Readers browse through books at the Soi Mela. Pictures by Anup Bhattacharya

Walking into ICCR, Calcutta, I felt like a man entering Pontus — the legendary home of the Amazons. I didn’t expect to see towering female warriors but, yes, stalwart lady wordsmiths like Nabaneeta Dev Sen and Mahasweta Devi can make any man stand in awe.

I was at Soi Mela, which was supposed to be a festival of women’s literature in India. I walked in on a session where a formidable girl gang of authors, poets and artists had gathered; but they weren’t talking about literature. They were just talking about their life experiences as women. Indeed, it felt more like being part of a group therapy session than a literary meet.

Assamese author Arupa Patangia Kalita in Calcutta

One lady spoke of how she was abused by the servant when her mother left to pick up groceries. Another spoke of how her boss threatened her after she refused to go on an “office trip” with him. One by one, more women spoke. Who were these women? They weren’t meek housewives or shy teenagers. They were smart, feisty women whose opinions mattered in the world. Yet, they had been just as easily been violated.

But they were different in the fact that art and the written word had liberated them. They were through hiding their shame. The clear message was: “Speak up! When a victim speaks up, she ceases to be a victim.” They felt if art could be used as a force for good, it was their duty to teach women to voice their fears. Through knowledge, even men could be transformed into allies for women, they said.

The meet had brought together women from all over the country —united in their uncertainties but not afraid any more. I met two pioneering women from the Northeast — Arupa Kalita Patangia from Assam and Krairi Mog Choudhury of Tripura.

Kalita is a leading feminist and Assamese author. Her The Story of Felanee is a brutally honest tale about the experiences of a woman, Felanee (meaning thrown away). The passionate story of survival and of ethnic conflict is a ground-breaking work — very relevant in the current state of affairs in Assam. Krairi Mog Choudhury is another exceptional author who writes in her mother tongue, Mog, other than in Bengali and English.

We spoke in a familiar, informal way and a fascinating conversation followed at the most unusual, wonderful and enriching literary fest I had ever been to.

Excerpts:

t2: Do men and women have different writing styles?

Kalita: Not really. What makes the difference is how that person has been brought up and influenced. Education matters. But the angles women present are different from men.

Choudhury: I agree there’s not much of a difference. So many women authors have used male pseudonyms.

Krairi Mog Choudhury (right) of Tripura

t2: The Delhi gang rape caused huge public outrage. Currently, the cases of sexual harassment at a media house and in the Supreme Court are also making waves. Victims are slowly speaking up. Do you think society is changing?

Kalita: Society is slowly changing but women are changing faster. Thanks to education more and more women are standing up for themselves. Earlier, such incidents would be swept under the carpet. The society is still patriarchal but women are speaking up.

Choudhury: Education is breaking the shackles. I started and edit the first magazine in Mog language. No Mog man thought of starting a magazine in the mother tongue before me. And I did this despite the fact that we live in a hilly area and I have to go to fetch water in the morning and do all the household chores.

t2: The whole country is talking about who is the best prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi. Who do you think would be better for women?

Kalita: Neither. The whole system needs to change drastically.

Choudhury: I think the democratic process will give us the right candidate. Women have a vote so their voice will be hard to ignore.

t2: There has been a lot of talk about whether the army act should be repealed from the Northeast.

Kalita: This is a very complex issue. To understand it completely we have to look back as far as the colonial era. There is no simple solution to this.

t2: In the recent past, there seems to be dearth of children’s literature or teen literature in regional languages. It’s hard to find someone like a J.K. Rowling or even a Chetan Bhagat in regional languages. How will regional languages survive if children don’t have books in these languages?

Kalita: Yes there is a problem there. Earlier, in Assamese, many books were written for children. They are still read today. Someone should come up with something and publication houses should support them.

Choudhury: (Pauses) I will try and write something for the younger generation.