Over the last weekend I attended the Bangalore Lit Fest 2018 held on the lawns of Hotel Lalit Ashok, Kumarakrupa Road, Bangalore on 27 and 28 October 2018. This is a summary of the sessions that I attended and my views on the same.
1. The Cows of Bangalore: Shoba Narayan with Rashmi Menon.
At the top of the post, let me inform you that Shoba is my cousin. I try to not let my affection for her cloud my observations.
Having got that behind.....
All of us have lend money to some one who works for us at one time or other. The way it works is you lend some money to your maid, let us say 10000 rupees, and collects it back from her incrementally 1000 rupees from her over 10 months. This is the normal transaction that many of use engage in.
We see this transaction regularly in our life. But it takes the genius of a person like Shoba to make this small loan into a well written book.
The book starts off with Sarala, a local milk vendor, asking Shoba for a loan of 40000 rupees to buy a cow.
How will she pay it back? She will give 2 liters of milk to Shoba every day till the entire loan is paid back.
So far, as they say, so good.Till now this is a normal loan transaction.
Shoba insisted that she will become a part of the entire program of cow procurement.
She and Sarala goes all over the lanes and bylanes of Bangalore looking for cows to purchase. Sarala had heard of a good cow being sold for 40000 rupees, that is why she asked for that specific loan amount, by the time they seal the deal, the price has gone up to 70000 rupees and the farmer throws in a male calf in the bargain.
Shoba has the naming rights. Only constraint is that the name has to end in either 'Lakshmi' or 'Gouri', both are the names of Goddesses of wealth in Indian Mythology. Sarala has 17 Cows, so all the 'Lakshmis' are taken, like 'Mahalakshmi', 'Gajalakshmi', 'Varalakshmi' etc. Finally they decide on the name of 'Ananda Lakshmi'. Since Sarala will not be keeping the male calf for a long time, Shoba's daughter's name him simply as A L.
Shoba weaves a beautiful tale that links the urban with rural, the ancient with the modern and the rich with the poor. In the session at Litfest, she told various interesting anecdotes.
One was about a muslim lady whose name was Mumtaz. She is standing in line to buy milk from Sarala. She tells Sarala, give me the milk of 'Mahalakshmi' cow only. The milk is very soft on my son's stomach.
Shoba cannot believe that the milk of a cow can be different from that of another cow. Mumtaz explains how.
'Mahalakshmi cow eats only local grass and hence its milk is soft on the stomach. Look at that cow', she points to a cow that is lazily chewing its cud, 'the foreigners living in that apartment (she points to the apartment complex where Shoba lives) feeds it Mango peels and hence its milk is acidic. My son drank that milk yesterday and he is having stomach upset today"
Shoba looks at the 7 year old kid standing there chewing his own cud as it were. Looked so innocent and almost bovine, that kid.
In these days when Cow is a divisive symbol, Shoba deftly takes a compassionate middle ground. She talks about the incident when Sarala's cow is hit by a truck and is about to die. 'My son will not eat beef for the next seven days', Sarala informed. It was a shock to Shoba that a farmer whose livelihood depends on a cow is a non-vegetarian and eats beef. She tells us that in the circles where Sarala lives, hindus, muslims and christians live harmoniously together and help each other in case of necessity.
'People are complex', is the simple observation.
I can vouch for that. If I look out of my balcony I can see the nearby mosque and the hindu farmer living nearby tending his goats and chicken. That is India, tolerance is of essence.
You are letting your cows roam freely and eat whatever junk they find on the road. Aren't you worried that they might eat plastic? Shoba asks. My cows are discerning. They can separate plastic from real food, replies Sarala.
You are letting your cows roam freely and eat whatever junk they find on the road. Aren't you worried that they might eat plastic? Shoba asks. My cows are discerning. They can separate plastic from real food, replies Sarala.
Sarala's son explains the benefits of drinking milk from a local cow. This cow has lived in this area for generations and have eaten grass that is suited for this area and this weather pattern. So it goes without saying that the milk from a local cow will be the best suited for people living in the local area.
What does she think about the politics of cow?, an audience member ask Shoba. She neatly sidesteps the question. Cow is worshiped in India from time immemorial and people have a lot of emotional attachment to the animal. So we should have a nuanced and non-judgemental view on the issue, she says.
Is it right that you take advantage of an animal for your personal benefits? The milk of a cow is meant for its calf. You take away a male calf, take away its milk and sell it for profit. Is it not unethical? asks another idealistic member of the audience.
