Joyce kin on mission to save Brahmaputra
Rashmi Sarmah | TNN
Guwahati: Tess Joyce felt a strange rush of creativity as she stood by the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra, a feeling even the lovely Thames back home in England could not evoke. A poet and environmental activist whose lineage goes back to the famous Irish novelist James Joyce, Tess has not only come up with a bouquet of poems on the river but has also launched a campaign to preserve its pristine beauty. “The moment I stood on the banks of the Brahmaputra, I felt overwhelmed by a creative force, a force I had never felt before. The river completely mesmerized me and I began writing poems on it. As I prepare to return home in the UK, I will write about my experiences by the river and in Assam,’’ said an excited Tess, whose poems on the river have already been compiled in a book, ‘A Stanza of Sunlight on the Banks of Brahmaputra’, co-authored by Assamese writer Arnab Jan Deka. The river, she said, reminds her of gold. “It stands there as liquid gold to me. I can only compare it to the sea and nothing else. And it could be that it’s a river addressed in the masculine gender—I feel its strength, energy and its other overwhelming characteristics, including its danger elements. Looking at it, I also feel we human beings should not harness it or use it for personal gains. Rather, we should just take care of it,’’ said Tess, who is also seeking international help to clean and save the mighty river. Tess, who will return to the UK soon, has decided to distribute her book. She said, “England already has mass awareness on environment. I am sure that this book, and my other memoirs on the river, will bring me support for my quest to save the river.’’ During her boat ride to the Umananda Island, Tess saw a huge amount of garbage being dumped into the Brahmaputra. “This garbage will not only harm the fish in the river but also the people who eat these fish. That gives us more reason to save the river,’’ she stressed. A Budhhist and a vegetarian, Tess enjoys Assamese vegetarian cuisine. She loves wearing a ‘mekhala chadar’ (a traditional Assamese dress). “For our save-the-Brahmaputra campaign, we also wish to involve scientists from IITGuwahati’s Centre for Environmental Studies.’’ STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS: Mesmerized by its pristine beauty, poet and environmental activist Tess Joyce has written a book on the Brahmaputra. She has launched a campaign to clean the river
