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Oct 31, 2011

TALKING POINT : And the winner is... "Lit For Life 2011" PART II

2nd Day of Hindu Literary Festival and the winner is ... Hindu and HIRCO (Main sponsor of the evening) for providing such an uplifting experience.

Rahul Bhattacharya recieving the prize for Best Fiction
at Hindu "Lit For Life 2011" at Chennai Festival
It was a pleasure to see a very talented and humble person and a new friend, Rahul Bhattacharya winning The Hindu Literary Prize for Best Fiction 2011' for his lovely book “The Sly Company of People Who Care”. The book tells the story about a young Indian's Caribbean adventures in the company of a Guyanese diamond-hunter in a very fresh way. As this post is about the Hindu “Lit For Life” festival, I will restrict myself to the same but not before recommending everyone to read this book, more so if you are planning to visit Guyana as it has the captured the soul of the place and people.

In its Sunday Review Column, New York Time’s Dinaw Mengestu says about the book, ‘But its (book’s) heart lies in the exuberant and often arresting observations of a man plunging himself into a world full of beauty, violence and cultural strife” (To read the full review, click here...)

The Hindu Lit For Life Festival 2011 – Day Two

Scent of Paper
(Kavery Nambiar, K Srilata)

Kaveri Nambiar, K Srilata in conversation with Parvati Nayar
The session on the Sunday morning felt like having a chat with friends with an aroma of freshly brewed filter coffee in the air. The discussion about juggling two passions i.e. being a writer as well as a surgeon, Kavita brought out her heartfelt thought, which I could relate to. “As a writer, you are taking a tremendous risk in bringing out into the open your inner feelings and thoughts”.

K Srilata, a professor of Humanity at IIT, shared her lovely journey of being poet and a writer. “I began as a poet and it has helped a lot in writing”.

Freeze Frame

Anjum Rajabali, Balu Mahendra, K Hariharan with
Singeetham Srinivasa Rao
This discussion was about transforming words to image, about the essence of capturing the texture of society through movie script and camera, which was very beautifully steered by K Hariharan, who engaged stalwarts of Tamil Cinema and powerful script writer from Bollywood Anjum Rajabali (who has given us movies like Gulam, Rajneeti, Aarakshan etc.) effortlessly. It was a pleasure to see and hear the 80 year old Singeetham Srinivasa reminiscing about the old days and how the movies were made at that time. He advises, “The most important for good films is the back drop and texture of the society. 

Anjum Rajabali said, answering to Hariharan’s query about how he gets started on writing a script for movie, “Usually it starts with a question – What if...? e.g. in situation like a mother gets off from a bus to fetch water for her child, what if the bus leaves before she gets back?. He says that he usually writes what he would like to see on the screen. 

Talking about Pushpak, the director Mr. Singeetham said that there were innumerable pressures from the producers, distributors to add some song or at least a dream sequence in the movie which was without any dialogue, but I refused to do so as that movie did not require it. But when I make a popular movie, I go all out to add color and sound to it. He remembered that when the first time he saw Chitralekha (a super hit movie Tamil Movie), he did not like it as he was young, idealist and was full of perceptions about good movies. But years later when he saw it again, he enjoyed it very much. He admits now that what took seconds for the masses to appreciate, took me 25 years.

The Translation Workshop
Arunava Sinha and Mini Krishnan

Well with 100’s of people in the jam packed hall at Hyatt Hotel, one can not really have a workshop. So it turned out to a kind discussion about and appreciation of the art of translating, which was very well handled by Mini Krishnan

The session had it's high points like sharing three different translation of a Hindi paragraph from a very powerful 100 year old story – The chess Player by the great Hindi writer Munshi Premchand. Arunava Sinha got the audience worked up to the point of being equally divided, supporting all three versions. Personally I was sure that the first version was the best as सिर धुनना (Sar Dhun-na meaning slapping on the head with one’s own hand – not as one of the lady from the audience said “scratching head”) in the context only meant ‘utter sorrow’, like what one feels in case of the death of one’s family member. That was the only time, I actually stood up to clarify, but by the time I could catch attention of the moderator, the discussion had passed on to other things.

Ultimately the session ended with the thought that there is no right or wrong way to translate, only responsible way to convey the essence of the book. “Yes, when you pour perfume from one bottle to another, you are bound to lose some of its essence” as Shabana Azmi pointed out in the very next session...