You are talking of the principles of Vegan, I am not competent to answer that one, replies Shoba
The competent moderator, Rashmi Menon, prods her to talk about A2 milk. Shoba is an advocate of A2 milk which according to her is the milk from local cattle. She says, she can't talk specifically about that, but in her view, the general packet of milk that we buy from the dairy organizations do not give the benefits that we can get from buying milk from a local vendor. It also supports micro entrepreneurship and creates jobs.(ok, I added that one, but I am sure Shoba will concur)
And that was the end of a great session, a great start to my Bangalore Lit Fest.
The Things We Do: Romulus Whitaker with Janaki Lenin
I had read the book 'My husband and other animals' written by Janaki Lenin focusing on the work that she and here husband Romulus Whitaker have done with animals of different types. Mr.Whitaker is the original 'Snake Charmer' of India. He started the Madras Snake Park and followed it up with the Crocodile Farm.
The session was very interesting. He explained his work with the 'Irulas' of Tamil Nadu, with whom created a processing centre to collect Snake Venom. Irulas are expert snake catchers. Mr.Whitaker spoke charmingly about taking Irulas to visit the Everglades. The snake catchers in the US come in flashy cars with their boom boxes whereas Irulas melted into the glades and came out with Burmese Pythons for which the Glades is famous for.
He also told about going through the Sundarbans in Bengal. There were people with him who were there to take care of him from Crocodiles and Rhinos. He told that the only thing he was scared of was the tiger. 'At different point in the journey, I am sure that Tiger must have been observing us silently with its watchful eyes. Due to some reason that I cannot fathom it just let us live. If it had wanted to take our lives, I would not be sitting here talking to you'. It was chilling.
The most emotional part for me was when they were talking about King Cobras of Agumbe. The love and compassion that the Whitaker's had for the magnificent snake came through in every word they spoke. Janaki's eyes lit up when she was speaking about the people of Agumbe. 'These are amazing people. They respect the snake and have learned to coexist with the snake. The snakes sometimes crawl into their homes and mostly use the bathrooms as their resting place due to the availability of both dampness and water to drink. When this happens, the residents adjust their lives around the snake and do not use the bathroom for three to four days. If they find a rough patch of concrete in the toilet that could harm the snake's skin, they cover it with damp jute bags. Only when they become desperate about their adjustments do they call us. Even when they call us, they insist that we do not hurt the snake', she said.
I tried to imagine. King Cobra sends shivers down our spine. However, despite its massive venom, it is a very peaceful snake as per them. It doesn't even attack other animals like frogs and rats for example. Their only food is other snakes.
Janaki told about a guy in whose garden a female King Cobra laid eggs. While it was hatching, this guy built wooden shed around the hatching area to prevent any disturbance to the animal. He even covered the top so that rain water do not fall on the eggs. Such is the care that the people of Agumbe take about these magnificent serpents.
'Only thing they ask us is to remove the child cobras as soon as the eggs are hatched' she said.
Mr.Whitaker is an original american citizen, who renounced US citizenship to become a citizen of India. He and Janaki Lenin produced a documentary for National Geographic magazine called 'King Cobra'. It won an Emmy. However, they did not go to US to collect the award. Mr.Whitaker laughingly said that his mother, who still lived in US was very angry with him for not going to the Emmys.
That is the living embodiment of the ideas of Bhagavat Gita, do your work, do not go after rewards.
Long time ago I had seen the above documentary on King Cobra. It made a deep impact on me. It was a fascinating work and as Janaki Lenin was talking, I made a mental note to watch it again.
It was after this session that I made first of the gaffes that I am famous for.
As I told earlier, I had read the book 'My husband and other animals' written by Janaki Lenin. It was one of the first Kindle books that I had purchased. I was captivated by the stories that she narrated in the book. She was sympathetic to the animals, even to the leopard that killed their dog and was rooting for harmonious co-existence of humans and animals. She was of the strong view that infrastructure development and ecological conservation can co-exist.
I got an opportunity to meet Ms.Lenin after the session. I told her that I had read her book.
Her eyes brightened. 'Well, what did you think?', she asked.
This is where I should have told her what I really felt. I should have told her I loved her engaging prose, her nuanced perspective on the development vs ecology debate, her compassion for both animals and people. I should have told her that I found the book generally amusing and her affection for her husband and her resigned acceptance of his quirks was very fascinating.
