REMEMBERING PAST: A NEW HISTORICAL STUDY OF RITA CHOWDHURY’S MAKAM

Abstract

Post-independence Assamese novels record different aspects of the changing scenario in the society. As most of them deal with the present socio-political problems of the society some take in hand unique and unrevealed chapters of Assam history as background of their writings. Rita Chowdhury, one of the renowned writers of Assam adopts the second method. After her successful novel Deo langkhui (The Divine Sword) based on a historical evidence of Tiwa kingdom, Makam (The Golden Horse) is a tale of Assam’s past related to Chino-Indian war. In the novel the writer does not simply describes the past events, she also gives the readers chances to analyze the same story from different perspectives. Her unique way of storytelling through two parallel narratives offers an unconscious journey from present to past or past to present. It focuses on both public and private ‘memory’ of one part of Assam’s history.