A collection as unprecedented as it is captivating, Lapbah--a title inspired by Lapbah Sohra, Sohra's monsoon deluge--is a magnificent anthology in two volumes that brings together fifty-seven compelling tales by fifty-two of the finest writers from the North-east. It presents, for the first time, voices from all eight states of the region, seamlessly blending original works in English with masterful translations of those written in the regional languages.
The collection offers a rich tapestry of themes and styles through writing by the likes of Easterine Kire, Janice Pariat, Bhabendra Nath Saikia, Mitra Phukan and Arupa Patangia Kalita. The stories, emanating from the many different linguistic, literary and ethnic cultures, range from the traditionally heart-rending tales of Arup Kumar Dutta and Rashmi Narzary to the darkly humorous social and political satires of S.J. Duncan and Wan Kharkrang and the fantastical worlds of Jahnavi Barua and Harekrishna Deka, where reality mixes freely with the surreality of dream and fantasy.
Lapbah, compiled and edited by Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih and Rimi Nath, is a celebration of voices as diverse and multifaceted as the region itself, offering readers a profound and moving literary experience.
Winner of the Shakti Bhatt Prize 2024, Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, born in Sohra, Meghalaya, writes poetry, drama and fiction in Khasi and English. His latest works include The Distaste of the Earth (longlisted for the JCB Prize 2024), the critically acclaimed epic-length novel Funeral Nights (published in the UK and the US in 2024), The Yearning of Seeds: Poems, Time's Barter: Haiku and Senryu and Around the Hearth: Khasi Legends. He is the co-editor of Late-Blooming Cherries: Haiku Poetry from India (India's first English-language haiku poetry anthology) and Dancing Earth: An Anthology of Poetry from North-East India.
He has published poems and stories in Planet: The Welsh Internationalist, Wasafiri, New Welsh Review, PEN International, Literary Review, The Oxford Anthology of Writings from North-East India, The HarperCollins Book of English Poetry, The Penguin Book of Indian Poets, The Indian Quarterly, Down to Earth, The Hindu Business Line, Pilgrim's India, Day's End Stories and more. His other awards include the Northeast Poetry Award (2004), the Veer Shankar Shah-Raghunath Shah National Award (2008), a Tagore Fellowship (2018), the Bangalore Review June Jazz Award (2021), the Sparrow Literary Award (2022) and Meghalaya's Tribal Achievers' Award (2024). He teaches literature at North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong.
Rimi Nath writes poems, haiku, fiction and literary essays. She is the author of
Kushiara and Other Poems and the co-editor of
Late-Blooming Cherries: Haiku Poetry from India. She has published her works extensively in India and overseas. She teaches literature in the Department of English at North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong. Rimi was born in Sivasagar, Assam, but grew up in the border town of Karimganj. She lives in Shillong and Guwahati.