That is what I should have said.
But that is not what I told her.
I told her I was a 'Little' disappointed with the book. That is it? A little disappointed? Are you sure?
Frankly I choked.
'Why?' she asked. This is not what she expected, obviously. You don't seek out authors at Litfest to tell them that you are disappointed by their work.
And as you can see above, I was not disappointed. I had enjoyed reading the book.
Instead of stopping at this point and legging it, I soldiered on adding insult to injury as it were.
'When I read the title, I expected it to be as funny as Gerald Durells book 'My family and other animals'. It was not. Your book was a serious book'
I was making it worse by the minute and was becoming acutely aware of it. My face was turning red and then purple and I was not clear how I was going to extricate myself.
Fortunately she found a 'long lost friend' and took leave of me.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the modern day 'Chandler Bing', a guy who do not know how to stop when he starts talking. How else can you explain this?
Fortunately I got an opportunity next day to apologize to her for my goof up. She said she had forgotten it, but graciously accepted my apology. I was able to tell her my genuine feelings about her book that I had mentioned before.
I hope I made your day Ms.Janaki Lenin. Some day I will review your book in my blog (I write much better than I talk, I can assure you) and share the link with you. That will be my tribute to the amazing work that you and your husband are doing.
Building blocks from life: On narrative non-fiction: Bachi Karkaria, Shoba Narayan, Manu S Pillai with V K Karthika
The Things We Do: Romulus Whitaker with Janaki Lenin
I had read the book 'My husband and other animals' written by Janaki Lenin focusing on the work that she and here husband Romulus Whitaker have done with animals of different types. Mr.Whitaker is the original 'Snake Charmer' of India. He started the Madras Snake Park and followed it up with the Crocodile Farm.
He also told about going through the Sundarbans in Bengal. There were people with him who were there to take care of him from Crocodiles and Rhinos. He told that the only thing he was scared of was the tiger. 'At different point in the journey, I am sure that Tiger must have been observing us silently with its watchful eyes. Due to some reason that I cannot fathom it just let us live. If it had wanted to take our lives, I would not be sitting here talking to you'. It was chilling.
The most emotional part for me was when they were talking about King Cobras of Agumbe. The love and compassion that the Whitaker's had for the magnificent snake came through in every word they spoke. Janaki's eyes lit up when she was speaking about the people of Agumbe. 'These are amazing people. They respect the snake and have learned to coexist with the snake. The snakes sometimes crawl into their homes and mostly use the bathrooms as their resting place due to the availability of both dampness and water to drink. When this happens, the residents adjust their lives around the snake and do not use the bathroom for three to four days. If they find a rough patch of concrete in the toilet that could harm the snake's skin, they cover it with damp jute bags. Only when they become desperate about their adjustments do they call us. Even when they call us, they insist that we do not hurt the snake', she said.
I tried to imagine. King Cobra sends shivers down our spine. However, despite its massive venom, it is a very peaceful snake as per them. It doesn't even attack other animals like frogs and rats for example. Their only food is other snakes.
Janaki told about a guy in whose garden a female King Cobra laid eggs. While it was hatching, this guy built wooden shed around the hatching area to prevent any disturbance to the animal. He even covered the top so that rain water do not fall on the eggs. Such is the care that the people of Agumbe take about these magnificent serpents.
'Only thing they ask us is to remove the child cobras as soon as the eggs are hatched' she said.
Mr.Whitaker is an original american citizen, who renounced US citizenship to become a citizen of India. He and Janaki Lenin produced a documentary for National Geographic magazine called 'King Cobra'. It won an Emmy. However, they did not go to US to collect the award. Mr.Whitaker laughingly said that his mother, who still lived in US was very angry with him for not going to the Emmys.
That is the living embodiment of the ideas of Bhagavat Gita, do your work, do not go after rewards.
Long time ago I had seen the above documentary on King Cobra. It made a deep impact on me. It was a fascinating work and as Janaki Lenin was talking, I made a mental note to watch it again.
It was after this session that I made first of the gaffes that I am famous for.
As I told earlier, I had read the book 'My husband and other animals' written by Janaki Lenin. It was one of the first Kindle books that I had purchased. I was captivated by the stories that she narrated in the book. She was sympathetic to the animals, even to the leopard that killed their dog and was rooting for harmonious co-existence of humans and animals. She was of the strong view that infrastructure development and ecological conservation can co-exist.
I got an opportunity to meet Ms.Lenin after the session. I told her that I had read her book.
