From the Scotland of the East

She grew up amidst its pine trees and rain slippery roads. And they left an indelible mark on her.
Reminiscenting those days, when she writes—
“This wind is the language of indecision that winter speaks when it opens its slow mouth to let April in.” (“March”) or when—
“Another winter. The early dark tumbles from leaf to cherry leaf.
Buses go roaring
with their cargoes of wind. The
first orange is sour.
I walk at nightfall Dreaming my icy fingers burn your sleep-warmed cheek.” (“November Haiku”)
We are enthralled. Words as simple as these, evoking rich images and for many, memories—give us a peek into the talent out of which they pour. Poet, novelist, reviewer, essayist—one who weaves tapestries out of words and experiences, she is Anjum Hasan... winner of the Indian Review of Books Award (1994), and ( a prize in )the Outlook Picador Non-fiction Contest (2002), she was also short-listed for The Little Magazine New Writing Award in 2006. Her debut poetry collection “Street on the Hill” published by Sahitya Akademi in 2006was very well-received and her debut novel, “Lunatic in My Head”, published by Penguin India in 2007 too has won plaudits all over. Her to-be-released novel (titled Neti) is on the longlist of 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize; and that in itself is ample evidence of. her talent.
She has contributed to various publications like The Little Magazine, New Quest, Outlook, Jamini, the Hindu Literary Supplement and the Indian Review of Books. Her poems have been published variously in India and abroad in journals like “The Brown Critique”, “The Journal”, “Indian Literature”, “Chandrabhaga”, “Kavya Bharati”, “The Post-Post Modern Review”, “Heat Magazine”, “Komma”, “Critical Quarterly”, “Himal”, “Fulcrum”, “Man’s World”, and in anthologies “Reasons for Belonging: Fourteen Contemporary Indian Poets(Viking Penguin,2002) and the “Anthology of Contemporary Poetry from the Northeast” (NEHU Publications).

Yet, she comes across as amazingly simple, unassuming and a great human being. Recently, your’s truly had the opportunity of spending an interesting and enriching afternoon with this lady who has made all of North East feel proud of her.
Anjum’s parents hailed from Uttar Pradesh. Her father Noorul Hasan was a lecturer of English in the prestigious North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) and her mother Santosh Hasan a Hindi teacher at the famous Loreto Convent in Shillong. The eldest of four siblings, Anjum was born in Shillong in 1972. She did her schooling at Loreto Convent and her graduation from St.Mary’s College, Shillong with honours in Philosophy. Afterwards she pursued her Post Graduation from NEHU. However, once PG was over, she decided to move out. She says in this context--“I somehow felt I had outgrown Shillong. I had exhausted possibilites that it could offer. home though it was, I needed exposure that was unavailable here.Besides I also wanted to be independent and be on my own. Therefore I applied for a job in Indian Foundation for Arts, got the job and shifted base to Bangalore. That was ten years back.”
But before we move on to Bangalore,we feel her childhood needs a little more proding into. For wasn’t it this childhood that helped forge the writer in her?

“Very true. I consider myself indeed fortunate to have grown up in Shillong. the literary environment of the pine city helped mould me into what I am today. There were books and books all around at home as far as I can remember. My parents being teachers—fostered a literary/creative environment at home. This I think brewed the creativity within all of us kids.”

Anjum continues, “The library at NEHU was a treasure trove of books—from all over the world. In fact, though situated in one nook of the country, Shillong was highly westernised place—where one had access to the best of everything: the best books, the best of (world) music and the best of education. Its small town charms only added to its beauty. However, it was its awesome landscape that had its deepest imprint on my mind. Especially the NEHU campus back then was so pretty and green—it wasn’t full of so many concrete buildings like today. We used to go for long walks in the countryside.Also, the sort of education we received in school too went a long way in contributing to development of our personalities..”

