Memoirs of the Woods  (English, Paperback, Chandrakanta Murasingh)

‘Memoirs of the Woods’ is an anthology of poems written in Kokborok at various period spread over a span of four decades. Kokborok is less known in rest of India and is the language of an ethnic community of Tripura, and also the second state language of Tripura. Surprisingly the language has a rich treasury of imagery and melodious expressions. The translations have efficiently retained the spirit and flavour of the originals. As an introduction with a less known language and people the poems may have a different appeal. The poems reflect the experience and feelings of an individual belonging to the particular rural ethnic group. In them, there is a union of the local as well as the universal. Many of the expressions and imagery are direct descendants of the rich oral tradition. The poetic imagination recalls a sylvan experience of the past on the one hand; on the other the experience of the present day with the labyrinthine ways. The smell of the gun-powder and the dust soaked in blood blend and present a known yet unknown picture.