Her eyes brightened. 'Well, what did you think?', she asked.
This is where I should have told her what I really felt. I should have told her I loved her engaging prose, her nuanced perspective on the development vs ecology debate, her compassion for both animals and people. I should have told her that I found the book generally amusing and her affection for her husband and her resigned acceptance of his quirks was very fascinating.
That is what I should have said.
But that is not what I told her.
I told her I was a 'Little' disappointed with the book. That is it? A little disappointed? Are you sure?
Frankly I choked.
'Why?' she asked. This is not what she expected, obviously. You don't seek out authors at Litfest to tell them that you are disappointed by their work.
And as you can see above, I was not disappointed. I had enjoyed reading the book.
Instead of stopping at this point and legging it, I soldiered on adding insult to injury as it were.
'When I read the title, I expected it to be as funny as Gerald Durells book 'My family and other animals'. It was not. Your book was a serious book'
I was making it worse by the minute and was becoming acutely aware of it. My face was turning red and then purple and I was not clear how I was going to extricate myself.
Fortunately she found a 'long lost friend' and took leave of me.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the modern day 'Chandler Bing', a guy who do not know how to stop when he starts talking. How else can you explain this?
Fortunately I got an opportunity next day to apologize to her for my goof up. She said she had forgotten it, but graciously accepted my apology. I was able to tell her my genuine feelings about her book that I had mentioned before.
I hope I made your day Ms.Janaki Lenin. Some day I will review your book in my blog (I write much better than I talk, I can assure you) and share the link with you. That will be my tribute to the amazing work that you and your husband are doing.
Building blocks from life: On narrative non-fiction: Bachi Karkaria, Shoba Narayan, Manu S Pillai with V K Karthika
Manu S Pillai, a young Malayali author of the books 'Ivory Thorne: Chronicles of the house of Travancore and Rebel Sultans: Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji is an excellent communicator. He had the audience spellbound while he spoke about our tendency to think that somehow the people of earlier generations are different from the people of the current generation. We put the ancient kings in a pedestal. (In my opinion, we are doing the reverse now. We are trying to reverse every aspect of our history in this country. We are in the process of insulting the historical leadership in this country)
 |
| Manu Pillai talking to Karthika |
Why it was serious? I spoke to Manu about this the next day. He pointed out that the idea of India as an integrated entity existed long time ago. Every part of India appropriated some aspect of Mahabharata and Ramayana. The pilgrimage circuit that connected various Shankara Mutts and Dhams existed from a long period ago. There was relocation of experts who moved from one kingdom to another in search of jobs. In fact, the Chief of armed forces of the Maratha King was a Bundela warrior. The idea of 'Unity in diversity' and 'Bharatheeyatha' that we often talk about in very casual terms existed from time immemorial.
In the session Manu told another story about this Maratha King. He was a satirist and was irreverent to the prevailing caste equations. He wrote a book about a brahmin priest, who fell in love with a beautiful Shudra girl. The girl was the more knowledgeable of the shastras than the brahmin and taught him the spiritual consequences of such an inter caste union. In a sense the king reversed the wisdom of the age that placed brahmins at a higher pedestal of knowledge.
Bachi Kaarkaria spoke about her book on the Nanavati case that removed the jury system from the legal practices in the country. I have already included parts of what Shoba discussed in the earlier discussion on her book.
Is India Illiberal? Chidanand Rajghatta with Naresh Fernandes
Naresh Fernandes is the founder of Scroll.in a liberal news site that aims to fight fake news and religious extremism in the country. Chidanand Rajghatta is the US based Columnist for the Times of India. When they join to discuss if India has become illiberal, one can expect a very good discussion.
And that is what we had in this session.
I remembered two points from this session. One was when Mr.Rajghatta mentioned about his childhood years growing up in the surrounding area. The CM residence was nearby and the kids used to climb the fence during summer to pluck mangoes. Veerendra Patil, the then CM of Karnataka used to some times pluck mangoes for them. There was not unnecessary air of 
being a CM and the power distance was non-existent at that time.
being a CM and the power distance was non-existent at that time.
A member of audience asks if India is turning illiberal. There is a moment of uncomfortable silence before Mr.Rajghatta answers with an 'Yes'. He elaborates the point and says that at least in the short to medium term, he doesn't see liberalism getting an upperhand. Forces of extremism are gaining upper hand world over and India cannot stand as an exception. However, he says consolingly, in the long run, liberalism and progressivism always triumph.
