Author Sujata Goswami Explores Memory, Womanhood and Generational Legacy in Debut Novel Konmai
Sujata Goswami, an author and the founder of YOBO Collective, has written a novel entitled “Konmai,” which is both a sad and heart-touching story about memory, loss, family, and women who have been silent throughout their whole life without anyone telling their stories. The book is currently aAuthor available on popular e-books websites.
As opposed to novels and stories that contain thrilling events, the startinSujata Goswamig point for writing the book was an emotional question, “What would happen to the woman after the world forgets her?” Based on this thought, Sujata wrote a story about memories that survive because of emotions, traditions, and silence.
Taking place within a damaged family, “Konmai” is a story about the presence of a woman who is not here anymore and influences the lives of those who stay behind.Sujata Goswami Konmai
Taking cue from her background in Assam, Goswami contemplates on the stories that lie in between conversations—the unrecorded yet living histories in terms of stories, traditions, and emotions. According to Goswami, Konmai is a novel dedicated to emotional heritage and intangible bonds connecting generations.
Contrary to the glorified lives of notable historical personalities, Konmai commemorates the unsung heroes in termsSpeaking of the inspiration for Konmai, Goswami says that ultimately, it turned out to be “an act of remembrance” and thus, Konmai gives voice to those women whose lives were never written down, yet whose spirits have been alive for generations.
The novel brings to attention the difference between history and memory implying that the former is all about recording factual events while the latter records the spirit of people and relations. Thus, Konmai sees storytelling as an opportunity for re-remembering people forgotten by time.
Konmai will help readers delve into their own family history by asking hard questions and recalling the women whose stories have been ignored, according to Goswami. There are many stories hidden in every family which need to be unearthed.
In conclusion, summarizing the emotions embedded within her first novel, Goswami states that,
“She disappeared so quietly that eventually, even her face started becoming vague. But memory wouldn’t let go of her. Memory brought her back to life out of sorrow, out of love, out of stories told across many years, until she was able to come home—in memory, if not in flesh and blood.”
Through the power of memory, Sujata Goswami creates an impressive literary debut novel in Konmai.
