It was a rainy August day when EastMojo stepped into In Lehkha, Mizoram’s first publishing space for independent writers. It also functions as a bookstore and a youth resource centre.
In Lehkha sits on the first floor of a building in Chaltlang, Aizawl’s hilltop locality. The first thing that catches your eye is its sign, drawn in a Hogwarts-esque style: three books and a teapot brimming over beside a parchment bearing In Lehkha’s logo.
The logo combines an infinity sign for limitless creativity, a small window that lets light in and reflects it to society, the nib of a pen, and the outline of a house, a home for writers. The sign reads: Enchanted Choka, Bookshop, Tea Bar and Cafe.
There is a sense of home in the space. Mismatched furniture, gathered from homes across the city, adds to that feeling: the plastic table you see in most Aizawl homes, wooden benches with green cushioned seats, and a kitchen rack wrapped in brown paper that holds a treasure exchange for customers and visitors. Every corner has a story.
The one near the counter is filled with art that visitors of any age can join in on, called the Hobby Corner. Another holds handmade cards and art, and a third has books to read while sipping tea. The whole place feels like the living room of an aunt you like to visit, just messy enough to feel like home, and pretty enough to photograph.
The menu is just as distinctive, built for the creative Mizo crowd. Its standout item is chawthing, rice cooked earlier and eaten later, a common shortcut in Mizo homes when paired with noodles or a fried egg.
What makes the space feel most like home, though, is its owner, Anita Vanlalnunmawii, an author and poet who did 90 percent of the decorating herself. She has a whimsical streak: one of the lamp heads leans unsteadily to one side, and she decided to leave it that way, since it gave the room an artsy look.
It was while publishing her first book that Anita ran into just how difficult the process could be, from editing to cover design to every stage in between, and that experience pushed her to start a publishing house.
The In Lehkha Foundation has eight governing board members, 3 paid staff, and 20 youth volunteers for their youth resource centre fellowship “Ṭhalaite Leihlawn”.
In Lehkha itself has three parts: a publishing house, a book cafe that doubles as a creative space, and the foundation. Its Foundation was registered as a non-profit society in 2025.
“I published my first book, Ai Kaih, in 2017. I was so blind to the process of publishing, and I didn’t know anyone who could help me,” Anita said. “There were so many elements to it, from writing to editing to proofreading, finding a press, then finding someone to design the cover, and then handling the release, marketing and distribution.”
That experience convinced Anita that Mizoram needed a publishing house. She had also long dreamed of opening a book cafe, so she decided to combine the two as separate ventures. In Lehkha began in 2018 as a simple Instagram page.
Anita completed her master’s degree in psychology in 2015 and went on to work for the government. To give In Lehkha her full attention, she quit that job in 2022.
Taking part as a fellow in the Youth Involve programme, run by the Bosco Institute in Jorhat, gave her the courage to follow through on her plan.
“We received seed funding and skill-building sessions, which helped me build a blueprint for my vision,” she said. Lehkha was meant from the start to be a space for the community, a not-for-profit initiative. Over the past six years, it has helped publish 17 books, 12 of them sponsored by the foundation.
“There are many budding authors in the state who don’t get the support they need. I wanted to create a space where we not only help authors publish their books but also guide them,” Anita said.
In guiding authors, she says the priority is always to protect their vision and promote their originality and creativity. That’s why she chose the name In Lehkha, which loosely translates to “your paper” or “your book,” and can also mean “paper house.”
A top student, Anita’s family, like most parents in the country, hoped she would become a civil servant. They were overjoyed when she took a government job.
“Having a desk job has always been my biggest fear, so even when I applied for jobs after graduation, I went for lower-tier posts that wouldn’t be hard to leave. When I decided to quit, my parents were confused at first, but now they’ve fully embraced In Lehkha,” Anita said.
Anita has no regrets and believes the journey has helped her grow. “There are so many ways a founder has to grow. It’s a path that’s excruciating, but it’s so worth it,” she said.
This story was supported by the International Foundation for Disability Inclusion’s (IFDI) Journalism Fellowship on Disability Inclusion.
Also Read: Explained: Why Assam can’t be an example for NRC in Manipur
You just read a story that took days to report. Help us keep our reporters on the ground in the Northeast.
Ad-free reading, support and keep important stories alive
Support once (any amount)
Scan to pay via UPI