Five Weeks in Rimbun Dahan, by Dipika Mukherjee

Cultural Cross Sections Dipika Mukherjee A writer travels from Chicago to a residency in rural Malaysia, where part of her novel-in-progress is set. While encountering the many living creatures who surround her and making progress on her work, she participates in the local literary scene, catching a glimpse of a possible New Malaysia. “Are you sure you are not a serial killer?” The Grab driver is joking, of course. He is driving me back to my cottage—Rumah Balai—set within the dense foliage of Rimbun Dahan, where I am the writer-in-residence for five weeks. I have come from my home in Chicago to work on my novel in rural Malaysia, where part of the novel is set. Tonight is a cloudy night, and the solar lights along the way are completely dark; there is no illumination at all. Our cottages are not air-conditioned, water is recirculated, everyone is encouraged to create compost for the herb gardens from the food we consume, but even the eco-warrior in me understands how driving on an untarred road by the light of car headlights can make grown men a little nervous. During the ride from Kuala Lumpur, we have discovered that he has the same last name as a deceased journalist married to my distant uncle in the Bengali community. It never ceases to astonish me that no matter where in the world I am, the enormous Klang Valley operates as a village, and a link to community can always—always!—be found. We feel like family, and have spent... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2019-07-23 13:14:38 UTC ]
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