Some consolation, that.
Mr.Rajghatta has every reason for his pessimism. Only last year, Ms.Gauri Lankesh, his former wife whom he divorced but still have affections for, was murdered by communal and extremist elements last year. It will be naïve for him not to say what he said.
Do I agree with his views? Emphatically no. Only incompetent people resort to extremism. And they get called sooner rather than later.
Some consolation, that.
Mr.Rajghatta has every reason for his pessimism. Only last year, Ms.Gauri Lankesh, his former wife whom he divorced but still have affections for, was murdered by communal and extremist elements last year. It will be naïve for him not to say what he said.
Do I agree with his views? Emphatically no. Only incompetent people resort to extremism. And they get called sooner rather than later.
Gurcharan Das is a great communicator. When he is interviewed by incisive and funny Shoba Narayan, the session is bound to be excellent. Shoba is a smart interviewer. She brought session back
every time Mr.Das was getting into 'runaway eloquence'. She prodded him with good questions that released Mr.Das' volubility. Most important, she let Mr.Das speak as much as he wanted.
The session was on his latest book 'Kama: The riddle of desire'. The book tells the story of a middle aged man falling in love with a beautiful woman he met in a train and the eventful consequences. Mr.Das made some interesting points. India is the original land of Kama, he said. In his opinion, Valentines Day should be renamed as 'Kama divas'. He told that while we know Kamasutra as a book on sexual positions, it is more of a guide on etiquette and good manners.
Mr.Das spoke of three different types of independence that people of India has won over the last 70 odd years. In 1947 India won political independence. It won the economic independence in 1991 with the Manmohan Singh Budget. In 2018, with the four decisions by Supreme Court - Making Triple Talaq illegal, Decriminalizing adultery, Decriminalizing homosexuality by repealing Section 377 of IPC and the verdict on Right to Privacy, coupled with #MeToo movement, has delivered India with Emotional Independence.
Mr.Das has unreserved appreciation for the #MeToo movement and the courage shown by the women by coming out and the results that they have achieved in a short span of time.
The session was on his latest book 'Kama: The riddle of desire'. The book tells the story of a middle aged man falling in love with a beautiful woman he met in a train and the eventful consequences. Mr.Das made some interesting points. India is the original land of Kama, he said. In his opinion, Valentines Day should be renamed as 'Kama divas'. He told that while we know Kamasutra as a book on sexual positions, it is more of a guide on etiquette and good manners.
Mr.Das spoke of three different types of independence that people of India has won over the last 70 odd years. In 1947 India won political independence. It won the economic independence in 1991 with the Manmohan Singh Budget. In 2018, with the four decisions by Supreme Court - Making Triple Talaq illegal, Decriminalizing adultery, Decriminalizing homosexuality by repealing Section 377 of IPC and the verdict on Right to Privacy, coupled with #MeToo movement, has delivered India with Emotional Independence.
Mr.Das has unreserved appreciation for the #MeToo movement and the courage shown by the women by coming out and the results that they have achieved in a short span of time.
Populism, liberalism et al: Ashutosh Varshney with Narayan Ramachandran
I remember three things from this session.One, Professor Varshney says that the chances of Mr.Modi coming back to power in 2019 are very high.
Two, as per him, the three freedoms that liberals hold dear, freedom of speech, of religious beliefs and of association are opposed by all populists.
Three, when we speak of populism, we need to understand that there is populism on both sides. Left wing populism plays Robin Hood, by creating class war and taking from the rich and giving to the poor as used to happen during years prior to 1990.
Winning on #377: Anjali Gopalan with Alok Prasanna Kumar.
What an excellent session! I almost missed it since I wanted to watch another session that went in parallel. In the end, I decided to stay. Lucky me.
Ms.Gopalan runs the NAZ Foundation, an NGO does work in the area of HIV / Aids and Sexual Health. As a part of its work, it interacts extensively with LGBT community. The foundation was one of the litigants in the repeal of Section 377 of the IPC which was recently granted by the Supreme Court. Ms. Gopalan was at the Litfest to talk about the struggles that the foundation faced on the road to the repeal.
The points she made were both saddening and riveting at the same time. She spoke about the hypocrisy of Indian families, that put out one face to the outside world and another at home. One family brought their homosexual son to her foundation to 'cure' him. 'Let him get married and give us a grandson', the family told Ms.Menon, 'once we have a grandson, we don't care what he does'. Once a family has a grand child, the parents are happy that they have a grandchild, the wife is happy that she has a child and no one cares if the father is happy or not. Many men handle the unhappiness by getting drunk or indulging in illegal activities. That is the sad reality of India.
