Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 11 Mar: Eight female participants, most of them first-timers, took part in an open mic session at the Readers Realm in Ganga here on Friday.
The session, organised by Sister Library – a Mumbai-based community-owned, community-run feminist library – featured the participants reciting poems, narrating personal stories, delivering monologues, etc.
The participants included Tana Jumsi, Biki Yader, Nani Gumja, Joram Pera, Tai Kamyer, Kime Sumpi, Jirken Bogo and Tana Poppy.
Dr Doge Ngomdir of Donyi Polo Government College, Kamki, presented her pre-recorded piece as she was unable to attend the session in person.
The session offered the participants the opportunity to express any emotion through songs, laughter and tears. Several participants burst into tears as they shared their life experiences.
Participant Joram Pera read her poem on her experiences in the village, and shared an anecdote of her mother telling and teaching her about a woman’s life after marriage and her roles as a daughter-in-law.
Pera, who recited a poem for the first time in any public forum, concluded her poem questioning which house she should consider her home.
Poems on mothers and their roles were also read out.
The founder of Sister Library, Aqui Thami, a native of Darjeeling who lives in Mumbai, is currently in Itanagar for the event. She informed that similar events have already been held in Guwahati, Shillong, Gangtok and Darjeeling. Her next visits will be to Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
Books written by females from over all the country are kept in the Sister Library in Mumbai. “The library is an open community where all the women contribute in different capacities, such as translating, transcribing and fundraising. There are thousands of books written by female writers in the library,” Thami said.
Another session will be held on Saturday at the same venue from 11 am onwards. Singer-songwriter Carolina Norbu, Miss Arunachal 2020 Jomyir Jini, young writer Chasoom Bosai and Tallo Mary will be participating and reading out their written works.
