By Dr Syed Ahmed for TwoCircles.net,
Imphal: An interactive session with one of India’s most gifted young writers, Anjum Hasan was held at Dave Literature Centre on September 25, 2015. The session organized by North-East Writers Forum, Manipur Chapter, was attended by some of the well-known literary figures of the State.
Anjum Hasan read some of the poems from her first book, titled Street on the Hills, which was published by Sahitya Akademi in 2006. Few lines from her poem titled, “Rain”: You will hear it waking to the roar of a ceiling fan, in the rustling of dry palm leaves, in pebbles pouring from a lorry onto the dusty street. You will hear it in the last aeroplane of the night (whose sound you will mistake for thunder), in the alphabets of the birds, in indignant pressure cookers. You will look for it in the evening, searching for one cloud among tremendous shadows, at night when it might come from a great distance and touch the city with a new light…
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Anjum Hasan also read some paragraphs from her second novel, Niti, Niti, published in 2009. This novel was long-listed for the Man Asain Literary Prize in 2008 and short-listed for The Hindu Best Fiction Award in 2010. She also introduced her debut novel, Lunatic in my Head, published in 2007, and her latest work, Difficult Pleasures, a collection of short-stories, was published in March 2012. The debut novel was short-listed for the Crossword Book Award 2007, while Difficult Pleasures is described in a review as “reminders of what classic short stories are supposed to look like, and that the most eloquent authors let their characters do the talking.” The book was long-listed for the Frank O'Connor Short Story Prize, 2012 and also short-listed for The Hindu Literary Prize. Anjum Hasan also contributes poems, articles, short-stories and reviews in numerous national and international literary journals.
Anjum Hasan was born in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong, hailed as the Scotland of the East. Her sister Daisy Hasan is also a well-known writer and film-maker. Her book The To-Let House was long-listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2008 and short-listed for The Hindu Best Fiction Award in 2010. Daisy holds a Ph.D from Swansea University, UK, and teaches at the University of Cardiff, Wales.
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Interestingly, the small picturesque state has produced many other talented writers in English, namely Siddhartha Deb, Desmond Kharawphlang, Robin Ngangom, Samrat Choudhury, Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, Janice Pariat, among others. Jenice Pariat won this year’s Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, given to writers below 35 years. She happens to be the first writer from the State to receive Sahitya Academy Award in English literature.
Anjum Hasan is at present working in Bangalore. She is the Books Editor for The Caravan, a journal of politics and culture.
North East Writers Forum, formed in 1998, is a forum for promotion of creative writing in English in North-East India. The forum organizes literary meets and workshops, and releases journal and new-letters too. The forum has its chapters in all the states of North-East.
