FROM SACRED TO MODERN: CHANGING LANDSCAPES IN MAMANG DAI’S HISTORICAL NOVEL ESCAPING THE LAND
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18357/ijcyfs171-2202622910Keywords:
development, modern, environment, culture, memory, sacred, landAbstract
Mamang Dai is a writer from Northeast India whose work engages with the history, culture, and changing realities of Arunachal Pradesh. Her historical novel Escaping the Land chronicles the region’s development from the era of the North-East Frontier Agency to the present, tracing the transformation of both the land and its people. Moving from colonial to postcolonial times, the narrative captures shifts in values, aspirations, and identities. While some characters hold on to the memory of a sacred green homeland, others embrace visions of modernity with its promises of infrastructure, amenities, and economic growth. This paper examines how Dai’s novel negotiates these contrasting attitudes through its characters and landscapes, revealing the tensions between tradition and change. Adopting a textual analysis approach informed by postcolonial development critique and cultural memory studies, the paper explores how Escaping the Land engages with ideas of progress, belonging, and the costs of modernization.
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