HINDU LIT FOR LIFE: Day 1 - There is something about Trump?

BUT BEFORE WE GO THERE...
As 14th January is our Hindu New Year, let me treat you with the how the Hindu Lit Festival celebrated it.

The Grand Entrance to the Hindu Lit Festival

... and the beauty of new year

I have been writing about Hindu Lit Festival since its inception and as my friend Nirmala Lakshmanan, the Director of the Festival said that this time has been the most promising start with 15K registrations even before the festival began. Looking at the brochure with the details of its program, I think Hindu Lit Festival has surpassed itself in the content, quality and footfalls and above all the participation of the citizens of Chennai.

And then the session began... with the reluctant artist, opening up the festival.

...and remembering Chandralekha, by Tishani Doshi who in the beginning was even scared to ring the bell....

The best session of the day was reserved for Shashi Tharoor, who was able to manage a book out of a viral video "Era of Darkness" which is doing great but as it goes for a print in Britain but for obvious reason not with the same title...

Though it is not difficult to say, why the change of title but here are some of his quotes from his talk, which might let you know...

"They not only colonised the country, but also colonised the mind"

"Manu's thought was always there since 2000 years as Caste was, but the British were able to systemise it, which even continues today."

As I listened to him, tearing apart the systemic approach with which British went on being hypocritical about the reasons they were in India, I did not realise that I was sitting next to Geraldine Brooks, the pulitzer prize winner journalist, who in her next session talked so lovingly about the India, she has come to recognise....

"India has so many examples of moral leadership, who could stand opposite to oppression" -  Geraldine Brooks

And as she launched into the reasons for her book 'March' which won her the award in 2006, she was able to pinpoint the different way it came about. She was looking forward to an answer to the question she had in her mind...

"What happens to an idealist, when he goes to war?"

'The decay of ideals in times of war' and probably is the reason I find her voice resonating with me as she said...

"I think there is return to kind of nationalist Militant-ism" as she watched the twin towers going down, rhetoric of whites supremacist and the winning trump card - which brings to me to the most interesting phenomenon...

THE AGE OF TRUMP

Ok, there is no denying to it that it has arrived. Mark's Kurlansky - An American Author and journalist, who's daughter Talia (She co-authored a book with him at the age of 12) said that the day Trump became president - elect, her english teacher said...

"I am so sorry that my generation failed yours"

But I believe, as long as artists like Molly Crabapple, who called 'Spade - a spade' in declaring the Trump Mantra of 'Lets Make America Great Again'... is nothing but a call to 'Lets Make America WHITE Again"...

there is still a chance that the old generation has not failed the young generation. As in the end of the session, Brooks said, in an answer to the question from the audience...

"Art, freedom, thinking thrives most when its under threat" 

Amen!!

Looking forward to next few days .... Hope you have enjoyed this journey with me in Hindu Lit Festival. Please let me know your views..

__

Shashi 

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Om Namah Shivaya

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