"The Voice of The Mountain" by Mamang Dai - Adivasi Resurgence

2/14/22, 7:14 PM “The Voice of the Mountain” By Mamang Dai – Adivasi Resurgence
 ABOUT US NEWS OPINIONS WOMEN HISTORY  POLITICS ARTS & CULT
Poetry Women
“The Voice of the Mountain” By

Mamang Dai
 May 13, 2016

Editor  0 Comments
Share
“I am tribal, and the geography, landscape, our myths, stories,

all this has shaped my thoughts”… [∗]
Mamang Dai Poet, novelist and journalist, belongs to Adi tribe

and is one of the renowned tribal voices from Arunachal Pradesh
and North-East India. She was a correspondent for the Sentinel,
The Telegraph and the Hindustan Times. A former member of
adivasiresurgence.com/2016/05/13/voice-mountain-mamang-dai/ 1/6
the Indian Administrative Service, she

 ABOUT US NEWS OPINIONS WOMEN HISTORY 
left it to pursue a career in writing,
POLITICS ARTS & CULT
traveled extensively and has published

numerous articles, poems and short
stories in various journals.
She is the author of Arunachal

Pradesh : The Hidden Land which
received the State’s first annual Verrier Elwin Award, 2003,
Reprint 2009 (Penguin). Her other books include The Legends
of Pensem, Mountain Harvest – the Food of Arunachal Pradesh,
River Poems and two illustrated books of folklore- The Sky
Queen and Once upon a Moon time.
A long-time member of the North East Writers’ Forum (NEWF)

Dai is a recipient of the Padma Shri, 2011, (Literature and
Education.) Currently she is Member, Arunachal Pradesh Public
Service Commission. She lives in Itanagar.
“The Voice of the Mountain”
From where I sit on the high platform
I can see the ferry lights crossing
criss-crossing the big river.
I know the towns, the estuary mouth.
There, beyond the last bank
where the colour drains from heaven
I can outline the chapters of the world.
The other day a young man arrived from the village.
Because he could not speak
he brought a gift of fish
from the land of rivers.
It seems such acts are repeated:
We live in territories forever ancient and new,
 andABOUT US NEWS OPINIONS WOMEN

as we speak in changing languages.
HISTORY  POLITICS ARTS & CULT
I, also, leave my spear leaning by the tree
and try to make a sign.
I am an old man sipping the breeze
that is forever young.
In my life I have lived many lives.
My voice is sea waves and mountain peaks,
In the transfer of symbols
I am the chance syllable that orders the world
Instructed with history and miracles.
I am the desert and the rain.
The wild bird that sits in the west.
The past that recreates itself
and particles of life that clutch and cling
For thousands of years –
I know, I know these things
as rocks know, burning in the sun’s embrace,
about clouds, and sudden rain;

as I know a cloud is a cloud is a cloud,
A cloud is this uncertain pulse
that sits over my heart.
In the end the universe yields nothing
except a dream of permanence.
Peace is a falsity.
A moment of rest comes after long combat:
From the east the warrior returns
with the blood of peonies.
I am the child who died at the edge of the world,
the distance between end and hope.
The star diagram that fell from the sky,
The summer that makes men weep.
I am the woman lost in translation
 who
ABOUT US NEWS OPINIONS WOMEN
survives, with happiness to carry on.
HISTORY  POLITICS ARTS & CULT
I am the breath that opens the mouth of the canyon,
the sunlight on the tips of trees;
There, where the narrow gorge hastens the wind
I am the place where memory escapes
the myth of time,
I am the sleep in the mind of the mountain.
∗An interview of Mamang Dai with ‘RedLeafPoetry- India’ can

be accessed here.
In picture: Adi Galo woman, Arunachal Pradesh – Johan Gerrits

photography
Author Recent Posts
Editor
Editorial Team of Adivasi Resurgence.
← The NCST’s Report on Gangrapes and Assaults in Bastar

Says There is a Breakdown of Discipline Among Security
Forces
‘No I Won’t Just Move On’ Hashtag: Why I Made It, We Need It
→
 You May Also Like
मेरा आदिवासी होना करें तो करें क्या! Four tribal women

ही काफी है!  January 10, 2020
 0 allege rape
 January 15, 2019
 2 charges against
Police in Dhar,
MP
 February 1, 2017
 0
Leave a reply
Default Comments (0) Facebook Comments
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked
*
Comment
Name *
Email *
Website
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I
comment.
Post Comment
Archive Useful Links
Select M Adivaani
Tribal Intellectual
Collective India
Roundtable India
Ministry of Tribal
Affairs
Copyright © 2022 Adivasi Resurgence. All rights reserved.
Theme: ColorMag by ThemeGrill. Powered by WordPress.

   

"The Voice of The Mountain" by Mamang Dai - Adivasi Resurgence

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

"The Voice of The Mountain" by Mamang Dai - Adivasi Resurgence

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2/14/22, 7:14 PM “The Voice of the Mountain” By Mamang Dai – Adivasi Resurgence

 ABOUT US NEWS OPINIONS WOMEN HISTORY  POLITICS ARTS & CULT

“The Voice of the Mountain” By

“I am tribal, and the geography, landscape, our myths, stories,

Mamang Dai Poet, novelist and journalist, belongs to Adi tribe

the Indian Administrative Service, she

traveled extensively and has published

She is the author of Arunachal

A long-time member of the North East Writers’ Forum (NEWF)

“The Voice of the Mountain”

From where I sit on the high platform

I can see the ferry lights crossing

criss-crossing the big river.

I know the towns, the estuary mouth.

There, beyond the last bank

where the colour drains from heaven

I can outline the chapters of the world.

The other day a young man arrived from the village.

Because he could not speak

he brought a gift of fish

from the land of rivers.

It seems such acts are repeated:

We live in territories forever ancient and new,

 andABOUT US NEWS OPINIONS WOMEN

I, also, leave my spear leaning by the tree

and try to make a sign.

I am an old man sipping the breeze

that is forever young.

In my life I have lived many lives.

My voice is sea waves and mountain peaks,

In the transfer of symbols

I am the chance syllable that orders the world

Instructed with history and miracles.

I am the desert and the rain.

The wild bird that sits in the west.

The past that recreates itself

and particles of life that clutch and cling

For thousands of years –

I know, I know these things

as rocks know, burning in the sun’s embrace,

about clouds, and sudden rain;

A cloud is this uncertain pulse

that sits over my heart.

In the end the universe yields nothing

except a dream of permanence.

A moment of rest comes after long combat:

From the east the warrior returns

with the blood of peonies.

I am the child who died at the edge of the world,

the distance between end and hope.

The star diagram that fell from the sky,

The summer that makes men weep.

I am the woman lost in translation

I am the breath that opens the mouth of the canyon,

the sunlight on the tips of trees;

There, where the narrow gorge hastens the wind

I am the place where memory escapes

the myth of time,

I am the sleep in the mind of the mountain.

∗An interview of Mamang Dai with ‘RedLeafPoetry- India’ can

In picture: Adi Galo woman, Arunachal Pradesh – Johan Gerrits

Author Recent Posts

← The NCST’s Report on Gangrapes and Assaults in Bastar