Thank you for sharing these stories, Swarna. Your essay reminds me of a unit I studied at university on The Uses of the Past, which opened my young eyes. We were encouraged to notice what and who was erased, and why certain stories (people, events, themes) gain prominence… and who that story serves now. I do not underestimate your courage in sharing your words.
Thank you for seeing me my friend and for acknowledging the stories of the people I have come to admire so deeply. Their story is one of virtue, courage, and perseverance in face of erasure and I am so glad that it felt resonant and important to you intuitively. It honours me greatly to be the vessel.
Thank you friend. Yes, I am planning on a book on the industrial city I was born and raised in and how the pre cold war era industrialisation there disrupted the life of indigenous people of that region.
Also, as you must know the North East India has many people whose fights for representation and climate activism are legendary. I am planning to capture those as well in future essay series, as I visit those places and understand them better. But yeah I prefer to adhere to more literary forms as the political landscape of India is very dangerous and I am currently ill-equipped to directly get involved in fieldwork.
I can imagine that you need to be very careful. Perhaps if you visit some.of those regions you could look out for rock carvings for me! I recently came across those at Unakoti and wonder if there are more such works in the areas you're interested in that haven't been seen.... maybe we could collaborate!
Not any that I have heard of but now that you have steered my attention, I will keep my eyes out for those and dm you if anything of the sorts catch my attention!
But for those of us who honour lived experience and ancestral memory, history must be more than a parade of pretentious facts. - Thank you, perfectly said, history is always fiction, and as we travel further back in time it becomes at best a reflection of the present, a projection and a conceit and at worst is an appalling justification by those who do not want a finger pointed.
Ka Phan Nonglait sounds wonderful. Thanks for letting me know about her. And thanks for another revealing and fascinating read. I’m left embarrassed by the antics of the past, and the present but uplifted by your clear and noble voice. Another excellent read Swarnali :)
Thank you for letting your heart see my words my friend. In the world so full of scruples of the wealthy and the systems of control they have built, doing the obvious i.e. standing up for truth seems like a brave thing to do. It is all bizarre and distorted right now. I am glad, you are in this path with me. We need more hearts who resonates, oceans of compassionate people who care. And of course, I admire your words as much.
Brilliant how Ka Phan's straegy of using ecological knowledge to disarm soldiers parallels the botanical garden visit as a site of truth. The connection suggests that resistence outlives what colonail archives erase because it gets encoded in plant knowledge and landscape itself. I've seen simlar patterns in other indigenous contexts where what looks like quiet observation is actually transmission of tactical memory. The fern nursery functioning as both literal preservation and metaphor for subaltern history is kinda perfect.
Thank you for spending time with this story. You are so right. The insight that nature is archive of memory indeed is natural in cosmologies of other indigenous cultures too which enabled this narrative.
Such important work you’re doing. Memory is indeed a kind of power and the language of emergence springs from those stories, both ancient and present, human and non-human alike.
Kim you have a gift of saying things with such lucid grace and perfection. Thank you. Yes, it is indeed both human and non-human world alike that balances the harmony of memory. So far, our dominant views are deeply anthropocentric and in that view we lose a lot of insight that enables to connect things in the right tandem of preservation - both in nature and human history
Swarna, this journey has left me wordless. As I read, and noted your comment about stories of the commons and what has been stolen in our psychological and collective unconscious, I thought once again of Lyla June Johnston, whose worldview and talks I've found so inspiring. The way she has brought together an understanding of what has been lost across continents, and how we all find kinship again -- your work rings so vibrantly across that narrative. You have a gift, my friend!
I think it was in this talk that Lyla June or her Welsh co-speaker said, "Our job is to fall in love with the Earth. Again and again and again." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfdIBmrCuVU
Your stories, and what you've shared from Ophelia here, reminds me of how important that work is. 🧚🕯️
Wow Nia, you always have the best perspective when it comes to connecting the dots. Thank you for sharing the work of these amazing women with me. The more I explore these avenues of kinship between humans and mother earth, the more swelled I feel in my heart. It cleanses me Nia.
You are a true inspiration and embodiment of courage for me Nia. Thank you my sister and thank you for listening deeply to my Khasi sister’s voice 💜
I feel the same about you and your work, Swarna! Maybe these connections across this gorgeous planet can begin to break down some of the dams that have strangled voices and life. 🌊
Thank you for sharing these stories, Swarna. Your essay reminds me of a unit I studied at university on The Uses of the Past, which opened my young eyes. We were encouraged to notice what and who was erased, and why certain stories (people, events, themes) gain prominence… and who that story serves now. I do not underestimate your courage in sharing your words.
