Sep 04 2026 to Sep 04 2026 6 p.m.

Book/Buy

Where

Atta Galatta

178, 5th Main Road, 1st Stage, Indiranagar, Bengaluru 560038

Event Description

Join us for a book discussion featuring Clifton D'Rozario, Angela Rangad, and Madhu Bhushan as they delve into the book “Em No Nahi”.

Named after "Em" - the Khasi word for "No" - written by the late Tarun Bhartiya (1970–2025), it combines striking text and imagery to create a powerful tribute to civic resistance and environmental activism in Meghalaya.

About the book:

“Em”—the Khasi word for No—is about a refusal that turned into a rallying cry in Meghalaya, when 90-year-old Kong Spillity Lyngdoh Langrin turned away those who would mine her land in the West Khasi Hills for uranium. Tarun Bhartiya’s images and text distill that defining moment into a moving celebration of civic resistance.

Tarun Bhartiya (1970-2025) often described himself as a ‘cussed middle-aged Maithil Marxist based in Shillong. Film, photo, poetry. Homemaker otherwise’. From Mithila in Bihar where he was born, he moved to Shillong, where he eventually settled, and always thought of as home. Tarun was an accomplished poet in Hindi, a prolific documentary film-maker, a highly regarded film-editor, as well as a co-founder and editor of Raiot*, the provocative webzine that emerged out of Shillong.

At Atta Galatta we feature a panel discussion with -

Angela Rangad who describes herself as having 'shared and built a life with Tarun Bhartiya in Shillong, raising three children together, while organising and campaigning around a range of issues that included democratic and workers rights'. She is the co-founder of Thma U Rangli-juki (TUR), which translates as “oppressed people's war”, as well as the Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association (MGSPHSVA).

Clifton D'Rozario, advocate and prominent labour law practitioner associated with All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice (AILAJ), and the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), as well as Karnataka State Secretary and Central Committee Member of the CPI(ML)Liberation. Between 1999-2003 he was a full-time activist with the Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Madhu Bhushan, who will moderate, is a feminist activist, researcher and occasional filmmaker currently associated with Gamana Women’s Collective. She has earlier worked with CIEDS Collective and Vimochana for more than three decades, and has been involved with crisis intervention, community outreach, campaigns and advocacy with a focus on rural and tribal communities.