Suravi Sharma Kumar

Voices in the Valley Suravi Sharma Kumar

The moaning war siren started to blow urgently, silencing the valley, setting hearts aflutter. Soon, chaos broke out and there was arush of feet in the lane twisted around their house Little Millie's skin broke out in gooseflesh. Against the backdrop of a politically turbulent Assam, a young girl named Millie is determined to make her voice heard. She spends her childhood in a rural set-up with seven sisters, three anxious matriarchs and a resigned father this is what her small world is all about. Born in a family of priests, she struggles with orthodoxy and convention and goes on to become a student leader something which only foreshadows the bigger role she is destined to play. A flawed horoscope delays her marriage, but hastens her emancipation. Her tryst with romance is overwhelming and sweeps her off feet, but Ethnic clashes, militant activities, violent elections see the countryside otherwise home to several tribal communities, lush tea gardens, exotic orchids, sundry birds, one-horned rhinos and much more. Whether Millie's voice is loud enough to make an impact in the Brahmaputra valley remains to be seen