The Boy Who Loved Food

Theyiesinuo Keditsu (PhD) is a poet, intellectual, academic, educator, cultural conservationist and fashion icon. She advocates for the revival of Indigenous Naga textiles and women’s narratives through her popular Instagram avatar @mekhalamama

Over the past six years, she has revolutionized the way Naga textiles are perceived through her unique storytelling approach bringing out the cultural and personal narratives associated with mekhalas and other cloths. She is widely credited with influencing women in Nagaland, the North-East and beyond to wear mekhalas as fashionable garments that can be used as special and daily work wear. Her advocacy has inspired other initiatives promoting the wearing, research, design and sales of textiles, renewing interest in a neglected tradition. She campaigns for sustainable fashion practices and is known for promoting locally produced indigenous textiles & crafts as well as local businesses with a focus on those run by women entrepreneurs.

The impact of her textile and fashion activism has been recognised and featured in Roots & Leisure, Verve, Voice of Fashion, Indian Express, Huffington Post, National News UAE and most recently, Vogue India.

She has published two books of poetry, Sopfünuo and Wake and contributed to a number of anthologies & journals in her creative & academic capacities such as South Asian Review, FemAsia and anthologies like The Many that I Am (Zubaan), Yaari: An Anthology on Friendship by Women and Queer Folx (YodaPress). She has authored a children’s illustrated story book Ukepenuopfü: An Angami Folktale Reimagined. She writes creatively under the pen name T. Keditsu. Two of her poems have been made into poetry films by TakeOne Films. Her poems have been translated into Marathi, Hindi and most notably into Gujarati by emininet poet. Sitanshu Yashaschandra.

She has a PhD in Cultural Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Her academic research focuses on contemporary Naga culture, indigenous knowledge, indigenous feminisms, folklore, oral & written literatures of Nagaland. She is widely sought after as a public speaker and educator within her Naga community and in North East India.

She serves as a trustee on the boards of the Dr. K & T Keditsu Foundation and The Highland Institute. She is a member of Rattle and Hum Music Society and the Nagaland State Audit Advisory Board (NSAAB). She has served on the Board of Undergraduate Studies (BUGS), Nagaland University as well as the Board of Studies of the Faculty of Arts and Culture, Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU).

She has over 16 years of teaching experience and is currently an assistant professor in Kohima College, Kohima, Nagaland.