Schedule: Ninth OHAI Conference 2024

Mountain History – At the Intersection of Memory, Politics and Identity
organized by
Oral History Association of India
in collaboration with
North Eastern Hill University

March 13th-15th, 2024


Day 1- 13th March 2024, Venue: U Kiang Nongbah (Old) Guest House, NEHU

Start TimeEnd TimeVenuePanel No.Panel NameModerator/ ChairSpeakersPaper Title
8:45 am9:30 amOld Guest House Registration   
9:30 am10:30 amAuditorium Inaugural Session   
10:30 am10:45 amLobby Refreshments   
10:45 am11:45 amAuditorium Keynote address Shekhar Pathak (Keynote Speaker) 
11:45 am1:30 pmAuditorium1Exploring pastoral life-worldsSumallya MukhopadhyayGarima SudhanLife along the Mountain Frontiers : Post Partition Dilemmas of Pastoralists in Kashmir
Tanu GuptaFrom Recalling to Recounting: The Performance of Storytelling in Reclaiming Indigeneity among Gujjars and Bakerwals
Nikita NRoute, Rituals, and Relationships between Gojri buffalo herders and the Alpine meadows
11:45 am1:30 pmConference Hall2Music traditions in the mountainsKaren DonoghueShantanu MajeePahadi-Sound of the Mountain
      Gaurav TamangTamang Wedding Folk Songs: A Study of Themes, Functions, Music and Significance
1:30 pm2:30 pmDining RoomLUNCH
2:30 pm4:00 pmConference Hall3Linguistics, toponymy and the construction of moral geographiesTBDVishal RathodSahyadri: The Architect of Marathi’s Linguistic Panorama
      Santhwana SanthoshMountain Matters, Narrative Matters: Reading Tottam of North Malabar
      Upasna Chettri, Sukanya Sharma  Tales, Toponymy and Terrains: Exploring the Geography of Sikkim in Lepcha Folklore
2:30 pm4:00 pmAuditorium4Oral Histories of Himalayan TransformationAniket AlamRegina GurungFuneral Rites and Practices of Converted Buddhists and Christian Communities in Sikkim Himalaya
      Swati CondrolliFood, Politics, Identity: Using the Power of Food in Constructing a Distinct Himachali Identity
      Aman Kant PantaRole of the Himachal Devtas in Times of Social Change
      Rosaline Varsangzuali           Oral history of Mizo Dress: Tawlhloh Puan as a symbol of Identity and Politics
4:00 pm4:10 pmLobbyRefreshments
4:10 pm5:30 pmAuditorium5Gendered histories, evolving masculinities and ecofeminismBarath NC. Lalmuansanga           Myths, Legends and Heroes: Exploring the creation of masculinity in Mizo society  
      Dipti TamangGendered Histories: Mapping Women’s Memories of Conflict in the Eastern Himalayan Borderland
      Rohit MahantaExploration of the paradigmatic embodiment of ecofeminism in India: The legend of Kong Spelity
4:10 pm5:30 pmConference Hall6Evolving trends in Mountain Histories (Online session)M Indrakumar SinghSuheel Rasool MirEthnicity Beyond Humans: Walking with Nomadic Bakarwal Dog
      Nakhrai DebbarmaMountain And Ecosystem: Unraveling Cultural Narratives And Conservation
      Patrik OskarssonTestimonies as method in considering a just transition away from coal
      Lobsang Norbu BhutiaTracing the Construction of Indigeneity in Sikkim through Oral History, Sacred Sites and Protest
7:00 pm onwardsNEHU Community HallConference dinner and social gathering