In reminiscence still, she goes on, “As a child,I was solitary and very shy; I preferred sitting at one corner at home and read a book. Of course, as I grew up , I shed quite some of my shyness . Yet even today I retain that private space within. I am not comfortable facing the arclights all the time And that seems funny actually. For writing is something public... I mean We convey our innermost feelings and experiences through our writings that is read by the multitudes. The writer might not travel, but his/her book travels…”the voice trails off


Teeming with curiosity and ready with my barrage of questions, I put forth my next query-- she must have been writing since her childhood? “Well—yes though I have written poems from a very young age, it was from my college days that I took to poetry seriously. Actually, in the Shillong that I grew up everyone seemed to be writing poetry and some that was really good... Shillong also had a lot of poetry societies and by the time I had completed my Masters I was a regular at poetry sessions reading my poems .In fact, as I realize today, Shillong is an amazingly congenial place to be a writer.”
The transition from small town Shillong to a bustling metropolis like Bangalore must have been quite a change. “Yes--To have grown up in this small (isolated) corner of the country and then suddenly to make a transition into a big city, it was certainly a change of environment. Unlike many people my experience has never been unpleasant. Yet Bangalore can be harsh as well--I’m not denying this. Still, it much more hospitable than most cities in India . and I made some really good friends who never made me feel lonely or abandoned in the big city. Also”, after a slight pause, she continues, “had I not moved out, I suppose I couldn’t have achieved whatever bit I have managed to all these years…in many ways, it was the nostalgia and yearning for Shillong that sowed the germ of my first novel.”
What is India Foundation of Arts all about? and what does her job entail? “IFA is a Non-Governmental Organization devoted entirely to supporting the arts. It funds art projects across the country. In the North East as well it has funded a few projects. Like the Assam Museum project of digitising rare manuscripts scattered in the Vaishnavite Satras all over Assam. Or a performance project in Manipur. I was initially involved with the funding side, that entailed me to travell all over the country and meet a lot of people. That experience benefitted me immensely. Now of course I am involved as the Communications Editor. I have also edited the biannual IFA arts journal ArtsConnect. ”
Isn’t it difficult juggling work and writing? “Well I am fortunate to have understanding employers. They have given me enough space to pursue my writing and my poetry reading sessions et al without impinging upon my work.It’s a dream job really—I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”
Novel writing is a fairly new medium for her. How was the experience of making that transition --from poetry to novel writing? Anjum feels it has taught her a lot. “I think there’s a greater continuity between poetry and prose than is usually imagined. Poems are more personal, while in a novel, you have to go beyond you and portray characters with which the reader can relate to. unlike a poem, the canvas of a novel is a much bigger. Further, novel writing entails a discipline while poetry is much more spontaneous.”
Her poems are written in free verse…She agrees. “I like the directness of free verse. Besides, poetry written so enables the poet to address the reader directly. While following a meter (often) brings in certain limitations, I feel. Such poetry written after the nineteenth century sounds artificial to me. At the same time it is also essential to attain a rhythm in ones compositions; the music of language should also be palpable. Through my compositions, I seek to achieve all this .”

What is or has been her greatest inspiration? “Undoubtedly, it’s my love for the English language. Besides, Shillong---with its awesome landscape, its cosmopolitanism, its literary/creative environment---has always inspired me. Above all my family--my parents and my husband Zac are my constant sources of inspiration.”


Her yet-to-be-published novel (titled Neti) (which is a sequel to “Lunatic In My Head” )is in the longlist of the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize. How does that feel? “Of course it feels great. the sort of publicity and recognition that an award brings is something that we can never deny. Having said that—let me also add that being on the long list is an honour in itself. for me that is bigger than winning the award even. Whether it is the Man Asian or any of the awards I have won or have been nominated for, it has always been the “being nominated “ or “being on the longlist” part that has excited me the most. Because, honestly speaking I am not very comfortable in excessive media glare and with too much attention. I like to do my work silently and would rather let my work speak.”

