My poems reflect tribal lifestyle: Gumla author

Gumla's young tribal author Parvati Tirkey, who has been named for this year's Sahitya Academy Yuva Puraskar for her maiden Hindi poetry Phir Ugna (Re-Germinate Again) talks to K A Gupta about different aspects of literature and her foray into poetry. Excerpts: Give us some insight into your collection of poetry? It primarily reflects the tribal lifestyle — its simplicity, the community-centric nature of tribal groups, and sisterly relationships with nature. They also capture the celebration of tribal life and the intuitive tracking of seasonal changes, along with beliefs built around them. The poems depict the ecosystem around tribal communities and their philosophy of life. They feature the tribal perspective of observing nature and dialogues in the language of love with birds like the Nakdauna, Jarla, and Dhinchua (all local birds), with oxen, the stars, the earth — all elements of nature. How did you feel after being named for the prestigious award?It's not just an honour for my poems but an honour for dialogue as well. I belong to the tribal community and write what's rooted in the land, which has given me a different perspective. Receiving this award is not just personal — it's empowering like my community, and the belief system of our ancestors. What inspired you to become a poetess? My inspiration comes from the ancestors, who include both visible and non-visible forms. Their songs, proverbs, and stories inspired me. The simplicity of their lives and their sweet relationship with nature ignited my writing. You belong to Oraon tribe (Kudukh language). Why did you choose Hindi as the medium for your works? Yes, although I speak Kudukh, but under the contemporary system, we were denied schooling in our mother tongue. It's also a matter of concern that the tribal community has faced cultural displacement from its knowledge traditions and education systems. So, I had to choose a language that could be understood for communication. I wrote poetry in Hindi, blending words from my native language into sentences.