Thursday 31 January 2013

JAIPUR LIT FEST'13—more to it than glamour


By N. Madhavan

Columnist/Associate Editor

Hindustan Times



Jaipur is just the place and the last week of January is just the right time to hold a literary festival. For one, there is a colourful air about the Rajasthani capital, with its exotic past and camels that go with history and the magic of the printed word. On the other hand, not far from Delhi, it is great for both those wanting to get away from the metro rush and international travelers at the end of a cold period to catch some sun.
The festival has acquired its own unique colour. 

credits- Shweta Maheshwari 

For a festival that calls itself the “greatest literary show on earth” it is not just about staid writers and sombre sessions. The Diggi Palace lawns, where the festival is held, has the air of an Indian mela, and has also acquired what some might call “Page 3” glamour with fashionable ladies and somewhat loud partying people making up the ambience. It also helps that the festival organizes musical evenings (this year shifted to the Amer area in the suburbs).
The festival this year was less controversial than last year, when writer Salman Rushdie was prevented from coming by Muslim group protests. This year,  protests erupted towards the end of the festival when sociologist Ashis Nandy mouthed a comment about corruption and backward/scheduled caste leaders. 

The furore underscored the fact that the festival has become a political event of sorts.
Alongside politics, the festival also sees a Bollywood touch. Lyricists Prasoon Joshi and Javed Akhtar and actress Sharmila Tagore were among the attendees this year, as was cricketer Rahul Dravid.  
So, is literature about such glamorous figures? Clearly not. While these lent fodder for the news media, there is undeniably some depth in the festival from less fashionable sessions held in the large tents and halls outside of the front lawns and the “Char Bagh” front grounds where the bigger sessions occur.

I particularly enjoyed a session on books about music, featuring Vikram Sampath, author of “My Name is Gauhar Jaan” -- about a British colonial era courtesan. There was another serious session on books about India’s Maoist heartland and the Northeast. Yet another one discussed the life of the mathematical genius, Srinivasa Ramanujan.
These sessions more than made up for criticism that the festival is shallow.
My high point as a Tamil speaker was listening to a US scholar, David Shulman, who is fluent in Indian languages and about the history of India’s temple towns and holy places. Such scholars are ones who notice only when a festival showcases offbeat topics and writers. For this, one must thank the organizers of JLF!



Saturday 26 January 2013

WANTED- POLITICAL IDOLS IN INDIA

Writerspoint wishes all it's readers in India, a very happy Republic Day.
As we celebrate our 64th Republic Day we marvel at how farsighted our constitution makers were!
The brilliant political leaders made our constitution rigid enough to maintain its basic structures and philosophy of the country and at the same time flexible enough to incorporate changes that time demanded. Even after 64 years, we awe at the makers of the Indian constitution for drafting the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world so successfully!
                                                                 _________
                                                          
Like everything around us, politics has also changed and continues to change rapidly. Today, when we look at politics, we cannot help but associate it with corruption and other mal-practises and eventually end up calling it 'dirty politics'. We no longer have political idols or political leaders, all that politics offer us today is ' politicians'. The youth today idolises actors and sportsmen, singers and dancers. Don't blame them, they do not have much choice because India has lost the recipe to create idols in the field of politics. 


Should we seek inspiration from Abhijit Mukherjee? Yes, son of our Honourable President who claimed that the women participating in the protests for Nirbhaya were “pretty women who were dented and painted”.
He said students who go to protest there think it is fashionable to hold candles and protest.
“This is almost like the Pink Revolution. These women who are protesting have no contact with ground reality. These pretty women, dented and painted, who come for protests are not students. I have seen them speak on television, usually women of this age are not students,” Our politicians make such comments on critical issues like gang rape.
Can politicians like him who do nothing but make obnoxious comments and objectify women become idols for our generation ? 


