The Heart of the Matter

This selected fiction attempts to present the rich treasure trove of literature that the northeastern states of India house. And each of the twenty one stories in this volume depicts the close link that the writers have with their cultural moorings, and it is primarily this deep-rooted bond with one’s culture, tradition and history that gives substance to the stories in this volume.Skilled in peace, gifted with war, the land of the fabled North East holds its secrets but for the fortunate few. Here are some of the stories from the land of storytellers – – Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and Nagaland.The Heart of the Matter is the second of six books that have resulted from a unique collaboration between Katha and the North East Writers Forum (NEWF), a collaboration that aims to bring to the forefront, through translations, the rich treasure trove of literature that the northeastern states of India house. While Asomiya: Handpicked Fictions, the first in the series, is an anthology of short stories written originally in Asomiya, and depicting the sights and sounds of Assam and its people, The Heart of the Matter is a window to Assam as well as Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizorama and Nagaland, a window revealing an India that to date has not been so beautifully represented or translated.This uniqueness and these diversities are what The Heart of the Mater attempts to present-through varied narratives and through a variety of themes. And each of the twenty one stories in this volume depicts the close link that the writers have with their cultural moorings, and it is primarily this deep-rooted bond with one’s culture, tradition and history that gives substance to the stories in this volume. Thus, Kaphleia’s short story Chhingpuii depicts a Mizoram in the late nineteenth century.The series includes collections of short stories, novellas, folktales, plays and children’s stories. Both Katha and the NEWF have taken great care to make each volume distinctive, given the diversity of the region, and ensuring that there is a fair and faithful representation of most of the main language and geographical groups. The combined efforts have resulted in volume that is homogenous in that the stories are all about the human predicament, but diverse in that the cultural codes which govern human behaviour and responses are unique to this region.