Unlimited spirit
Shabana Azmi

Clad in very beautiful sari, Shabana Azmi was grace personified. And as she went on to talk about the beautiful book “Kaifi and I” written by her mother Shaukat Azmi, she shared that the love for sari she had inherited from her mother. After landing at Chennai Airport, she took time off to change into sari to come to this festival.

“I learned acting from my mother as she was very focussed and sincere actor who will sink into the character days before the play and keep repeating the dialogues, wherever she was” says Shabana Azmi and goes to share a lovely story about how her mother kept everyone in the household on tenterhooks when she was preparing for the role of “Pagli” – A mad woman. She says that her focus on social work was inspired by the thought of her father that “the art should be used for social change” and triggered by one of the women from a slum, who she got to know (and later on became a good friend), when she was acting as one.

“No, there was no pressure at all from my father, Kaifi Azmi for doing social work, as he was convinced that the soil is ready (by the samskaras, he has passed on to his children) and at the right moment, the plant will take root” answered Shabana Azmi to a question, if there was pressure growing up as child of a political activist.

Moving on, let’s talk Cricket with veteran’s of Cricket Journalism – a passion equally shared by Mr. Shashi Tharoor who was the chief guest of the day.

Unlimited Spirit

A really gifted gathering in terms of sports journalism with veterans like Mukul and Rahul Bhattacharya along with Shashi Tharoor, who has been passionate about cricket since long. There was much sharing of anecdotes and memories about sports in general and about cricket in specific, but I am leaving you with two in particular here.

In response to the sentiments of one of the audience, that we should not waste time in playing, watching or talking about cricket, when there is poverty to eradicate, social issues to tackle etc, Shashi Tharoor says, “Would you say that people should not listen and watch the music festival that happens in for almost a month in every December in Chennai. Yes there is poverty, there are other issues and challenges facing the country, but cricket is something that inspires people too, makes the gifted one’s to reach heights that would not have been possible otherwise for people who come from very different back ground like Dhoni, Irfan and so many more”

“20-20 matches are like continuous orgasmic crescendo” - Mukul Kesavan

And the show goes on... leaving you with some thoughts and images from the upcoming two sessions and final culmination of the two days of Hindu Literary festival “Lit For Life 2011” into the award function.

Rivered Earth
Nisha Susan and Vikram Seth

With Nisha Susan as gracious host and a very humble and down to earth guest, Vikram Seth, the session was uplifting for the jam packed hall at Hyatt hotel with crowd lining along the wall as well as filling the lobby where a large LCD was placed for people who could not get space inside. With poetry and music, Vikram Seth kept the crowd asking for more... and then came the final crescendo, with Vikram getting up and reciting “Fire, Faayar, Faayaar...” to thunderous round of applause... The session was too beautiful to convey by mere words, so I am leaving you with some images...

Vikram Seth reading from book Rivered Earth
Vikram Seth reading his fiery poetry...

All in all, it was a tremendous experience for me, to see, learn and assimilate various thoughts from the stalwarts of literature, media and movie in two days of the Hindu Literary Festival 2011.
Some thoughts and some questions.. 
Time to reflect... Saugata and Arunava
Many moods, many colors... Shabana Azmi and Vikram Seth
Overflowing to the wings and the lobby...
Sumeet Shetty with Vikram Seth
... and that's me with Rahul

This post is for the people who have missed to be there at the festival, although I could not upload all the images that I have had taken, to share. If you like any one of the images up there, let me know, I would send the HIGH Resolution images. 

I hope you have enjoyed the journey with me at Hindu Literary Festival 2011 – Chennai and to read the first day's going on, please click here...
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On the side lines of festival...
It was actually very funny to see, the clock work performance of “Attention seeking three musketeers”, as one of the lady aptly named the kind. They will be invariably up at one time or another, in each of the session of the festival, to grab the mike and ask, in their own very typical way, some banal, pseudo intellectual questions.
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नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya

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Hindu “Lit For Life” Part I

Oct 30, 2011

TALKING POINT : Hindu Literary Festival - Lit For Life 2011

First day of Hindu Literary Festival 2011 – Chennai
I have been waiting for the Hindu’s Lit For Life 2011 - Chennai – A literary festival spread over two days i.e 29th Oct and 30th Oct. Cancelled all my activities for these 2 days and focussed on only one thing, to find out for myself what the great writers are made of? I am not a writer in professional sense of it. Though I do write, from time to time, some sort of personal poetry, especially a kind of Haiku that I call Haiku T or Free Form Haiku and have this blog where I blog it. So I was surprised when the invitation for this festival came from Siyahi. Why me? But instead of questioning my good luck, I ensured that I am there at the new Hyatt Hotel at Mount Road in Chennai on 29th Oct, at 10 AM and be the kind of people, who Mohammad Hanif wondered about in the very first session – what kind of people turn up for a literary festival at 10.30AM on Saturday?

