Image Credit: Siva Prasad Marar

The scene of the Assamese short story of our time presents both an interesting and a fascinating picture of the world we know and live in. Though globalization is a key factor in terms of economy and trade, pristine village life and sophisticated urban life seem to be going on simultaneously. The short story as a literary form today is a repository of significant voices, each bearing evidence of the changing contours of the genre. Demarcations on the lines of urbanity and rural existence often end up stereotyping matters which do not submit as easily to such encapsulation. What can be done in approaching work in the field of the short story in Assamese today is to examine the works of writers across generations and then place the texts in the context of our contemporary world. Prominent among the writers whose mark can be indelibly felt on the literary landscape include Bonti Senchowa, Mouchumi Kandali, Sibananda Kakati, Apurba Kumar Saikia, Bipul Khataniar, and Mrinal Kalita, among others, who have brought in fresh storytelling insights through their craftsmanship in recent years.

The short stories of Sibananda Kakati are marked by precise description of pristine village and sophisticated urban life which displays a striking mode of creative engagement. In ‘Burha Dangariyar Char/ Slap of Burha Dangariya,’ the evocation of horror and trauma invite us to reassess the circumstances that go into the making of our cultural ethos. In Assamese folk belief Burha Dangariya is a semi God. This kind of experience is rare in the field of contemporary Assamese short fiction: ‘a sense of warmth is felt as one reaches the front of the Namghar, a veritable presence it is! It seems Burha Dangariya is somewhere, at Monikut or at the gate!’ Some progressive minded youths of the village, in the long run, break the mystery of Burha Dangariya as well as of Parashu Dangariya. Parashu Dangariya, in the guise of local herbal medicine practitioner indulged in some anti-moral activities including sexual violation. The narrative is remarkable for the manner in which it captures the significance of power politics which embed the cultural life of the world depicted in the story. Cultural encounter shapes the modes of exchange in society, a process which is borne out in the short stories of Bipul Khataniar. As a writer, Khataniar’s inclination towards marginalized people is clearly evident. Khataniar’s latest short story collection entitled Ghanriyal Dangar Katha (2016) includes a short story namely ‘Banikanta.’ The very title of the short story invariably echoes one of the sharpest Assamese intellects of the twentieth century, Dr. Banikanta Kakati. Subham Mahanta in a slightly satirical tone has said, ‘Not that Banikanta where Haridwar, where…, O mother Kamakhya. I am looking for carpenter Banikanta’s home.’ There were four Banikantas in the locality – all were carpenters. The slum life and the nature of everyday existence is evoked with a craft that is laced with compassion in this search for Banikanta. Bonti Senchowa (b.1962) has marked her space in the field of the modern short story in Assamese by engaging with the poetics of a rendition process that draws the reader into the world by means of an internalization of the life-resources in the narrative. Suggestiveness and subtle use of the potential of language enable Senchowa to evoke experiences and worldviews that are strikingly distinctive. The precision of language and milieu which she has created, add new dimension to her short stories. ‘Mou-Xora’ is an example that encapsulates these features quite well. In this story, ‘Mou-Xora’ can be seen as a symbol of love and respect to be offered by Bhogdoi to her near and dear one. Mou-Xora means paddy rice that are left after treading out of rice by cattle. Bhogdoi’s husband had a liking for such meals. Combining pathos and the sense of yearning that lies at the heart of motherhood, Senchowa draws out the essence of the unstated in her evocation of an experience which cannot be summarized through words. In the stories of Mouchumi Kandali, on the other hand, reality is engaged with through resources of the intellect in ways that show her deep understanding of questions which occupy us even though their articulation may not be similar. Like a painter, she colours space and moves beyond the conventions of the space-time continuum to chart a new passage. Her short story ‘O Rangeraja’ is set in a moonlit milieu. In ‘Khanjar-E-Isk: Ek Film Kahani’ the representation of marginalized life and its vicissitudes surface vigorously. In some cases, particular sentences of display the intensity of the metaphoric thrust, which operates to create a whole new paradigm. Peacock-directed verbal patterns recur in her story ‘Mayur Bihar’. The peacock motif is suggestive of longing, yet the metaphysical sense is also factored in. The verbal pattern comes as a part of her description. Interestingly, the pattern comes every time with the same object, and the same image. This makes the story and its rendering stand out, making it a really worthy read.

In ‘Bengchhata’ Apurba Kumar Saikia is offers a theory on the purpose of existence: it was good to have a single formula for life. Better live unless you step onto the speedy path of death. No middle path in between. The cornerstone of the story deals with the question of life itself and its implications for the living. The ‘Bengchhata’ (mushroom) is referred to both metaphorically and also metaphysically in the short story. Yet, the narrative deals with a deeply entrenched reality, which operates as a perception and also as a form of inescapable truth. The narrator’s mother suffers from an acute disease, namely false pregnancy. An incapable woman having earnest wish to be a mother is victim of such a disease. All symptoms of pregnancy are evident in the woman’s body, but there is the absence of foetus in the womb. The quest motif finds its agency in the desire to reignite the life-spark which seems to be persistently out of reach. The pursuit of life-goals constitutes one of the markers that occupy the writings of Mrinal Kalita, especially in the way he commingles form and content to create questions which are striking for the very manner in which they are placed and articulated. A freshly induced storytelling process is evident in Kalita’s short fiction, especially ‘Mrityur Sipare’ where the juxtaposition of pathos and pleasure draw attention to the importance of seeing, not merely the act of living.

The Assamese short story and its practitioners offer a rich gamut of experimentation and storytelling expertise, borne out by the variations in craft and in the interesting ways of evocation of social life and culture representing the widely divergent approaches that are in vogue today.