Bio Note: Dr. Veio Pou is Associate Professor in the Department of English, University of Delhi. His debut novel, Waiting for the Dust to Settle (2020) won the Gordon Graham Prize for Naga Literature (Fiction) in 2021. He is the author of Literary Cultures of India’s Northeast: Naga Writings in English (2015) and the edited volume Keeper of Stories: Critical Readings of Easterine Kire’s Novels (2023). His research interests include studies on the Northeast of India, oral/written interface, cultu…

Abstract: Humans have taken a long period of evolution to find their social or ideological solidarity in their associations. It is where the sense of belonging arises from. Being part of a whole, contributing to it and protecting it are borne from the cognisance of mutual understanding. This, in turn, forms the basis of identity, individually or as a group. Over the years, these associations lead to the formation of communities that sustain themselves on their unique beliefs and practices even i…

Easterine Kire is the first published novelist in English from Nagaland. Her renowned works include her book of poetry, Kelhoukevira (1982), and several novels, mentioned in order of publication: A Naga Village Remembered (2003), A Terrible Matriarchy (2007), Mari (2010), Bitter Wormwood (2011) Don't Run, My Love (2017), A Respectable Woman (2019) Walking the Roadless Road: Exploring the Tribes of Nagaland, (2019) The Rain-maiden and the Bear-man (2021), Journey of the Stone (2021) and Spirit Ni…