Mirrors, a compilation of poems by Bobita Rai released
Morung Express News
Dimapur | December 19
Mirrors, a collection of poems by Bobita Rai, was launched on December 19. A collection of 40 poems, and published by Tajung Publications, the book was launched by Pastor Visasier Kevichüsa at a programme held at Kingdom Culture Church, Dimapur.
In his remarks, Kevichüsa noted how poetry, including the Biblical text, transcends the ages, remaining a powerful medium of expression, communicating not only stories but also emotions.
Rai described the publication of the book as the celebration of “a long lost dream” manifesting into reality. A self-confessed “closet writer,” she said that ‘Mirrors’ is a compilation of musings since her school days and that she never imagined publishing he works. It was until she met Monalisa Changkija, Editor of Nagaland Page, and who also runs Tajung Publications, that she could gather enough confidence to publish the works. While acknowledging the contributions of all, she said that making room for others like Changkija would lead to a “changed literary culture” in Nagaland.
Changkija, delivering the publisher’s note, held that the act of writing has never been easy and more so today, with social, political and cultural factors and the society dictating what to think, what to speak, what to do and how to act. But there have also been people who went against the tide and that Rai is also one.
She said that writing expresses the “innermost thoughts and feelings,” which often are not easy to take to the view of the world, and that women in particular have been conditioned to remain silent. Stating that Rai’s writings are beautiful and simple that inspires people, she encouraged all to keep writing without worrying about publishing them immediately. She also invited writers to be a part of the Wordsmithereens, the Nagaland Chapter of the North East Writers’ Forum. “Mirrors” is the second publication of the publishing house after ‘Olio: Obscure Writings from Nagaland.’
Patricia Zhimomi, who reviewed the book, said it reminded her of William Wordsworth’s: “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings...” Zhimomi, who is the vice principal of Christian Higher Secondary School, Dimapur, Zhimomi said that the poems have the capacity to awaken the cardinal emotions to connect: with people, the past and the present and with the creator and the created. According to her, Mirrors evoked in her the melancholy of memories and found herself lost in them.