I was shocked to hear that bestiality, having sex with animals, is more rampant in India than we are aware of.
On being asked about here long drawn out battle against section 377 that started in 2002 and partly ended in 2018 (homosexuality is still illegal in India, it not criminal as it was before the repeal of section 377), she said that social change is a war and these wins and losses are the results of various battles. For example, the group won a major win in 2009 when Delhi High Court repealed Section 377. This turned into a loss in 2013 when a single bench of the Supreme Court overturned the above ruling by the High Court.
She is sceptical about getting changes done through the legislatures. The average age of MPs in India is still above 70, she says. The only hope for real change is the next generation of parliamentarians. I am proud that Shashi Tharoor, an MP from my state of Kerala, introduced a private member bill in parliament to repeal section 377 but was unsuccessful. More power to people like Dr.Tharoor.
On being asked about a case that emotionally touched her, she told about a homosexual boy being given electric current to 'cure' him. That was one time she felt very, very angry, she said.
Great work Anjali Gopalan. More power to people like you.
Kathagal: Readings in Malayalam: Benyamin with Sangeetha Sreenivasan
The points she made were both saddening and riveting at the same time. She spoke about the hypocrisy of Indian families, that put out one face to the outside world and another at home. One family brought their homosexual son to her foundation to 'cure' him. 'Let him get married and give us a grandson', the family told Ms.Menon, 'once we have a grandson, we don't care what he does'. Once a family has a grand child, the parents are happy that they have a grandchild, the wife is happy that she has a child and no one cares if the father is happy or not. Many men handle the unhappiness by getting drunk or indulging in illegal activities. That is the sad reality of India.
I was shocked to hear that bestiality, having sex with animals, is more rampant in India than we are aware of.
On being asked about here long drawn out battle against section 377 that started in 2002 and partly ended in 2018 (homosexuality is still illegal in India, it not criminal as it was before the repeal of section 377), she said that social change is a war and these wins and losses are the results of various battles. For example, the group won a major win in 2009 when Delhi High Court repealed Section 377. This turned into a loss in 2013 when a single bench of the Supreme Court overturned the above ruling by the High Court.
She is sceptical about getting changes done through the legislatures. The average age of MPs in India is still above 70, she says. The only hope for real change is the next generation of parliamentarians. I am proud that Shashi Tharoor, an MP from my state of Kerala, introduced a private member bill in parliament to repeal section 377 but was unsuccessful. More power to people like Dr.Tharoor.
On being asked about a case that emotionally touched her, she told about a homosexual boy being given electric current to 'cure' him. That was one time she felt very, very angry, she said.
Great work Anjali Gopalan. More power to people like you.
Kathagal: Readings in Malayalam: Benyamin with Sangeetha Sreenivasan
This was a session with Malayalam writer Benyamin. He has written more than 24 books and has won many awards. Sangeeta is also a writer who has translated books from Malayalam to English and vice versa.
I remember two points from this session.
One, Benyamin said that all stories are a reflection of the author. He weaves his narration with experiences from his life and give it a different twist. For example, his most famous novel is 'Aadujeevitham' (Goat Life or Goat Days) is the story of a Malayali migrant to the middle east. While we have a glamorous view of the area, the book tells about the struggles and loneliness of the hero, Najeeb.
Another interesting point was made by Sangeeta. 'Art', she said, 'is a communication with the past. It takes from where past left and extends it to the future', Essentially art links past to the future. Are we missing that link in the area of Social Media, she wondered.
Mr.Benyamin did not agree. As per him, art by definition, will link past with future.
Sangeeta raised an interesting point, don't you think?.
I remember two points from this session.
One, Benyamin said that all stories are a reflection of the author. He weaves his narration with experiences from his life and give it a different twist. For example, his most famous novel is 'Aadujeevitham' (Goat Life or Goat Days) is the story of a Malayali migrant to the middle east. While we have a glamorous view of the area, the book tells about the struggles and loneliness of the hero, Najeeb.
Another interesting point was made by Sangeeta. 'Art', she said, 'is a communication with the past. It takes from where past left and extends it to the future', Essentially art links past to the future. Are we missing that link in the area of Social Media, she wondered.
