Mitra Phukan discusses conflict, music, and writing in interview

Award-winning Assamese writer Mitra Phukan, in an interview with Frontline, discussed how conflict in various forms, insurgency, violence, tensions between tradition and modernity, superstition versus science, and personal relationships, forms the core of her fiction. A trained Shastriya Sangeet vocalist and author of 18 volumes, she noted that her writing draws from real-life situations and people, with themes ranging from insurgency and music to ageism and human-elephant conflict.

Phukan, who has translated celebrated Assamese authors like Birendra Kumar Bhattacharjee and Harekrishna Deka into English, spoke about how her early exposure to Assamese, Bengali, and English literature and her training in music shaped her writing voice. She said music influences the rhythm of her prose, and her stories often include actual songs. Her fourth novel, It Happened in August, is forthcoming.