Thiruvananthapuram: The North East comes into view in the work of these writers. The literary luminaries show total commitment to address the difficulties that ravaged their state. And one among the many writers is Jahnavi Barua from Assam whose debut book Next Door (a collection of short stories) was longlisted in the Frank O'Connor international short story award, Rebirth for the Man Asian Literary Prize and the Commonwealth Writers' prize and the third book Undertow for the JCB prize for literature. 

Jahnavi did not set out to become the voice of Assam. When a writer writes, they write what they have seen in the surroundings, in their childhood.

Not too many people from Assam were writing in the national stage when I started writing 15 years back, she says. Good things that happened in Assam has been hidden due to the turbulence that is happening around. There are many writers from the extreme part of the country and many are getting published now. 

Jahnavi admits that North East has been suffering from lack of attention. "Writers were a step back from others in the literary world. It has been neglected in many levels. We were lagging behind in writing. But now, the scene is different. Writers are now getting recognised and the literary talents must move to take the momentum forward."

There is much debate on using the term North Eastern writers rather than naming writers from their individual state, she says. "This happened when the place was not well known. In those days, very little was known about the North East. Everything was a blur. Now every region has recognition. Individual identities are taking shape. Slowly it will change," she says.

Jahnavi's latest book Undertow was launched just around lockdown in 2020. The week the book was launched, lockdown was announced, she says. The book talks about the 1980s.

There are equal number of writers who write in English and also in local languages from North East. That is because English has become the link language. English is widely spread, well spoken and hence lot of people write in English, she said.

Jahanvi started reading at a very early age. "Do well in class and you get books as gifts." That is how Jahnavi's parents encouraged reading. Jahnavi says presently she is rereading Anita Desai's Fire on the Mountain.

"Though it takes time for an idea to get evolved, my writing process is very fast," she concluded when asked about her next book.