This literary journal delves into the culture and diversity of Northeast India

Portrait of Kedovino - II by artist Arieno Kera

Issue 11 of The Little Journal of Northeast India or The Little Journal (TLJ) holds five pieces - two poems, a personal essay, a photo essay and an artwork. It's a quick read that you go through slowly because you want to savour it and the gems of creative expression sitting quietly within its pages. Lines like "Each time I come across salt biscuits that even remotely resemble the ones we used to have, I am taken back to our evenings in the forest" by writer Ramzauva Chhakchhuak set the pace. While others like "I mustered the courage to return their gaze, and like Narcissus, found myself staring back - the dead-fish stare" by professor Sandhani Dutta leads you into the writer's world.

The theme of this literary journal from northeast India is the region itself. And the aim, its founder Prarthana Banikya says, is to share a little more about a place, its history, culture, ethos and people. She explains that after she moved from her home in Guwahati to Bengaluru, she noticed India's frequent portrayal of its northeastern region for the first time. Banikya continues, "Northeast India was frequently portrayed as a hotbed for news stories of anguish, violence, and calamity. People didn't seem to see beyond it." Noting a fair bit of ignorance about the different states, their distinct history, geography, and cultural landscape, she saw the clear need for real stories that allowed people to move beyond the stereotypes.

Prarthana Banikya

"Literature and art from northeast India seemed an ideal way to help us break away from such biases to understand and celebrate worlds that seem different from our own," she adds.

The journal prides itself on representing under-represented lives and diverse stories. First released in July 2019, the journal puts out four issues a year. We're told that TLJ follows the saying ‘good things come in small packages'. With a team of four editors reading submissions, usually only five make it to the final issue. The 38-year-old tells us, "From a young age, I saw first-hand the power of stories and how they can form bonds and bring people closer together." The last piece of issue 11 is an artwork, acrylic on canvas, by artist Arieno Kera from Kohima, Nagaland. It's a portrait of her younger sister that is a story in itself - one of human experience, culture, identity and adolescence that can be captured only from a certain perspective.

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