airport.
Earlier, traveling and movement from one place to another was very difficult
and challenging. Now things are better. I believe the influencing policy is
going to bring positive changes in our state.
Aninnya Sarkar: Last question from my
side: what was your motive behind using the word pensam in the novel The Legends of Pensam?
Mamang Dai: Well, if you read the
novel The Legends of Pensam, you will see I have mentioned the meaning
in the beginning of the book—the word ‘pensam’ in the Adi language
means—inbetween. The novel traces the gap between mythology and reality, or the
differences in terms of landscape.
Well, I wish you all the very best for
your future endeavors and thank you for exploring my works. Take care.