“Don’t Run, My Love”

A book review

The cover picture of the book

“Don’t Run, My Love”; Easterine Kire; Speaking Tiger; 2017; pp 121; Rs.299;

ISBN: 978–93–87164–03–1

eISBN: 978–93–87164–04–8

It was Mrs. Mary Mead Clark, who after spending years with her missionary husband among the Ao Naga tribe, wrote a memoir in 1907, entitled “A Corner in India”. She wrote of their experiences amongst the “savage tribe” who practiced head hunting for war trophy. The Naga people over the last century have come a long way today by embracing modernity, though at times confusing modernity with western lifestyle. But unfortunately in this intermittent period from that “savage” life to the “modern” world, much cultural heritage have been lost or forgotten. Today in many of their villages, the Naga people have forgotten how to tell their own folktales. In many of the towns the children no longer hear the folksongs. And despite opening up to the outside world, the land and the life of Naga people group still remained “A Corner in India” even today. It is in this context that the works of Easterine Kire, a Naga writer writing in English, assume great importance. Written with the insights of a native writer coupled with her sensitivity as a woman, her works are compelling and engaging.

In this short novel “Don’t Run, My Love” the story is of two women, Visenuo a widow and her daughter Tuonou who was of marriageable age. Their reasonably quiet life underwent a tumultuous change when Kevi, a handsome young man proposed marriage to Tuonou. Kevi turned out to be a were tiger. Trying to flee from this tangle they got into, the duo went in search of the Village of Seers. It is a story where the physical blends with the metaphysical in a magical way.

Age: a mystery

It is a story whose setting, one may like to presume, was prior to or during the “savage” life Mrs. Clark saw. The era of were tiger and the Village of Seers must be of old. But then, the mother daughter duo used earthen pot for cooking meat and not the aluminium pots they have, matchbox to make fire, kerosene lamp to light the room, mugs and kettle found a place in their kitchen, their hut in the field has a tin roof, all indicating an age not too long ago. Moreover when the Crofton weed was known to the villagers as ‘Japan nha’, the setting of the story sounded much younger in age.

However the story is set in a place where even today “… things are strange in the darkness. It is as though the dark becomes a world of its own.” In an interior Naga village, any object in the dark can take any imaginative shapes. And with the bamboo groove creaking to the blowing wind, the story of a were tiger and the Village of Seers can almost be very real even today! This story is a sneak peek into that society.

The vernacular blend

The author introduces to her readers some vernacular words with ease. In fact the usage of those words nourished the story because no matter how rich the English language is, the endearing warmth of an Angami Naga daughter towards her mother can only be fully expressed in addressing her mother as “Azuo”. It is a word whose meaning the author chose not to explain in the novel. So also the word ‘Kepenuopfu’ which as the story line indicates, must mean the Almighty.

However the other vernacular words have been explained. ‘Tekhumevi’ for were tiger is the term that can only bring out the fear in its full measure to any person living in that society. The dahou, “the circular sitting place at the entrance to the village” or ‘kichuki’, the male dormitory are some of the many cultural heritage that the author is trying to expose her readers to. The author appears to gently nudge her readers to explore the customs and culture of the Naga people.

Dominating characters

Kevi, the were tiger is such a strong character that he almost snatched the story line from the two women, the main protagonists in the novel. Even Keyo the wood cutter who entered the scene only twice found his prominent presence in the story. The main male characters are very dominant no matter how big or small a role they play in the story line. Perhaps that is how most of the Naga folktales are woven.

However on a careful reading, the story reflects the determination of the two women to get through hurdles and difficulties in life. They braved it through with much poise and character, despite the dominating extraneous factors around them. It is about the inner strength of the two women, which was beautifully brought out in the story set in a highly patriarchal society.

A novel in two paces

The first half of the novel revolves around the daily life of the two women. The pace seems a little slow to the reader but definitely not for the two women whose day can start at the ‘first cock crow’. The field is so far that they cannot make two trips to carry home their harvest. We are reading about a life where work never stops except to retire at night. The author was also able to bring out the challenges that a widow faced in that society though the women in a Naga society admittedly enjoyed good stature. Mrs. Clark in her book in 1907, remarked that “there is no degradation of women among the Naga”.

But once Kevi proposed marriage to Tuonou, things happened very fast, taking unexpected twists and turns through the woods, in and out of the Village of Seers. And until the very end one does not know how the ending would be.

A book to read

On the way to the Village of Seers, the duo navigated through swampy grassland and dark woodland. The following passage described the hair- raising situation they were in:

‘Ignore everything you hear,’ Visenuo warned Atuonou. ‘Just concentrate on reaching our destination.’ As if to defy her warning, a crackle echoed through the trees and a flock of hornbills flew over their head.

And that has been wonderfully illustrated in the book cover.

Once you go past the book cover, be assured that you will in no time be transported to that age of mystery, into that village in the woods and be a part of the life where “the last thing they did before going to bed was to bury a firebrand in the warm ash so they would have no trouble starting the fire in the morning”.

It is that place where the day would end with a preparation for the morrow.