Temsüla Ao

Temsula Ao (Assamese: তেমচুলা অ) is a poet, short story writer and ethnographer. She is a retired Professor of English in North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), where she has taught since 1975.

In 2013, she received the Sahitya Akademi Award for her short story collection, Laburnum for My Head, given by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Literature.

Biography

Temsula Ao was born in October 1945 at Jorhat, Assam. She matriculated from Ridgeway Girls' High School, Golaghat, Assam. She received her B.A with Distinction from Fazl Ali College, Mokokchung, Nagaland. She received her M.A in English from Gauhati University, Assam. From Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (presently English and Foreign Languages University,) Hyderabad she received her Post Graduate Diploma in the Teaching of English and PhD from NEHU. From 1992–97 she served as Director, North East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur on Deputation from NEHU, and was Fulbright Fellow to University of Minnesota 1985–86.

She received the honorary Padma Shri Award in 2007. She is the recipient of the Governor's Gold Medal 2009 from the government of Meghalaya. She is widely respected as one of the major literary voices in English to emerge from Northeast India along with Mitra Phukan and Mamang Dai.

Her works have been translated into German, French, Assamese, Bengali and Hindi.

Poetry

She has published five poetic works.

• Songs that Tell (1988),
• Songs that Try to Say (1992),
• Songs of Many Moods (1995),
• Songs from Here and There (2003),
• Songs From The Other Life (2007).

Her first two poetry collections were published from Writers Workshop, Kolkata. The third poetry collection was published by Kohima Sahitya Sabha and the fourth was published by North Eastern Hill University and the last one was by Grasswork Books, Pune.

Ethnography

When she was in the University of Minnesota as a Fulbright fellow, she came in contact with the Native Americans. She learned about their culture, heritage and especially their oral tradition. This exposure inspired her to record the oral tradition of her own community, Ao Naga. After returning from the University of Minnesota, she worked on the oral tradition for about twelve years. She collected the myths, folktales, folklore, rituals, law, custom, belief system. This ethnographic work was published in 1999 as the Ao-Naga oral tradition from Bhasha Publications, Baroda. This book is the most authentic document about the Ao-Naga community.

Short story

Temsula Ao has published two short story collections. These Hills Called Home: Stories from the War Zone, Zubaan and Laburnum for my Head, Penguin India (2009).

The former short story collection consists of ten short stories and deals with insurgency in Nagaland fired by right to self-determination of the Naga people.

The later consists of eight short stories which have mythical as well as modern overtones. The stories are sensitive, evocative and also powerful.

Literary criticism

She published a book of literary criticism Henry James' Quest for an Ideal Heroine. It was published in 1989 from Writers Workshop.

Online works

• Essay : When in doubt

Bibliography

• Laburnum for My Head (Penguin, 2009)
• These Hills Called Home: Stories From A War Zone(Zubaan/Penguin)
• Ao-Naga Oral Tradition (2000)

Awards

• Padma Shri 2007
• Governor's Gold Medal 2009
• Sahitya Akademi Award 2013

See also

• Literature from North East India

External links

• These Hills Called Home: Stories From A War Zone (review)
• These hills Called Home: Stories from a War Zone (New Edition on ZubaanBooks.com)
• Poignant stories from a war zone
• Mirroring life in the conflict zone
• Weaving a literary fabric : Prof. Temsula Ao, Cover Story in Melange