Thank you for seeing me my friend and for acknowledging the stories of the people I have come to admire so deeply. Their story is one of virtue, courage, and perseverance in face of erasure and I am so glad that it felt resonant and important to you intuitively. It honours me greatly to be the vessel.
That sounds like a class I would love to take! or perhaps a class I'd love to live
Definitely a helpful part of media literacy.
This is important work you're doing, does it extend beyond writing here?
Thank you friend. Yes, I am planning on a book on the industrial city I was born and raised in and how the pre cold war era industrialisation there disrupted the life of indigenous people of that region.
Also, as you must know the North East India has many people whose fights for representation and climate activism are legendary. I am planning to capture those as well in future essay series, as I visit those places and understand them better. But yeah I prefer to adhere to more literary forms as the political landscape of India is very dangerous and I am currently ill-equipped to directly get involved in fieldwork.
I can imagine that you need to be very careful. Perhaps if you visit some.of those regions you could look out for rock carvings for me! I recently came across those at Unakoti and wonder if there are more such works in the areas you're interested in that haven't been seen.... maybe we could collaborate!
Not any that I have heard of but now that you have steered my attention, I will keep my eyes out for those and dm you if anything of the sorts catch my attention!
But for those of us who honour lived experience and ancestral memory, history must be more than a parade of pretentious facts. - Thank you, perfectly said, history is always fiction, and as we travel further back in time it becomes at best a reflection of the present, a projection and a conceit and at worst is an appalling justification by those who do not want a finger pointed.
Ka Phan Nonglait sounds wonderful. Thanks for letting me know about her. And thanks for another revealing and fascinating read. I’m left embarrassed by the antics of the past, and the present but uplifted by your clear and noble voice. Another excellent read Swarnali :)
Thank you for letting your heart see my words my friend. In the world so full of scruples of the wealthy and the systems of control they have built, doing the obvious i.e. standing up for truth seems like a brave thing to do. It is all bizarre and distorted right now. I am glad, you are in this path with me. We need more hearts who resonates, oceans of compassionate people who care. And of course, I admire your words as much.
Brilliant how Ka Phan's straegy of using ecological knowledge to disarm soldiers parallels the botanical garden visit as a site of truth. The connection suggests that resistence outlives what colonail archives erase because it gets encoded in plant knowledge and landscape itself. I've seen simlar patterns in other indigenous contexts where what looks like quiet observation is actually transmission of tactical memory. The fern nursery functioning as both literal preservation and metaphor for subaltern history is kinda perfect.
Thank you for spending time with this story. You are so right. The insight that nature is archive of memory indeed is natural in cosmologies of other indigenous cultures too which enabled this narrative.
Such important work you’re doing. Memory is indeed a kind of power and the language of emergence springs from those stories, both ancient and present, human and non-human alike.
Kim you have a gift of saying things with such lucid grace and perfection. Thank you. Yes, it is indeed both human and non-human world alike that balances the harmony of memory. So far, our dominant views are deeply anthropocentric and in that view we lose a lot of insight that enables to connect things in the right tandem of preservation - both in nature and human history
Here’s to more Symbiocentric thinking and being!
💜
Swarna, this journey has left me wordless. As I read, and noted your comment about stories of the commons and what has been stolen in our psychological and collective unconscious, I thought once again of Lyla June Johnston, whose worldview and talks I've found so inspiring. The way she has brought together an understanding of what has been lost across continents, and how we all find kinship again -- your work rings so vibrantly across that narrative. You have a gift, my friend!
I think it was in this talk that Lyla June or her Welsh co-speaker said, "Our job is to fall in love with the Earth. Again and again and again." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfdIBmrCuVU
Your stories, and what you've shared from Ophelia here, reminds me of how important that work is. 🧚🕯️
Wow Nia, you always have the best perspective when it comes to connecting the dots. Thank you for sharing the work of these amazing women with me. The more I explore these avenues of kinship between humans and mother earth, the more swelled I feel in my heart. It cleanses me Nia.
You are a true inspiration and embodiment of courage for me Nia. Thank you my sister and thank you for listening deeply to my Khasi sister’s voice 💜
I feel the same about you and your work, Swarna! Maybe these connections across this gorgeous planet can begin to break down some of the dams that have strangled voices and life. 🌊
So beautifully said. Yes my dear, it is the beginning of such times where true connection and empathy surpasses boundaries. 💜
Thank you for sharing this important story. It resonates deeply with me, and my own understanding of the ways our world is broken.
Thank you for spending time with these words Stace. You don’t know how happy it makes me to realise it resonates with someone 💜