If not him, how about Laxman Savadi and CC Patil? The Karnataka state ministers were caught watching porn in the State Assembly. Now, they are perfect political idols, aren't they ? 
Ironically CC Patil was the minister for women and child development! This is what he had to say- "The truth is like this... The mobile phone had a video of a rape incident. The victim is murdered by the rapists. Subsequently, the people chase the rapists and catch them. Later, the government awards death sentence to the accused. Patil and myself were sympathising with the victim."
 They are the representatives who are elected by the people with the hope that giving them position of such great powers will change the condition of our country. But unfortunately, for them State Assembly is not a place to discuss issues of social welfare, but a place to watch porn! We can certainly not expect youth to seek inspiration from ministers like them! 

We might be stupid enough to elect you, but we are not stupid enough to believe what you say, irrespective of what we see! 


How about Mayawati ? This Indian politician who claims to be working for the downtrodden and backward classes of our country chose to spend 685 crore on a mere park with statues of herself and stone carved elephants! Dear miss Mayawati, had you used all that money for setting up schools for children of backward classes, you would have done so much good. Unfortunately politicians of our country do not know how to work towards something even if they have a good cause to work for. So I don't blame my friends who idolise Salman Khan for his N.G.O Being Human.
     ___________

While the list of politicians like them is very very long, only two names pop up in my mind when I think of Political Idols of 21st Century in India.

 AUNG YANG SU KI 

"It is true that I have lived abroad. It is also true that I am married to a foreigner. These facts have never interfered and will never interfere with or lessen my love and devotion for my country by any measure or degree."

A.P.J ABDUL KALAM

"To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal"
  ________

Their words are enough to inspire us, their actions make us look up to them. What they have done for us and our country is something we cannot pay back. What we can do is respect them and their ideas! 
It must be a lonely path, with every single day a challenge. To stand up for your rights without flinching, to face humiliation and violence with courage, without retaliating violently - Oh no, not everybody can do that...
But they have done it for India and for us! We need more like them.

Tell us about the political leaders of India you idolise. We need more like them ! 









Wednesday 23 January 2013

INTERVIEW FOR CONNECT ASIA NETWORKS




Connect Asia Networks (C.A.N), a unique global platform dedicated to engage, enrich and empower through eduainment featured me as a 21st Century Change Maker as a part of their initiative called 21st Century Change makers- Talk Less, Do More.
This is a milestone for Writerspoint!


follow this link to - Read the interview at CAN.


Kai: Hi! Shivesh, how do you like to introduce yourself to CAN?


SB: I am an eleventh grade student from India. I don’t like to keep my feelings buried. I prefer to share it with people around me. For this I take to words as they are powerful and can make or break our world, shape opinions and motivate minds. My tryst with writing began back in 2008, when I won a National Level Article writing competition. After that my articles began to get published in newspapers and I realized- I can write! Two years later, in 2010, I decided to create a forum where, I could share what I write. Writerspoint was born!

Kai: So Writerspoint – yeah I get it… Writer’s point without apostrophe and space :) .. tell me more!
SB: Writerspoint’s objective is to create and share ideas. It is not just about my ideas, but of others also who have something inspirational to share. This December, we completed a year. Eight experts from different field took to Writerspoint to share their inspirations. I believe; share happiness and it will double, share sorrows and they will divide, share ideas and they will multiply, and that is the agenda!

Kai: What is the source of your Inspiration?
SB: Different people and different situations inspire me. There was a class-room discussion on ‘stereotyping Muslims’; which inspired me to write a story. When a friend shared her ballet class experiences; I was motivated to pen a dancer’s story. Each story evolves from a different inspiration.

Kai: What is the best part of being the conductor of Writers point?
SB: Writerspoint is my child. Writerspoint gives me the joy of being able to share what I write. It has also given me recognition. At the end of the day, when you write something you want it to be read. Writerspoint has given me those readers!

Kai: Amazing…what are the challenges that you face?
SB: Being a student, I have to manage Writerspoint with daily school, homework, projects, tests and exams. So, time is the biggest challenge. Especially during exams writing a blog post becomes impossible. After exams, I get depressed when I realize I have not written since some time!