Mr.Benyamin did not agree. As per him, art by definition, will link past with future.
Sangeeta raised an interesting point, don't you think?.
Pencils drawn: Cartooning in trying times: Ponnappa and Ravishankar Etteth with Bachi Karkaria
This session could have been handled much better. There were audio issues, there was not much of a structure, I think Bachi Karkaria, the moderator, struggled to handle two talented cartoonists in Ponnappa and Ravishankar Etteth. The discussions did not linger on any point. They could have discussed the evolution of cartoons and how they can and do contribute to present day discourses. There are brilliant young and brave cartoonists out there who are adding value to the discourse through their incisive observations. Instead, the two cartoonists strutted around the stage drawing cartoons against very poor lighting. The people at the back, who could not see what is happening on the stage soon lost interest. This session stresses the importance of a structure in interviews of this type.
Bit disappointed.
Bit disappointed.
Is there an Indian road to equality?: Ramachandra Guha
You could say that the Bangalore Lit Fest belongs to Ramachandra Guha and Mr.Guha belongs to the Litfest. No Litfest is complete without a speech by Mr.Guha. In this edition of Litfest, Mr.Guha
premiered his talk on Indian road to equality, specifically focusing on Dalit and Woman equality. The later is significant since the recent happenings related to Sabarimala in Kerala, gives a sense of urgency to this topic.
Guha is a historian and he has recently published a book on Gandhiji. It was only natural that he will back his assertions with historical views. India's experiment with Women's equality has been patchy at best, said Mr.Guha. Indian National Congress was the first political party to make a women as the party president when they did this in the Kanpur session of 1925. The significance of this is huge if you consider that in 1925, women in US did not have any vote at all!. Lot of leaders have tried at different times to encourage women's education, give equal rights for women in work place etc. It still remain, as events in Sabarimala show, an ongoing struggle.
Struggle for Dalit equality, on the other hand, have proved more successful. It is due to political grouping of Dalits. Indian intellectuals have been asking for Dalit equality from early 20th Century. In 1903, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, exhorted for Dalit equality. During the british rule, Ragagopala Chari wanted to break from Quit India movement, to fight the case for a Dalit who was standing trial, After independence, when India decided to go for universal adult franchise, Ambedkar pointed out that 'While we have given one person, one vote, we should strive to give them one person, one value'.
Various political actions before and after independence progressively increased Dalit's right to equality. From being not allowed to enter temples in the 1930s, today many temples in India have Dalit priests. That is a major progress.
We are still trying to achieve the 'one value' part of the equation for Dalits and women, Mr.Guha noted.
It is fascinating to remember that this country was made with the contribution of a lot of intellectuals and intelligent minds. They had the wisdom to realize that the challenge lies in details and no amount of rhetoric could replace ass to the grind kind of hard and persistent work. In the last four years, we have forgotten what intelligent thinking and nuanced approach really is. These days we are only talking in binaries, us vs them, hindus vs muslims, secularists vs sickularists, press vs presstitutes etc. Everyone is bracketed, grouped and pigeonholed into neat little compartments. We have become a country of lazy.
The highlight for me was the QA session after the speech. One retired naval officer made a startling comment that women climbing Sabarimala will struggle from endometriosis. It was a startling claim not backed by medical evidence and historical facts. Women were climbing Mala till 1991. It stopped only after the verdict of Kerala High Court.
Finally, Mr.Guha, just like many people, confused 'Menstruation (process)' with 'Menstrual Age'. Women of a particular age group are banned from climbing the mala. It has nothing to do with the process, which still remains a taboo in many households in India.
That is all I remember from that one hour session.
Guha is a historian and he has recently published a book on Gandhiji. It was only natural that he will back his assertions with historical views. India's experiment with Women's equality has been patchy at best, said Mr.Guha. Indian National Congress was the first political party to make a women as the party president when they did this in the Kanpur session of 1925. The significance of this is huge if you consider that in 1925, women in US did not have any vote at all!. Lot of leaders have tried at different times to encourage women's education, give equal rights for women in work place etc. It still remain, as events in Sabarimala show, an ongoing struggle.
Struggle for Dalit equality, on the other hand, have proved more successful. It is due to political grouping of Dalits. Indian intellectuals have been asking for Dalit equality from early 20th Century. In 1903, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, exhorted for Dalit equality. During the british rule, Ragagopala Chari wanted to break from Quit India movement, to fight the case for a Dalit who was standing trial, After independence, when India decided to go for universal adult franchise, Ambedkar pointed out that 'While we have given one person, one vote, we should strive to give them one person, one value'.
