Retelling contemporary history
23 May 2013 2:27 PM GMT
A close and intimate discussion in the cosy confines of Akshara Theatre was marked by a spell of silence. The thoughts that pervaded the audience were not those of celebration. The event marked Irom Sharmila's struggle in Manipur and her poem that has been transformed into a book. The audience listened to the gritty tale from the Northeast, embracing Irom's weapon of protest - the 13 years of fasting against AFSPA.
It was the usual Tuesday evening. As the sun's fury mellowed down but the temperatures inside Akshara soaring. Not with heat, but with ideas. The event attended by intellectuals from the Capital launched Iron Irom Two Journeys: Where Abnormal is Normal, a book on the 41-year-old activist's life. The panel comprised of UNICEF's goodwill ambassador, Sharmilla Tagore; the co-author of the book and documentary filmmaker, Minnie Vaid; Founder of Human Rights Alert, Babloo Loitongbom and editor of the Imphal Free Press newspaper, Pradip Phanjoubam.
The four thwarted the prevalance of Armed Forces Special Power Act in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir and called on for a wider support for Irom Sharmila's cause.
This is where it all began - Meeting Irom Sharmila in the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi sowed the seeds of the book in the publisher's mind. Irom turned down a request from Meera Johri, but eventually penned down the poem Birth. Minnie Vaid was taken on board for the detailed project on Irom's struggle and life.
Minnie reinforces the story of Irom Sharmila, from its inception, documenting the journey so far. She categorically mentions that she knows, she is not the first one to write an account of Irom's life but adds 'never underestimate the power of repetition'. Minnie believes that a majority of Indian population know Irom as ‘somebody with a tube in her nose’. The book is a call for awareness. It carries a 1000 line poem written by Irom Sharmila herself, with a backgrounder by Minnie Vaid.
Sharmila Tagore read out passages from the book and a verse from Irom's Birth. She admitted that she learnt about the iron lady of Manipur only 5 years ago and wanted to spread the message of her struggle, far and wide. Her reading out sections of the poem added to the gravity of the event.
Loitongbom, Irom's fellow acitivist, related her tale from a personal perspective and described how the shy and muffler clad bicyclist came to his home and declared her fast in 2000. Imphal Free Press editor Pradip called AFSPA's existence a failure for liberal India. It’s perhaps mere coincidence that the launch was a day short of marking 55 yrs of AFSPA in the north east India.
It was the usual Tuesday evening. As the sun's fury mellowed down but the temperatures inside Akshara soaring. Not with heat, but with ideas. The event attended by intellectuals from the Capital launched Iron Irom Two Journeys: Where Abnormal is Normal, a book on the 41-year-old activist's life. The panel comprised of UNICEF's goodwill ambassador, Sharmilla Tagore; the co-author of the book and documentary filmmaker, Minnie Vaid; Founder of Human Rights Alert, Babloo Loitongbom and editor of the Imphal Free Press newspaper, Pradip Phanjoubam.
The four thwarted the prevalance of Armed Forces Special Power Act in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir and called on for a wider support for Irom Sharmila's cause.
This is where it all began - Meeting Irom Sharmila in the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi sowed the seeds of the book in the publisher's mind. Irom turned down a request from Meera Johri, but eventually penned down the poem Birth. Minnie Vaid was taken on board for the detailed project on Irom's struggle and life.
Minnie reinforces the story of Irom Sharmila, from its inception, documenting the journey so far. She categorically mentions that she knows, she is not the first one to write an account of Irom's life but adds 'never underestimate the power of repetition'. Minnie believes that a majority of Indian population know Irom as ‘somebody with a tube in her nose’. The book is a call for awareness. It carries a 1000 line poem written by Irom Sharmila herself, with a backgrounder by Minnie Vaid.
Sharmila Tagore read out passages from the book and a verse from Irom's Birth. She admitted that she learnt about the iron lady of Manipur only 5 years ago and wanted to spread the message of her struggle, far and wide. Her reading out sections of the poem added to the gravity of the event.
Loitongbom, Irom's fellow acitivist, related her tale from a personal perspective and described how the shy and muffler clad bicyclist came to his home and declared her fast in 2000. Imphal Free Press editor Pradip called AFSPA's existence a failure for liberal India. It’s perhaps mere coincidence that the launch was a day short of marking 55 yrs of AFSPA in the north east India.
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