Seducing the Rain God: A Collection of Short Stories from the North East

Seducing the Rain God is a collection of fourteen translated short stories, originally written in Bishnupriya Manipuri. Writers from Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh constitute the literary map of the somewhat secluded north-eastern part of India and provide a window to the world outside through their creations.

Bishnupriya Manipuri is an Indo-Aryan language. The speakers of this language, estimated to be half a million, mainly reside in some of the north-eastern states of India (Assam, Tripura and Manipur), Bangladesh and Myanmar. Having migrated to Assam, Tripura and Bangladesh in different phases due to Burmese invasions and political unrest, the community had to struggle for ethnic identity for more than eight decades.

The language, almost on the verge of extinction in the 19th century, however, with the revitalisation initiatives, has emerged as a strong voice from northeastern India.

Smriti Kumar Sinha, a leading short story writer in Bishnupriya Manipuri a little known indigenous language of the North-East has published three collections and has been working for the development, recognition and publicity of minor and endangered languages of the region over the last three decades. Smriti Kumar Sinha is currently Professor, Computer Science in Tezpur University, Assam.

Ramlal Sinha, a veteran journalist from the North-East is former Associate Editor with the Seven Sisters Post and The Sentinel, Assam. He began his career with a four-year stint with The Newsfront, Guwahati and is devoted to presenting the best creative works in Bishnupriya Manipuri.