I was, for the first time in life, in the midst of a literary festival. The Hindu Lit for Life 2016 coincided with my non- holidays - days when the rest of the world enjoy holidays and I will be ...ahem...(loosely described as) on duty; ie., I am on call and expected to attend any impending crisis in Office). Anyway, here I was with the Missus and a bottle of water, setting out in an Ola cab (since the personal car had submerged in the floods).
We listened to Omar Abdullah first. He spoke brilliantly. He is good with words, has a great sense of humour and doesn't sound like a politician. Then came a panel discussion on the floods in Chennai. What the panelists had to say was the worst kept secret in Chennai; that the floods were man made, created by a confluence of factors like real estate greed, apathy to town planning and waste management practices which clogged the sewer lines. We were none the wiser and we knew that the story will be recounted; until the next floods......
Then came Sanjay Subramanyan, the man who kindled my interest in Carnatic music, by his passionate and lively performances. He too spoke brilliantly; a man whose success sits lightly on his shoulders and looked like the boy next door. He exuded honesty and sounded very down to earth and practical.
The next day we saw Lionel Shriver and Anuja Chauhan in two separate sessions. The lady who interviewed Shriver (Nilanjana Roy, whose book "The girl who ate Books" I am reading right now) sounded a bit stilted. But Shriver is one author I am going to read.She had several interesting insights into the human condition. Anuja Chauhan, an author I love for the sheer lighthearted romantic comedies she writes, came next. The interviewer was better this time and got her to open up.
I saw some Pazham poris being sold outside the venue. The stall was awaiting fresh stocks. The discerning pazham pori lover will testify that there is nothing like a hot steaming pazham pori as against a cold and limp one. (Call it banana fritters with a coating of flour with a dash of sugar fried in loads of oil...) As a result we missed the first part of a session which had Shiv Kunal Verma, who has written a book on India's China War. A book that I have already ordered on Amazon but am yet to read. Anyway, listening to him, I felt I would have to re-read from the many books that I possess on the subject, especially on events relating to the battlefield in the 1962 war. Then came the charming politician Shashi Tharoor, which saw some crowds. Suddenly there were people, young and old , filling up the chairs and even sitting on the aisle, on the floor. Shashi Tharoor uses a lot of visual imagery and captures the attention of the listener. Typical debating club tactics, but he surely knows how to engage an audience.
It felt nice to be in the midst of a reading generation; and not among devious Babus, caught up in their struggle for power, pelf and petty animosities. There were many youngsters milling about the place, which gave me some hope that there are still readers among the youth.
