High Wind

Set in the early twentieth century in Shillong, then an emerging colonial town under British rule and the capital of Assam, High Wind is woven around the life of the Sanskrit scholar Banamali Panchatirtha and his wife Haimavati, and their journey from the plans of the Brahmaputra to the hills of Shillong. Tilottoma Misra deftly and sensitively explores the layered complexities of the relationships between the different communities who make Shillong their home – the Khasi, the Assamese and the Bengali.

As the story unfolds, Haimavati emerges as the central character who quietly but consistently struggles to come out of the clutches of tradition into a more rational and humane world where relationships are not marred by ignorance, prejudice and superstition.

The novel was awarded the Lummer Dai Award instituted by the Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society and the Assam Sahitya Sabha in 2017 for its sensitive portrayal of inter-community relationships.

TILOTTOMA MISRA is a writer, critic, and translator based in Assam, India. Her previous work includes Literature and Society in Assam and a novel, Swarnalata (Zubaan, 2015). She is also the editor of The Oxford Anthology of Writings from North-East India.

UDAYON MISRA is an academic and translator. He is former professor and Head of the department of English at Dibrugarh University, and has worked on postcolonial literatures. He is the author of many books including India’s North-East: Identity Movements, State and Civil Society (2017).