Chirmi Shimray (Right) with the cover of her second book

Imphal-based teacher Chirmi Shimray has released a grand collection of 117 poems in her latest book called ‘Raw – Perfectly Flawed’.

Chirmi Shimray, who originally belongs to Ukhrul, said that her latest book is based on her personal experiences and the general outbreaks that occur in the lives of women. “Although women were always trained to be the ‘damsels in distress’; but they are no less than warriors. We can bring life on earth, for which we bleed from between our thighs for eternity long,” she said.

The book, available on Amazon, Kindle and Flipkart, also speaks about youth and their undying spirits: young & free, their desires, their rebellious nature and intelligent minds that possess the power to destroy the evils of society and change the world for the better. “The most astonishing fact about them is that they are beautiful and pure with all their imperfections. I wrote ‘frenemy’ for my foes, as their dark twisted games made me who I am today,” she added.

Chirmi Shimray had earlier published her first book – a novel called ‘The Sea and I’ in 2019.

Chirmi’s ‘Raw – Perfectly Flawed’ contains 117 poems categorized into 10 sections – each comprising of different voices; about the reality and the actual state of the Northeast women in general and empowering them, about the mothers of the region, the invisible warriors bestowing love and their sacrifices taken for granted, about our youth who has the power to create and destroy the future, who is tired of the gun culture and dreams of a better tomorrow.

The book also speaks about the daughters of the region who will carry this legacy of the mothers, about ‘our’ foes – to never let what they deem to be wrong with us make us feel any less worthy as a person, to rise above the society or anyone who tries to bring us down.

“A section of the book is dedicated to my two-year-old son in hope that I will raise him into a man strong enough to respect and love a woman. This book is for the broken and the free to speak up for the truth always and not to let the closed minds of others deter them from reaching their full potential,” Chirmi Shimray told TheNewsMill.

Reminiscing life through her writings: Chirmi Shimray

As a single-mother, Chirmi Shimray said that she chose to walk away from a toxic situation wanting to have a fresh look at life. “As a woman who was in an abusive relationship and chose to walk away from that toxic life, carrying my child in my belly, I wanted to be the kind of woman and a kind of writer that can make a broken person from crying over a narcissist to forgetting the bad past even existed. The kind of writer that inspires women though my words and as long as I can touch the heart of even one person, I will keep on writing for that single soul,” she said.

Chirmi Shimray said that she gives out messages through her writings in hope that the readers get it. “Thankfully, I get amazing responses saying that they could relate their lives with my words, like for instance, I talk about abuse in my previous relationship and I opened up in my book which I have never done in such a vulnerable way. I wrote poems about the healing, breaking the walls and growing into this beautiful new person, and in a way, someone connects their stories with mine and that empowers them. If my story can reach to a broken and abused woman somewhere out there then there is no reason for me to stop with what I am doing, to speak out in the form of my words and to reach out,” she added.

Speaking about Chirmi Shimray’s ‘Raw – Perfectly Flawed’, Nepo said: “I just read the ‘Black Sea’, the first section of the book, but somehow it pulled all my attention towards the compressed emotions that the author delivered in her writing. I got myself attached to it jet fast. I am touched by how she polished the detailing down to the deepest point to bestow the dark side of misery and grievances a woman lives with. It makes me become more respectful and empathetic towards the women.”

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The News Mill is a Guwahati-based digital media with focus on content from across Northeast India and beyond. We can be reached through [email protected]