CMD of HIRCO, the sponsor of the Festival and Mr. David Davidar

The inaugural session was lovely, got to see a beautiful presentation about how the real estate companies like HIRCO are easing up the pressure on the cities like Chennai to take the construction towards satellite towns as well as hear CMD of HIRCO, Mr. Firdose Vandrewala’s one very beautiful story about the tradition of drawing water from the well as a bonding routine for the women of the country side. Well the other story, I am sorry to say (Believe me, it’s coming from a north Indian who has been living in Chennai for one and Half decade), was too much for the morning edition of Chennai crowd (as well as a very old joke)


Just In The Neighbourhood

Mohammad Hanif
The “Just In The Neighbourhood” discussion with Mohammad Hanif got us to a very lovely start and into the hyper mode with an introduction which made him out to be the most versatile conjuror of “F” words, which he later proved it to be true too. Particularly in case of the place he is currently living as he said, "A city which is pretty as well as...". The discussion was very interesting with full of insights from a pilot, who turned out to be a great writer. It was a pleasure to hear such a successful author from Pakistan with so much humility as well as genuine interest to bond with the audience. To top it all, he had a kind of humour that hits you both ways... e.g “Yes there are book shops in Pakistan” – 
But the most amazing and powerful thing that I took from his session are his words “To be a writer, start reading first” Perfect advice and I agree with you Mr. Hanif, so much.


Destination Detectives

Rahul Bhattacharya
As this session set the ball rolling, there could not have been a better way than to call in the Destination Detectives – Rahul Bhattacharya and Latha Anantharaman. Latha’s one comment got me glued to the whole session was “Irritation of an oyster leads to the birth of a pearl” and then Rahul with his charm, wit and his passion took over to really get me into the groove of the festival. It was good to hear that there are still some places apart from Mauritius, where Bhojpuri has an impact (I am from eastern UP, so it touched me) on the underlying culture of the society. Whereas the land of Bhojpuri in India – which is eastern UP and Bihar, is still stuck in the quagmire of politics, poverty and exploitation of all kinds including folk songs, music and films. Later on, when I caught up with Rahul and asked him, about Bhojpuri effect, he says, it would have been wonderful, if he had been a Bhojpuri person like me... So it was heartening to hear that our Bhojpuri folk music has some impact there in Guyana and searched for the specific song, Rahul had talked about in the discussion and here it is... Lotay-La
(You should check this You Tube Video too, called Lotay-La Original too, if you like. Though it’s called original is not actually the original song, Rahul correct me if I am wrong... I put this one here as it has better picture and sound quality...)


Is writing a healing?


In the next session, “Is writing a healing?” I thought was going to deal with healing as individual writers or readers, but not as community. I guess it was my fault in thinking or being narrow minded about it. Though I personally feel that in the emotional sense, writers and his/her words are more therapeutic individually (one to one) rather than at the mass level. At the mass level, I guess, it tends to be more of a rhetoric, or a clarion call like iconic “inquilab zindabad” or kind of movement like Anna Hazare’s, but not something, that one can take to one’s personal space and read or think about... anyways the session was great and as P Sivakami said, later on “In reality all writer’s are healers”. So true.


THE HARDSHIPS OF WRITING

Then came the most important session, that I was looking forward to – The tragedy workshop by Zac O’Yeah. Since the registrations for the session was already closed, and I wrongly assumed that I can not attend it, so I left for a meeting. Luckily by the time I came back, the session was still on and well it was on for every one of the audience too. So, luckily, I could catch the real essence of the whole workshop – The stages of Writing

A)    Conceptualisaion
B)    Execution
C)    Editing


...and was able to listen to Zac O’Yeah saying, “For me, the editing is the most beautiful part” and he then goes on to give the most valueable advice too, in my opinion, “Take a 6 weeks break before you touch your book for editing. It will give you fresh insight for your work”. Though I have not yet started on the book, but I think I got the best advice from this session and a great powerful software for the writers – Ywriter from SpaceJock. Thank you Zac O’Yeah for this free software, which I think is or should be a ‘must’ for budding writers.


