Language, stories, arts discussed at Patkai Christian College literary fest

DIMAPUR — The department of English, Patkai Christian College (PCC) (Autonomous), organised its first literary fest, a two-day event with the theme ‘literature and beyond’, at Bundrock Chapel, Chümoukedima, on October 6 and 7.

Speaking at the inaugural session, Dr. Thepfüvilie Pierü, principal of the college, lauded the department for its initiative and stated that such activities provide platforms for positive change, according to a press release.

As the first session’s resource person, Dr. Moalemba Jamir, associate editor at The Morung Express, stated, both news and narrative share the common thread of disseminating information to the general public or an audience, albeit in different ways.

He defined news as providing factual information, whereas narratives are a type of communication or storytelling used to convey a message, entertain, or inform.

According to Jamir, both news and narratives are powerful tools that can be used to inform, persuade, and motivate society’s trajectory. 

“It can also promote social values such as democracy, freedom, and justice,” he added.

In the second session, poet and academician Dr. Theyiesinuo Keditsu called English the ‘coloniser’s language’, claiming that it has subjugated and even restricted minds.

She said language is more than just a means of communication; it carries within it a universe of references and values that are specific to the culture from which it originates.

She questioned whether it was possible for Nagas to develop a language that resists colonial language or literature that transforms images and representations of Nagas themselves.

“Unless we reincorporate what is real in our lives, we are constantly going to be imitating the literature of Shakespeare and Wordsworth, reproducing images that are going to be increasingly irrelevant to the next generation,” she maintained.

The resource person for the third session, Dr. Lanusangla Tzudir, founder of Heritage Publishing House, viewed that Nagas must take responsibility and ownership of their stories to assert their position as memory keepers and storytellers.

Renbeni M Kikon, an alumnus of Patkai Christian College, delivered a speech on the re-emergence of art and theatre on the second day of the festival, and BA fifth-semester students presented a movie review on ‘East is East’.

The BA first-semester students presented a performance of an Indian classical play, ‘Abhijanasakuntalam’, while the MA third-semester students delved into Nagaland folklore, presenting an exploration of the Nagas’ cultural uniqueness and traditions.

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