Demystifying the Stereotype: A Critical Reading of Kishalay Bhattacharjee’s Che in Paona Bazaar

This paper is to highlight how the author has attempted to demystify the stereotypical representation of North- East. The North- East is not merely a hot-bed of insurgency, there are other realities as well- of forbidden love, weddings, cuisine, childhood memories, and other „unimportant stories‟ that never made it to our newspaper and television screens. Bhattacharjee tries to present an alternative and private vision of North East in Che in paona Bazaar and I have attempted to document and highlight the process through which Bhattacharjee tried to achieve his goal. I have consciously avoided critical jargons though at places a few theoretical assumptions have been added.