In a landmark moment for Indian literature, specifically from the Northeast, the prestigious US-based publisher Modern Library has announced the upcoming publication of Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi’s acclaimed story collection, The Smell of Bamboo Blossoms. This move represents a major broadening of Thongchi’s reach, bringing the intricate tribal narratives of Arunachal Pradesh to a global English-speaking audience.
The deal for the world English rights was finalized by Leila Tejani at Modern Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, and brokered by agent Lucy Cleland. The collection will be translated into English by Aruni Kashyap, a renowned writer and the director of the creative writing program at the University of Georgia. The manuscript had already gained international attention in 2022 when it was shortlisted for the Armory Square Prize for South Asian Literature in Translation.
Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi, often hailed as “Assam’s Chinua Achebe,” is one of India’s most decorated literary figures. A recipient of the Padma Shri, the Sahitya Akademi Award, and the Kalaguru Bishnu Rabha Award, Thongchi occupies a unique position in Indian letters. Despite hailing from Arunachal Pradesh—a state home to numerous indigenous languages—he primarily writes in Assamese. His work is celebrated for meticulously depicting the traditional lives of Arunachal’s tribes and their complex, often jarring, encounters with encroaching modernity.
Translator Aruni Kashyap described Thongchi as a “hidden gem” whose body of work challenges existing stereotypes of the South Asian experience. “His work is different from what global readers have read so far from India,” Kashyap remarked, adding that Thongchi has “no peer” in his ability to expand the understanding of the subcontinent’s diverse cultural landscape.
Acquiring editor Leila Tejani expressed immense high hopes for the collection, stating that Thongchi’s writing is “International Booker material.” Agent Lucy Cleland also pointed out that The Smell of Bamboo Blossoms would offer English readers a glimpse into a culture and way of life that has largely remained hidden in mainstream Western fiction.
By joining the catalog of Modern Library—a name synonymous with world classics—Thongchi’s stories of the Himalayas and the tribal heartbeat of Northeast India are poised to become a staple of global contemporary literature. This publication not only honors Thongchi’s decades of literary service but also signals a growing international appetite for authentic, indigenous voices from the margins of the South Asian subcontinent.
