VOICES IN THE VALLEY

The moaning war siren started
to blow urgently, silencing the valley, setting hearts aflutter. Soon, chaos
broke out and there was arush of feet in the lane twisted around their house
Little Millie’s skin broke out in gooseflesh. Against the backdrop of a
politically turbulent Assam, a young girl named Millie is determined to make
her voice heard. She spends her childhood in a rural set-up with seven
sisters, three anxious matriarchs and a resigned father this is what her
small world is all about. Born in a family of priests, she struggles with
orthodoxy and convention and goes on to become a student leader something
which only foreshadows the bigger role she is destined to play. A flawed
horoscope delays her marriage, but hastens her emancipation. Her tryst with
romance is overwhelming and sweeps her off feet, but Ethnic clashes, militant
activities, violent elections see the countryside otherwise home to several
tribal communities, lush tea gardens, exotic orchids, sundry birds,
one-horned rhinos and much more. Whether Millie’s voice is loud enough to
make an impact in the Brahmaputra valley remains to be seen