From Ruskin Bond to Ramchandra Guha, the fourth edition of Penguin?s Spring Fever Festival saw some of the biggest and most loved personalities of the Indian literary circuit
Following a string of big and small literary festivals and book fairs across the length and breadth of the country this new calendar year, publishing major Penguin Books India organised the fourth edition of its annual festival, Spring Fever 2013, in the capital. The 10-day literary event that concluded today saw some of the biggest and most loved personalities of the Indian literary circuit, and even beyond. With a participant list that features names like Vikram Seth, Ramchandra Guha, Mira Nair, Gulzar, Sudha Murthy, Ruskin Bond, Shobhaa De, Mahesh Bhat, Raghu Rai, Prakash Iyer, Ankit Fadia, Amit Mehra and Vikas Khanna, Penguin played the pop card.
The India Habitat Centre amphitheatre would be bursting at the seams every evening starting 7 pm for the past nine days. Every evening, there would be a new topic, one or more new personalities, and new discussions, the only thing that remained constant was the venue and the sizeable crowd. From cinema to poetry, history, children?s literature, photography, music and even food, there was something for everyone packed into the festival.
Columnist and writer Shobhaa De and film director Mahesh Bhat set the ball rolling for this year?s edition with a candid conversation. Apart from delving into writing as a creative outlet and the art of storytelling, the conversation also featured a discussion on the state of women in India in the present times, particularly in light of the recent cases concerning women?s safety coming to light. ?From the time I was a middle-class daughter to the time I began playing the role of a mother, I find that at present it is a rather difficult time being a woman,? she said. Another lady who attracted quite a crowd was renowned filmmaker Mira Nair. Talking about her latest film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Nair?who was in conversation with Jai Arjun Singh?said, ?Truth is so much more powerful than fiction in my work. The spring board for making The Reluctant Fundamentalist was my first trip to Lahore. It was a familiar and moving experience. I was awed by the largeness of it, the art of it, things that are not always represented in the media. I wanted to portray contemporary Pakistan and also wanted to create a dialogue with America, which is also home for me. I believe that if we don?t tell our own stories, no one else will.? The film is based on Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid?s novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist and will be released in May.
Legendary poet and lyricist Gulzar?s session at the festival was overflowing with people as they jostled for space to catch a glimpse of and hear the words of a maestro. Gulzar read from his yet to be published book Half a Rupee. As unassuming as ever, the master poet interacted with the audience and shared anecdotes from his life experiences and the motivation he derives from them for his writings. The other session that matched the buzz and energy of Gulzar?s session was the one that featured one of India?s favourite and most loved writers Ruskin Bond and Sudha Murthy, wife of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy and also an accomplished writer herself. The discussion was centred around writing for young readers, and the audience, which was dotted with young children, some as young as six and seven, hung on to almost every word the two authors uttered. With his unabashed wit and humour, Bond, who has a colossal body of work when it comes to writing for children, gave a live demonstration of why most readers of English language in the country are in love with his writings and his personality. Speaking on his inspiration and responsible writing, Ruskin Bond said, ?When I was younger, we didn?t have any publishers, especially for children?s books, there was a void. As someone who?s grown up passionately wanting to be a writer, there is a sense of responsibility you feel towards your readers. When it comes to children, the responsibility is felt more as you want to instill good values in them while staying humorous as well.?
History might not be a favourite subject for many but Ramchandra Guha?s session suggested otherwise. Speaking to a packed house, Guha enthralled his audience with a sneak peek and a preview of his upcoming book on Mahatma Gandhi?s life before he joined India?s freedom struggle, Gandhi before India. The popular historian and writer, apart from talking at length about Gandhi and the material on him, also spoke on his inspiration to write this book. ?Before I come to the argument about the man, I thought I should first understand the man. During my research, I realised that virtually everything written on Gandhi was in Gandhi?s own words, all that he said or wrote. I wanted to go beyond Gandhi?s point of view, everything that he wrote on including caste, culture, and religion. I was interested in seeing what other people have to say about Gandhi. You really can?t understand the complexity of the man that was Gandhi unless you understand material outside the creative world. My aim through my work is to accomplish this,? said Guha.