Various political actions before and after independence progressively increased Dalit's right to equality. From being not allowed to enter temples in the 1930s, today many temples in India have Dalit priests. That is a major progress.
We are still trying to achieve the 'one value' part of the equation for Dalits and women, Mr.Guha noted.
It is fascinating to remember that this country was made with the contribution of a lot of intellectuals and intelligent minds. They had the wisdom to realize that the challenge lies in details and no amount of rhetoric could replace ass to the grind kind of hard and persistent work. In the last four years, we have forgotten what intelligent thinking and nuanced approach really is. These days we are only talking in binaries, us vs them, hindus vs muslims, secularists vs sickularists, press vs presstitutes etc. Everyone is bracketed, grouped and pigeonholed into neat little compartments. We have become a country of lazy.
The highlight for me was the QA session after the speech. One retired naval officer made a startling comment that women climbing Sabarimala will struggle from endometriosis. It was a startling claim not backed by medical evidence and historical facts. Women were climbing Mala till 1991. It stopped only after the verdict of Kerala High Court.
Finally, Mr.Guha, just like many people, confused 'Menstruation (process)' with 'Menstrual Age'. Women of a particular age group are banned from climbing the mala. It has nothing to do with the process, which still remains a taboo in many households in India.
That is all I remember from that one hour session.
Editor's cut: Road to 2019: Mukund Padmanabhan, Narayan
Ramachandran, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay and Saba Naqvi with Ashutosh
Varshney.
An overarching (how I wanted to use that word) sense of negativity and despondency about the future of liberalism in India was pervasive in the Litfest on Day1. Earlier in the day Mr.Rajghatta told that in the short to medium term Liberalism will weaken in the country but 'in the long run, liberalism will win'. Everyone seemed to have resigned to Mr.Modi winning 2019 and further destruction of liberal values. There was grudging admiration of BJP's electoral machine with each page of the electoral roll being assigned to an individual (hence the term 'Panna Pramukh', Panna means a page and pramukh means leader)
All were defeatist except Saba Naqvi, who brought in a sense of balance by pointing out that Indian elections are based on Arithmatic. If opposition parties can unite, BJP will have no way of winning 2019. She pointed out to various state elections and byelections to point out a weakening of BJP across the country. The upcoming elections in MP and Rajasthan will be the harbinger for what is going to happen in 2019.
I happen to agree with her for some additional point. In 2014, people voted for Modi based on his promise for bringing back black money, putting corrupt behind bars and providing jobs and prosperity to the country. We have not got any of that. Instead, we got lynchings, demonetization and botched GST rollout. So BJP will have to fight anti incumbency in 2019 and without much achievements to talk about, it will not be easy, however good an orator Mr.Modi is.
Finally, I bought two books today. One is 'Cows of Bangalore' and the other is 'Closed Casket' by Sophie Hannah. Hope to read and review these books in my blog soon.
An overarching (how I wanted to use that word) sense of negativity and despondency about the future of liberalism in India was pervasive in the Litfest on Day1. Earlier in the day Mr.Rajghatta told that in the short to medium term Liberalism will weaken in the country but 'in the long run, liberalism will win'. Everyone seemed to have resigned to Mr.Modi winning 2019 and further destruction of liberal values. There was grudging admiration of BJP's electoral machine with each page of the electoral roll being assigned to an individual (hence the term 'Panna Pramukh', Panna means a page and pramukh means leader)
All were defeatist except Saba Naqvi, who brought in a sense of balance by pointing out that Indian elections are based on Arithmatic. If opposition parties can unite, BJP will have no way of winning 2019. She pointed out to various state elections and byelections to point out a weakening of BJP across the country. The upcoming elections in MP and Rajasthan will be the harbinger for what is going to happen in 2019.
I happen to agree with her for some additional point. In 2014, people voted for Modi based on his promise for bringing back black money, putting corrupt behind bars and providing jobs and prosperity to the country. We have not got any of that. Instead, we got lynchings, demonetization and botched GST rollout. So BJP will have to fight anti incumbency in 2019 and without much achievements to talk about, it will not be easy, however good an orator Mr.Modi is.
Finally, I bought two books today. One is 'Cows of Bangalore' and the other is 'Closed Casket' by Sophie Hannah. Hope to read and review these books in my blog soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment