Kohima: Two Naga authors—Veio Pou for the work “Waiting for the Dust to Settle” and Wangto Chingmak’s work “The Chang Nagas – In memory of our undefeated ancestors”—were awarded the Gordon Graham Prize for Naga Literature (GGPNL) 2021 in fiction and non-fiction category respectively, presented by Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio during a ceremony held in Kohima on Tuesday.
The winners each received a reward of Rs 1,00,000 along with a citation.
The Award is organised by the Kohima Educational Society (KES), the Nagaland counterpart of the Kohima Educational Trust (KET).
While accepting the award, Pou said that as “Knowledge keepers” and “idea givers” of the Naga society hold a huge responsibility in the society. Citing the need to balance both oral and written art of storytelling, he envisioned an education system that can incorporate both values for the progress of human consciousness.
Chingmak recounted how he penned the non-fiction about the Chang Naga tribe as there was no single book about the tribe. The church leader said that through the book, he hoped to encourage the educated youth of the community to pursue writing. He stressed the need to document the history and present happenings, passing on the legacy to the next generation.
Lauding KES for recognising and promoting Naga literature, CM Rio said that since Nagaland is a young state in terms of education, the society has a long way to go.
He hoped the partnership and friendship between the UK and Nagaland maintained by the KES must grow even more to a bigger level, besides continuing the support towards young writers.
Assuring the support of the state government, he suggested that a discussion be officially made to formulate a road map by the next year financial year.
He emphasised the need for local writers and researchers to document oral history as the narrative of the same story could change from generation to generation without written records. “We have to be convinced and tell our true story so the younger generation knows who we are,” he added.
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