Testing Prototype & Executing Finale
Kai: How do you convert the ideas/inspiration to features at Writerspoint?
SB: Ranjit Lal, who has penned many fiction and non-fiction writing for children and adults talked about an ‘idea box’. He said you should observe people and your surroundings and maintain a box, where you put all the ideas you get. So whenever I get an idea I make a draft in my hand phone and when I get the time to write, I use these ideas.
Paro Anand, introduced me to this very interesting technique – Bum In Chair. You just have to sit on a chair, with an idea in your mind and a pen in your hand. A good story will come by itself. If you keep thinking of an idea and keep planning things in air, it will vanish within no time. So Whenever I have time, I take my pad and start writing. Sometimes I end up tearing couple of pages. After a while, I am actually able to write something good enough to post on Writerspoint.

Inevitable Invisibles
Kai: Who are the people who help you execute Writerspoint? What is their role in your success?
SB: I am very fortunate to have talented friends, who have always helped me not only with execution but ideation also. Manya Ahuja, who provided photographs for three blog posts, is so talented that her pictures speak 1000 words! She has arranged these images in the shortest deadlines and has never compromised on quality. Another friend, Mitul Lall did pictures for a feature by a published Indian author. The pictures she clicked were simply beautiful. Shweta Maheshwari who modeled for them also deserves special mention. Together they make a terrific team! The three of them have done so much for Writerspoint for absolutely nothing.Divya Mittal helped me to spread blog’s reach by taking it to more people. She also manages Writerspoint’s Facebook page. There are other friends like Ipsita Aggarawal, Kalash and Kanagana Pandya who have been true pillars of support.
Besides them, I owe Writerspoint’s success to all those who read the blog and appreciate it. All the love not only makes us feel good but also encourages us to do better.

Kai: What is your New year vision and where do you see Writerspoint 5 years from now?
SB: Writerspoint has grown from a personal blog to a platform where number of people work hard to give readers an amazing reading experience. We have had around 6000 page views and audience from 10 countries! Within a year, renowned authors like Paro Anand and Ranjit Lal have given us interviews. Other professionals, authors, illustrators and actors have written for us. It is a matter of great pride and we wish to take it further. I also plan to start taking articles from other student writers because as I said, the ideas will multiply. 5 years from now, I hope to see Writerspoint as a developed website with a huge number of writers and a lot more readers.
Kai: Wow, you are inspiring! One big advice to CAN young-ones and grownups
SB: To the youth my advice is to develop the talent/ interest you have. All of us have hidden skills, try and discover it. Don’t hesitate to do what you want to. Remember, no one is going to make your dreams come true for you. It is your job to get up every day and work towards it. What is important is to enjoy every step of the journey.
To the grownups: When a child is young, parents make him/her join all kind of art, music and dance classes to develop ‘interest’ but when it comes to actually pursuing an interest, they are the first ones to disapprove. Most parents don’t want their children to become artists, whether dancer, actor or musician. I want them to realize that your child will be happy in true sense only when he/she gets to do what he/she likes. You should support or at least consider their decision with an open mind.

Kai: I wish I could talk to you forever but I GTG…Any parting thoughts you like to share?
SB: Recently we have collaborated with different people and organizations. We officially covered Bookaroo Festival’ 12 and interviewed many authors there. We also collaborated with a talented group of illustrators called Kuchh Macchli and they launched their short film “Odyssey” on Writerspoint. The main objective behind this is to grow. The idea is – Don’t tell us sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon. I hope we are headed in the right direction!

Kai 5- BIG 5 Take Home’s from Shivesh:
Take 1: Having a dream is not enough! I need to wake up and work towards making it a reality!
Take 2: Chair the bum and box the ideas! (Focus without forgetting!)
Take 3: Friends are blessing in disguise (i love my friends any way!!)
Take 4: Having a vision helps me see the future without a crystal ball
Kai’s Favourite Take 5: Don’t tell us sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon