Bhopal literature Festival [ 10- 12 January 2020

In conversation with Hindol Sengupta about his very well - written biography , The Modern Monk 

Pleasantly surprised to see many of my books in the book stall ,
[ Where are the Lilacs ? A Skyful of Balloons , Bring out the tall Tales ],
 apart from Only in Darkness can you see the Stars. 

BHOPAL DIARIES : 

BHOPAL LITERATURE FESTIVAL, 2020

Although I have left Bhopal and Bhopal Literature Festival behind me ,[ January 10 – 12 January , 2020], I  also seem to have left a chunk of my heart to the loving people and  the rejuvenating and heart- warming ambience of Bhopal.  Heartland Stories  BLF 2020 [BHOPAL LITERATURE AND ART FESTIVAL] Organised by Society for Culture and Environment  was a very well curated festival and I enjoyed every moment.

On 11th January , the moment I headed towards the  arrival lounge in Bhopal,  I saw two pleasant faces looking at me from a desk next to a standee from which I could see the friendly words 'Bhopal literature Festival' welcoming me . I felt I had reached home and gaining  a certain surefootedness,  I walked towards the taxi  which immediately arrived there  .

 Without going to the hotel,  I headed straight for the venue , Bharat Bhawan  , as I wanted to make the best of the time left in the  second day’s sessions . I was warmly welcomed and taken  to Abhirang , where a session  [Solving Mysteries- Harini Srinivasan and Dr Pradeep Kapoor] was in full swing . It was a very interesting session with a  lot of interaction , where I also managed to ask a question or two.

Spearheaded by  Mr. Raghav Chandra [ Former Secretary, GOI, and Director of BLF]  and Meera Das [Conservation Architect and Co- Director ,  BLF ], the festival was wonderfully curated  , with many parallel sessions running in different halls .  Sadly enough , I could not attend Mr . Raghav Chandra’s session on  Kali’s Daughter , but  immediately bought this immensely gripping  book  on reaching Jaipur  and reviewing it for the e- magazine , learning and Creativity .com.
 Hopefully will  read and review the books of the other authors  I met here , soon . The Kavita Path session , anchored by Mr. Vertul Sigh and Mr . Pawan Jain was a wonderful experience and I loved listening to the highly acclaimed Hindi poets .

I couldn’t be a part of the sessions on 10^th , as I had my sessions only on the concluding day i.e 12^th January , and came to Bhopal only on 11th afternoon .

I had already heard a lot about The Nine -Chambered Heart  [Janice Pariat] , and was  happy that I could actively participate in this session too.  Hope to read and review this book soon .

On Day 3 , at  Abhirang , I attended the absolutely witty  and  incisive session on Tax raids and sex : Chronicles of a taxman, Ajay Mankotia and  Atima Mankotia. Conducted deftly by Seema Raizada, I  enjoyed the session  immensely  . Hope to buy and review ‘There ‘s  Seven for you , Three for Me : Chronicles of a Taxman ‘ by Vijay Mankotia , soon.

I would have loved to participate in all the sessions , but there were many parallel sessions , hence could manage to attend only a few . But whatever session I attended, I enjoyed every moment .

In the Story reading session , I read out  my short story , Tell me O  Narcissus , which  had won a cash prize in the story writing contest .

 In my session on Only in Darkness can you see the Stars , I was in conversation with two erudite scholars , Kaneez Razawi and Mr. Rakesh Agarwal. Dwelling at length on the fact , that King had been very inspired by Gandhi,   and had visited India for a month in the year 1959 , I also talked about Ballad of Bapu , telling the audience about the aabba rhyme scheme it was written in .

There was a man from Nantucket
Who kept all his cash in a bucket
He had a daughter named Nan
Who ran away with a man
and as for the bucket- Nan took it ! [Edward Lear]

When  Mr.  Vijay Mankotia  asked me to  recite a  limerick ,
conveying the message of Ballad of Bapu ,   I recited a couple of verses from the final pages of the book , giving the audience   an idea  how the rhyme scheme aabba was used in the book .

The King of England , Archbishop of Canterbury
Mourned the loss of an impoverished country .
Chiang Kai -Shek  and President Truman
Rued the death of so fine a man
Nations shocked by the loss extraordinary  .

The Dalai Lama of Tibet , the President of France
Dignitaries world over were in a trance.
 In times of utter moral decadence
This man of non- violence
Had towered over pygmies commanding reverence.

There were also questions about the present condition in the USA , King’s  legacy , and the American Dream . The Racist question , Malcolm X and the Ku Klux Klan also figured in the course of the discussions .
I was later  in conversation with Hindol Sengupta about his book The Modern Monk,  a hugely interactive session which I  enjoyed  thoroughly .

 
Then followed the valedictory function , I was almost afraid that I wouldn’t be able to attend it , because I had to catch my return  flight at 7 PM. But due to the flawless  arrangements , I , not only attended the valedictory function , received my prize and memento , but  was also able to reach the airport well in time .

I managed to make some absolutely wonderful  friends, Kaneez Razavi , Harini Srinivasan , Vinita Dhondiyal Bhatnagar  , Smita Singh,  Janice Pariat, but missed meeting Kiran Manral  , [ we had attended  the Ahmedabad Literature Festival , 2016] Meeting  the brilliant Rima Hooja after ages was indeed heart- warming .

Kudos to BLF Team for an extraordinarily well -organized  event where everything  was managed perfectly . Thanks Sulakshna Choudhry for always being around with a smiling countenance . Everyone -  the young volunteers ,  the taxi drivers , the hotel staff  were exemplary . And ,  yes, the food  was excellent!   

 I am back home with a bagful of memories in which I keep peeping every now and then , to inhale the refreshing fragrance and be rejuvenated .

Thanks BLF for making me a part of this festival .