Day 2- 14th March 2024, Venue: U Kiang Nongbah (Old) Guest House, NEHU

Start TimeEnd TimeVenuePanel No.Panel NameModerator/ ChairSpeakersPaper Title
9:30 am11:00 amAuditorium Second keynote address/ Plenary   
11:00 am11:15 amLobbyRefreshments
11:15 am1:00 pmConference Hall7Oral History from below: protests, and rebellions in the hillsEtawanda SaiborneRahi SorenHul Narratives: Songs from the Rajmahal Hills
Richa RajBol, Pahadi, Halla Bol The Quest of a Hill State for Autonomy from the ‘Plains’
Arpeata SharmaGorkhali ko choro mo…. Chori chen khai? : Testimonios of the Indian Gorkha women in the Gorkhaland movement (1986 and 2007)
11:15 am1:00 pmAuditorium8Perspectives on World War-II from Northeast IndiaManash P. GoswamiLianboi VaipheiRecollecting the oral narratives of Second World War from the tribes in North East Frontier: Impact of modernity on the tribal world
      Sochanphy A. ShimrayLife Amidst Turmoil: A Young Girl’s Journey in the Tangkhul Hills During World War II
      Bishnu K GurungThe Gurkha Experience: An Exploration of Identity, Politics, and Memory in Northeast India
      Dawa Lhamu SherpaVoices of Valour: Exploring Bravery and Historical Trajectory of Military Recruitment of the Gorkhas of Darjeeling Hills
1:00 pm2:00 pmDining RoomLUNCH
2:00 pm3:30 pmConference Hall9Oral History perspectives from the Western GhatsRavindra VemulaTessa Fani Jose, Malavika NairTribal Lores and the Politics of Narration: A study of the “Little Narratives” about Malleswaram Mudi
      Jagath VMemory of Displacement and Slavery in the Oral History of Adiyar and Paniya Communities of Wayanad, Kerala
      Parvathy VMigrants or Natives: A Struggle for Identity in Wayanad
2:00 pm3:30 pmAuditorium10Studying animals, disease and the environment through oralityRahi SorenRitu MehraA Study of the Traditional Interpretation of Bird Calls in the oral histories of Bhumiyathal village in the Kumaun region of Uttarakhand
      Darisha LyngdohEnvironmentality and Orality in Khasi-Jaintia Hills: A probe in History
      C.LalrinchhaniCOVID-19 Pandemic and Mizo Community: A socio-cultural study
3:30 pm3:35 pmLobbyRefreshments
3:45 pm5:00 pmAuditorium11Cosmologies, monk traditions, and belief systems in the hillsKamaljit ChiromTenzin Nyima BhutiaTibetan Buddhist Monks as Cultural Custodians: Reviving Faith, Revisiting Memory and Revising Culture in the Eastern Himalayan Regions of India
      Adhiraj Singh BishtNarrating Deities: Brahmanism, Masculinity, Orality and Text in the Deific Cosmology of the Kullu Valley
      Preet Joshi.Sacred Narratives: Tribal Identity and Hindu Elements
      Ashif Shaheer KTracing religious transformations; a comprehensive study on the evolution of religious practices among the Irula community in Attappady region, Kerala
3:45 pm5:00 pmConference Hall12The making and unmaking of placesCherry KharshiingTapasya Thapa, Agastya Thapa.Anxious Transformations: The Language of Land and Emergent “Sameness” in Darjeeling
      Antarlina BhattacharjeeEchoes from the Heights: Narratives weaving Jampui Hill’s Nostalgic Tapestry
5:15 pm onwardsConference HallOHAI AGM

Day 3- 15th March 2024, Venue: U Kiang Nongbah (Old) Guest House, NEHU

Start TimeEnd TimeVenuePanel No.Panel NameModerator/ ChairSpeakersPaper Title
10:00 am11:30amConference Hall13Constricting mobility, constructing precarious economiesTBDSomashree ChoudhuryHill Lives of the Hakka Chinese in India
 Lahun Dashisha RumnongTracing Iewduh’s Past: A Journey of Storytelling with a Farmer Poet
Kishan SirswalEchoes from the Nostalgic Heights: Legacy of Trans-Himalayan Trade in the Darjeeling Mountain Economy through Oral History
10:00 am11:30amAuditorium14Identity-formation and ethno-genesis in the hillsP HangsingKimneivah Abigail MisaoCultural Ties of Memory: Exploring Tradition and Interwoven Identity among the Mountains and its Hillmen
Vinita SinhaVoices from the Heights and Below: Unravelling Cultural and Personal Narratives in the Oral Traditions of Garasia Tribe, Aravalli Mountains
Ab DijinbouThe Folklore of the Liangmai: A Study on the Social Institutions of a Traditional Village
11:30 am11:45amLobbyRefreshments
11:45 am1:15 pmConference Hall15Literature, song, place-making and oralityTBDAlfisha SabriThe Occident’s Ghosts and Graves: Hill Stations and Negotiating with the (Post)Colonial Baggage
Sonam ChhomoRe-imagining home through folktales and adivasi futurism in Subhash Thebe Limbu’s Ningwasum
Vanzikpuii       Redefining Mizo Oral Tradition: A Study of the Select Narratives of Rca- Chhangte Run (online request)
11:45 am1:15 pmAuditorium16Forging of a communityAmanda TongperAkumthong Longkumer, Temjenkala JamirDelicate Balances: Changing trends in Death Practices in the Naga Hills, navigating the transition from oral tradition to modernity
       Bipasha PatgiriAn Ethnolinguistic Account of the Culinary Lexicon of the Mishing Community: Change and Continuity
      Praggnaparamita Biswas, Anup Shekhar ChakrabortyIn Anjali Lahiri’s Sonar Sinrir Upakatha Orality Confronts Political Reality – A Critique of Terrain, Tongue and Ethnicity
1:15 pm2:00 pmExecutive Conference HallValedictory Session
2:00 pm3:00 pmLobbyLunch
3:00 pm onwardsVisit to the Ever Living Museum for interested participants