Impression
The fourth edition of Hyderabad Literary Festival made some
brows frown and voices heard. Giving a sweet taste to bibliophiles, it left a
void that was both un-accommodated and yet accommodated with writers in
'demand'. Cityplus brings you its snapshots.
If books bring you closer to different literatures of the
world, then literary fests bring those to you who actually create them. Under
the giant umbrella of lit fests 'literally' important and
oh-so-serious-discussions brew up on the dais ending with a cup of frothy tea
in the open lounge areas - the flavour depending on which side of the globe you
are from. From the hip hop Jaipur Lit Fest to the lesser-known Taj Lit Fest,
India's presence on literary map is making its stamp.
This year's Hyderabad Literary Festival saw a flock of
writers who flew from countries as far as Czechoslovakia, Germany, Scotland and
United States to Ireland, which was the guest nation of the lit fest.
Literary Street
At the five venues on Road No. 8, Banjara Hills Ashiana was
abuzz with hubbub of literary activities. Amidst the small book stalls set up
in the lawn established writers, wannabes, transgender writers, gay poets,
Dalit writers to teeny boppers and I-also-read flash mob jostled for space bumping
into occasional Oh-I-know-you figures.
Slight pecks, little shrieks, hands trying to balance
'Amish' atop 'The Chomsky Effect' saw discussions on Wilde and Whitman to
Ireland and Israel to lambasts on fading Spring Revolution. Other than the jostling
jamboree Hyderabad Lit Fest turned out to be heated cubicle for imperialistic
English.
The Panel
In the panel discussion 'Literature of Ireland' chaired by
Declan Meade, Kashmiri US poet and photographer RafiqKathwari, who is also an
honorary citizen of Ireland, called the English speakers in
once-British-colonies 'the children of Macaulay', "Our English
pronunciations tell how costly our education has been! Eight hundred years
before the British colonized India they had practiced Imperialism in Ireland.
That's how G. B. Shaw's writings are glorious as well as abusive. Writing
should find its way in tradition and still belong to the world of
literature." Irish writer Gabriel Rosenstock took over saying, "Apart
from Latin and Greek Irish is the oldest language and literature of the world.
The heritage we have is very rich."
From the discussions on 'World Englishes' to 'The Magical
Journey of Indian Cinema' the topics were as diverse as 'Speaking in Many
Voices' by noted writer Githa Hariharan. She launched a book of essays edited
by her named 'From India to Palestine: Essays in Solidarity'. She said,
"When it comes to Palestine, it is a product of movement against
colonization. Palestine is the last bastion of colonization. Within Israel it
is doing injustice not only to Palestinians but also to Israelis. There are
different strategies of attack over there. If you want to attack religion the
target is Jerusalem; commerce the target is Hebron, the commercial
centre."
On Translations
Spivak, arguably the most difficult cultural theorist of our
times emphasized that translations can be dangerously deceptive. But US poet
and translator Bill Wolak's translation of Persian poet Hafez's verses from
Persian into English was a breather. Many other Indian language poets like
DileepJhaveri conducted poetry readings with fluidity. The lying-low activists
were woken up with a jolt by the panel discussion 'Translating a Movement'
comprising the strong voices of flaring Telugu Dalit poet Gogu Shyamala and
others like Gita Ramaswamy and Purushotham K.
The Mix
Crunched between the readings were workshops, theatre
performances, new book releases for those on literary overdose. From the
popcorn munching hip students to old lit-lovers in crisp saris the five venues
of Hyderabad literary Festival, 2014 saw gossips on emerging writers, South
Asian voices, US residency programs to high profile publishing pimps on the
three days of the festival that began on January 24th and came to an end on
26th. Academics and literature watch dogs are already speculating what HLF 2015
will bring.
[This article had originally appeared in Jagran CityPlus
(Feb 1-7, 2014) Issue.
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