Saugata Mukherji Publisher Pan Macmillan India
OTHER SIDE OF BOOKS

The “Other Side of Books” got some of us thinking, that it’s all publishing talk and I don’t have to be here till I have actually written a book but personally speaking, I got it all wrong. The talk was lovely with Ravi Singh, Karthicka VK, Saugata Mukherji along with Urvashi Butalia and It’s really good to know what publishers would like to publish and what not... So here is the inside info...

Ravi Singh Publishing Director
Aleph and Rupa Publication
Management books, 7-ways / 70 or 100 ways to do this or that... is a strict no-no nowadays with reputed publishers. If you want to really get the publishers breaking your doors, especially Harper Collins, write Erotica or Sports Book. Well, come to think of it... Is Yoga is considered a sport or it’s only an thought arresting ... :-)? 


On the side lines, I was wondering where the poor fellows who write spirituality books will go? Self Publish, may be?

The best quote came from Ravi Singh from the session. “Pricing is an occult science” I agree. Could never work that out even after long explanation from the dais...


Suhasini Maniratnam - Actor and Producer
It was an interesting session with Suhasini Maniratnam, Khaled Mohamed and Anna M.M. Vetticad about Film Review, Film critics and social media. The beauty in the words of Suhasini Maniratnam hit me like a bolt from the sky. I always wondered, why the song and if there has to be a song then why dancers etc etc.. and she says, “Song is a multiplication of Joy, and with lots of dancers and chorus you multiply it even more” Then goes on to say, a great film reviewer herself, “That in the final stages of her productions, i.e 6 months before release, she stops buying magazines and looking at the reviews or news about the movies, she is producing, as it will only confuse”
REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST

Khaled Mohammed
In the next session, Khaled Mohammed and Anna Vetticad gave some really wonderful thoughts. Khaled says,”Reviewing is a very tough” as well as “Writing is the most difficult art” And I agree, that is the reason I still have not started writing... J And then he goes on to add, “I miss lots of people in my life, that’s why I write – to bring them back” I salute you Mr. Khaled, what a lovely and powerful thought.
Anna M M Vetticad - Journalist and Critic
In the final session, Anna Vetticad gave perfect thoughts about social media which is actually true and very apt in the age of information meltdown.
“You have to be accountable to every single word you write”
“On social media, you need to be more disciplined and less self indulgent”
“(On social media, its) the audience that makes you a great critic”


COMIC TIMING
And the ending was admirably perfect with Vir Das coming on to the stage and wondering, why the hell he is there in a literary festival... a great and powerful stand up comedian who is not afraid to make fun of himself in public.... well I think he needs to do it first to himself, so that he can get away with the way he rips apart other people ... ;-) in the end, here I leave you with his introduction...


Hope you have enjoyed enjoyed my ramblings and will come back for the Day Two of Hindu Literary Festival 2011 – Chennai

Some of the GUYS WHO SPOKE UP...



Well some really did rather bad... 


To be continued tomorrow... Part II
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नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
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IndiBlogger Meet



Oct 29, 2011

TALKING POINT: Genius Mathematician - The Monk Who Solves


Today I woke up to read that Mahan Maharaj of Belur Math won the highest honor of mathematics in India "Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award". Mahan Maharaj is a Monk at Belur Math in Kolkata, set up by another great spiritualist, Swami Vivekananda. I have been going to this ashram for many years, as its very close to Dakshineshwar temple which I visit regularly and found the environment full of energy and peace. Probably that is why this Monk, could find inner peace to do, what he is passionate about - Solving Mathematical problems. It’s interesting to note that his focus lead him to this place, whereas after enviable degrees from IIT, University of California... he could have been living an easy corporate life in the most urban and beautiful places in the world.

Here is the story about this monk in the news paper Times of India - Chennai Edition

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GENIUS IN ROBES

Ramkrishna Mission monk wins country’s top mathematics award

Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey TNN 



Kolkata: 
...Mahan Maharaj has been awarded this year’s Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for mathematics, the highest academic honour in the country. This is the first time that any monk has won the award. 


Since the day the award was announced, the Ramkrishna Mission Vivekananda University has been flooded with phone calls and visitors from the media trying to meet this brilliant mathematician who has been working with hyperbolic geometry and topology for nearly two decades now. However, Mahan Maharaj has been completely elusive, denying interviews for which he is at the same time shy and apologetic. On Thursday afternoon, TOI caught him off guard. With the sun streaming in from the west into his cubicle, Maharaj sat at his computer. “How can I tell you what I have done to receive this award within the span of an interview? I have worked at certain mathematical problems for nearly 18 years and it is not possible to sum it up in layman’s language,” came the somewhat exasperated reply when asked about his work. 


