Elements of realism in “Once upon a time in Kohima” by Konaei Shongdok

Realism is the accurate, detailed, unembellished depiction of nature or of contemporary life.

Realism is an artistic and literary movement that sought to represent reality truthfully and
accurately. It is the quality or fact of representing a person or thing in a way that is accurate
and true to life. It is the realistic representation of everyday life. Literary realism is a literary
movement that represents reality by portraying mundane everyday life or experiences as they
are in real life.it depicts familiar people, places, situations, and stories primarily about the
middle and lower classes of society. Realism in literature seeks to tell a story as truthfully and
realistic as possible. It is an aesthetic mode of art to show or depict life as it should be in
order to show life as it is.

Realism began as a major trend in French novels and paintings between 1850 and 1880, it
was a dramatic shift from the exotic and poetic romanticism that dominated the art world is
decades prior. Some of the major proponents of realism are Gustave Courbet, Jean-Francois
Millet, Honore Daumier and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. And the earliest realist writing
includes Honore de Balzac and Gustave Flaubert. All over it began during the 19th century
and lasted until the early 20th century, as works of romanticism were thought to be too exotic
and to have lost touch with the real world. Realism paved a way for the writers to have a
sense of closeness to the real world as it is the realistic depiction of the real and it is the
portrayal of all varieties of human experiences.

Realism was a transition from the romantics n the classics as settings moved from vaguely
described kingdom lying somewhere in foreign lands to everyday places like the streets of
London or the inside of a shop, house or room. Instead of characters who spoke in high-flown
witty phrases manifesting extremes of emotion, fictional characters slowly began to talk more
and more like real people.

“Novel’s realism does not reside in the kind of life it presents, but the way it presents it”. (Ian
watts- Rise of the novel)

The novel “Once upon a time in Kohima” by Konaei Shongdok is a geopolitical novel
based on the northeastern state, Nagaland and depicts the story of Issa Zore Lutzo and
Adrenal Ghonskod Naga, a Naga nationalist and a former convict. Issa hikes up to Mt. Japfu,
an unusual location to collaborate with a prisoner for her academic assignment. She has to
write a story to finish her studies under the theme “comical prejudice”. Issa wonders how
she’s supposed to write a comical story with a criminal as her associate, but hopes to be able
to finish her script. As for Adrenal Ghonskod Naga is a Naga nationalist who once led an
underground insurgent faction, and is someone who is patriotic, believes in doing what is
right, strong headed and determined. The story is about two incompatible people meeting at a
pinnacle point who are connected to each other with a tragic and ill-fated past. Although this
meeting of Issa and Adrenal is solely for academic purpose, as Issa hopes to get inspiration
for her story but a deeper secret about her life is unravelled which at a point becomes a
hindrance for her project. The story unfolds as to how Issa deals with this and if she will be
able to interview Ghonskod successfully and how her script would come to be. The story
deals with the themes of love, betrayal, forgiveness, conflicts of the Naga insurgency and the
conflicts of good vs evil.

Konaei Shongdok an aspiring young author from Nagaland has presented the readers parallel
stories of Issa and Adrenal. He has incorporated various facades in his narration, he also
integrates or weaves in historical events and places in his narration. He also uses humour as a
comic relief, it can be seen through his witty dialogues and characters.