‘Neti’ sounds an unusual title for a novel... “Well”, Anjum smiles, “Neti is a Sanskrit word. Put it simply, it means ‘not this’. So, when the character Sophie (from the novel “Lunatic” who is now grown up and goes to Bangalore), finds herself in a certain situation she would say ‘not this’. Throughout the novel, this word recurs like a mantra. there is thus a slightly nihilistic tint to the whole thing; you may call it a search for meaning. Of course, though this is a sequel ‘Neti’ can be read on its own as well. Besides, I am still in talks with publishers. I don’t know if eventually this title will be retained. But as of now— for this novel, ‘Neti’ is my title.”

Interestingly, Anjum’s sister Daisy Hasan too is a writer. Presently based in the University of Cardiff, her debut novel, too is on the long list of the Man Asian Literary Prize. That must feel great? “undoubtedly it does. My parents are absolutely thrilled . At the same time it feels a little funny as well you know—”she smiles again--her eyes a twinkle with delightful simplicity.


Anjum’s husband Zaco’yeah is a writer in his own right. “he writes in Swede.”, she informs, “ and extensively on India. He has recently written a book on Mahatma Gandhi which has been very well received. It is the first book on Gandhi to be written in that language. he is a travel writer as well. And nurtures keen interest in India and its culture. It was this interest in Indian culture that brought us together.”

Anything that she nurtures a fond desire of doing? “I want to do more of travel writing. To travel to new places, get to see its culture , learn about its people and then write all the same can be the ultimate pleasure for a writer. It is one experience that absorbs all my faculties as a writer. My husband is constantly egging me on to travel more and more often and write about those experiences.”

Any message to the budding writers from this region? “Firstly one should read widely. it is only when you read well that you can actually write . At the same time, one should be adventurous while reading. One should also endeavour to expand consciousness of ones self . While writing as well one needs to should step back a bit and view ones work. It is important to develop this perspective . However”, she stresses, “it is very important not to think of yourself as belonging to the marginal regions. Just because you write from a region lesser-traveled and lesser known by people of other parts of the world does not imply that you are inferior or at a disadvantage. People tend to stereotype you--yes; but you got to fight that. At the same time, it is also important that you write for the world at large. Whenever I have written about the North East, I have written not for its people alone, but for the world at large.”

She continues, “Today the media has grown very big and this has contributed immensely to the growth of writing. It is indeed a good time to be a writer today.”
If that be so, then is it possible to take up writing as a full time career? “Not in the initial stages. Later on, when one has established oneself., then that’s different. But I think, in the beginning, one needs to have a job.That has to complement ones creativity however , otherwise it becomes very difficult for the writer.”

When she was such a keen reader of literature, then why did she choose Philosophy in her college? “Firstly, I didn’t feel the need to be a student of English literature; I was not sure if I wanted to approach literature academically. Philosophy on the other hand enriched me immensely. It gave me a whole lot of new perspectives. For me, Philosophy is an excuse to know more about particular aspects of the world.”

Given a chance would she like to come back to Shillong?
“I have moved on. Today Bangalore is my home. I have no thoughts of “coming back” to Shillong in that way. But then again I want to retain my links with this beautiful city which has given me so much. Thankfully, my parents have settled here. So every now and then I can keep coming to Shillong—to North East.”

Before winding up the interview, as the clock ticks away, I put forth the final question in my kitty--Would she someday want to come up with a memoir of the kind of “Istanbul?”
“That will be a dream come true”she lets out a sigh, “Istanbul is such a beautiful work. However, Istanbul is an ancient city with many layers of history. Orhan Pamuk weaves it so exceedingly well---he has really set a benchmark Shillong in contrast is very young. Still...of course..may be..I might come up with something in those lines. Who knows ?No one can foretell the future..after all”

Well definitely we can’t. Yet with this glimpse into the person behind the poetic tapestries and the sweet words that swirl and enchant us, we can surely say that greater things are in store for Anjum Hasan. Here’s wishing the very best and the warmest affection to this sweet lady from the street on the hill.
(published in 'melange' , 'The Sentinel' on November 9th, 2008)