Songs of the Siang

Songs of the Siang -A book on Pasighat Centenary Celebrations and its review

(This was published in the ‘The Sentinel Arunachal’ on February 04, 2011)

The book, Songs of the Siang published by the Directorate of Tourism, GoAP to commemorate the Centennial Celebration of Pasighat is and will remain one of the most cherished memorabilia in days and years to come, much after the euphoria dies down; for it captures the essence of the importance attached to this beautiful town — Pasighat.

Songs of the Siang, an anthology in coffee table book format begins with a poem, Missing Link by none other than Padma Shri Mamang Dai and ends with another of her beautiful poems, Birth Place. In between, there are many more beautiful stories including renditions of oral histories of clans by Onyok Panyang, academic accounts of Igul Padung. Joining them in chorus for Songs of the Siang is T Mize, stalwarts like Oshong Ering and Jonaying Rukbo, Oyin Moyong and the historical collections of Tobuk Dai. In their own right, each piece in the anthology is a classic and has been deftly edited by Bandana Deori (IRS), Secretary Tourism and Rolex awardee, Moji Riba.

As mentioned in the prelude by the editors, Deori and Riba, “...the contributions that have been included in this anthology come from a wide spectrum of people; persons who have had a deep sense of attachment to the township that we know today as Pasighat. These writings bring out from the mists of history an account of how the township came about, about people who have lived out their lives here and of monumental events that shaped its destiny…’.

The hundred-page book to mark the completion of a hundred years is perfect and priceless, no wonder there is no price tag attached to this book. As the editors put it, “...when a township completes a hundred years and more of its existence, there emerges almost an equal number of stories that call out to be told. Personal histories, official records, archival images and memoirs become miniature windows through which life’s rhythms get reflected… Even as we began to conceptualize it, we realized more and more that publications brought out at times like these are not just reflections of what people think about their homeland, but they also become a mirror of the times we live in”.

Priceless are the black and white timeless pictures of the Raj era and early administrative days; but my favourite of all the pictures is a citation to one Mollem Daiye.

The citation is dated May 12, 1937 and reads “By Command of HIS MAJESTY THE KING-EMPEROR the accompanying Medal is forwarded to Mr. Mollem Daiye to be worn in commemoration of Their Majesties’ Coronation”.

Before concluding, it must be mentioned that last but one piece called Citadel of Wisdom by Oyin Moyong is a must read for the Generation X to know where they have come from and to measure the time-distance that we, as a tribe, have travelled in a socio-administrative journey.

For the sake of being critical, the only flaw that one could dig out in this beautiful anthology is that despite varying accounts and versions to the stories, contributors are mostly from the old generation. Including contributions from the younger generation with a futuristic perspective could have made this potpourri complete in all sense. As said in the beginning, Songs of the Siang is a ‘time capsule’, which can be opened up again after another hundred years to relive the evolutionary history of a township called Pasighat.