The 45-year-old is fluent in English, Hindi and Bengali. Born Mahan Mitra, he studied in St Xavier’s Collegiate School till Class XII and cracked IITJEE to enter the prestigious IIT Kanpur to study electrical engineering. Soon, he realized that he was not enjoying this field and changed to mathematics. After completing his MSc, he went to University of California, Berkeley. And when he returned to Kolkata with an enviable set of degrees, he renounced the world and became a monk. 
    He joined the Ramkrishna Mission order in 1998 and graduated to monkhood in 2008. 
    Does the award bring him any ‘satisfaction’? “It’s my work that brings me satisfaction. I just want to keep doing sums till the end. The award is incidental. There’s so much to be done that one lifetime is not enough. In my lifetime, I will be able to learn only a small fraction of mathematics,” says Maharaj . 
    After such an illustrious career, why did Mahan Mitra choose to be a monk? “Perhaps because I wanted to find the peace to work away at mathematical problems!” he laughs, easing off at last. “I am enjoying being a monk as much as I enjoy my mathematics,” he adds, good humouredly. Maharaj travels all over the world collaborating with mathematicians and lecturing students.

Story curtsy: Times Of India - Click here to read...
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ॐ नमः शिवाय 
Om Namah Shivaya


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From software professional to Swami

Oct 27, 2011

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL : Vladimir Kush - Another Salvador Dali?


Recently I came across an artist, whose paintings made me think about Salvador Dali. Vladimir Kush’s painting style hits you with a new vision, color and ideas about the things he paints about... just like the Dali...
Divine Geometry - Valdimir Kush

For example “Divine Geometry” the artist shows us the boundaries of the Earth's night. Two conical bundles are defined by the illumination of the Moon. This is the viewpoint of an observer, high above the Earth in the Cosmos. A romantic mood is created by the artist conveyed by the night voyage of the sailboat around the globe.

His paintings created a deep impression within and thought of sharing some of his painting images below. But before that, here is brief biography of the immensely talented painter....

Vladimir Kush
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A Brief Biography
Vladimir Kush
Vladimir Kush was born in Russia, in a small one-story wooden house on the northern edge of Moscow, near the forest-park, Sokolniki.

Vladimir Kush entered the Moscow Higher Art and Craft School at age 17, but a year later he was conscripted. After six months of military training the unit commander thought it more appropriate to employ him exclusively for peaceful purposes, namely, painting propagandistic posters. After military service and graduating the Institute of Fine Arts, Vladimir painted portraits on Arbat Street to support his family during the hard times in Russia.

In the year 1987, Vladimir began to take part in exhibitions organized by the Union of Artists. At a show in Coburg, Germany in 1990, nearly all his displayed paintings sold and after closing the Exhibition, he parted ways with the two other Russian artists that had accompanied him. He flew to Los Angeles where 20 of his works were exhibited and began his “American Odyssey.”

In Los Angeles, Kush worked in a small, rented home garage, but was unable to find a place to display his paintings. He earned money by drawing portraits on the Santa Monica pier and eventually was able to purchase a ticket to his “Promised Land,” Hawaii.

In 1993, a dealer from France noticed the originality of Kush’s work and organized an exhibition in Hong Kong at the Schoeni Art Gallery. Success surpassed all expectations. In 1995, a new exhibition in Hong Kong at the Mandarin Fine Art Gallery brought more success. In 2001 Kush opened his first gallery, Kush Fine Art in Lahaina, Hawaii. He now has 4 gallery locations in the USA with future plans to open in Hong Kong.

Text and Images: From his site.. 

Now some of the images that has touched me deeply...
Edge of the world - Vladimir Kush

Breach - Vladimir Kush

Departure of Winged Ship - Vladimir Kush

Family tree - Vladimir Kush

Garden Of Eden - Vladimir Kush
 Forgotten Sun Glasses - Vladimir Kush


Stopped Moments - Vladimir Kush

To the Top - Vladimir Kush

The Shot - Vladimir Kush
Hope you have enjoyed this post and if you would like to know more and see more of his paintings, please have a look at his website... Vladimir Kush


Leaving you with a wonderful YouTube Video showcasing his paintings... Enjoy!!!


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ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
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