ORANGE CITY LITERATURE FESTIVAL

After a warm welcome by the anchor, Moderator Mr Tushar Mulay gives a brief overview of the session and puts forth a few questions about Subhash Chandra Bose for Mr Kingshuk Nag to answer. Mr Kingshuk appreciates the overview and answers Mr Muleys questions by talking about how the files that document Subhash Chandra Bose’s death have been made public by the government and why the story doesn’t convince him. Mr Kingshuk goes on and talks about how right before the independence of India, the British were in a hurry to leave and so were the officers posted in the subcontinent, who hadn’t been home since the beginning of the Second World War. This led to an exodus of British officers from India and thus, a number of higher-ranking positions were taken up by Indians. That’s how one officer unearthed a number of files that opened the secrets of the Empire including the death of Subhash Chandra Bose. The discussion between Mr Kingshuk and Mr Tushar goes on in the same direction with a few more questions and after an interesting discussion, it comes to a close.

“Hindu is a very broad term. We cannot bind it in preconceived thoughts. To be Hindu, you don’t need to wear “Janau” on your coat, neither you need to read Geeta or Ramayan. You even don’t need to believe in God to be a Hindu. You can choose to go by the path of Meera, Charvak, Kabir or whoever you want to be with. Hindus have freedom of everything. We have a habit of creating boundaries. Hindu code bill defines who Hindu is. Live and Let Live should be the motto of Hindu. Hindu may don’t have Gods or books but still, you are Hindu. We can choose between Bharat and Hindustan, and there is no problem. Political connotation has separate Bharat and Hindustan. Politics is being taken negatively rather; it is an important part of Democracy. You can be of any party and any religion. At independence, Britishers thought we couldn’t take independence because we were backwards. But we have proven that we are strong Democracies. People with 50 MPs became Prime minister, and Rajiv Gandhi, with 415 MPs, couldn’t complete his terms. All this is part of Hindustan’s Democracy. It is important to summarize your experience at some point; that’s why I tried to be put my thought into this book.”

Mr Vikram Sood is the former head of India’s foreign intelligence agency R&AW and has authored a number of books about his adventures and experiences working for the agency. In conversation with Dr Paturkar, Mr Sood talks about how direct conflicts are immensely complicated and require a lot of events to lead up to them. As the conversation moves ahead, Mr Sood and Dr Paturkar take a deep dive into the role of narrative in the event of conflicts and internal as well as external security. Mr Sood explains why it’s very important to judge international decisions by what the specific nation considers the right thing to do in terms of its government and the narrative among the people. How every external decision eventually leads to internal gained or lost points makes sense when Mr Sood brings his points to the table. The conversation rolls on in the same direction as conclusions start rolling in and with that, a fruitful and informative conversation comes to a close.

“The way we have defined nationalism and Hindutva is a significant aspect of History. It has been ignored. We have been told that was a very wrong History. It was not about data but chaps and people. Our History was made boring. We were told that there was no Bharat, but Britishers came and taught us some manners. Ramjanmbhoomi movements need attention. It is important for History. I am talking about China, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, RSS and many other things. Our ideals were forgotten. I am not a professional historian, but we don’t have baggage. History can be a very interesting subject, and we just need to rewrite it properly. I try to cover History from 1925 because very little material is available. Ganga-Jamuni Tahzeeb is also false. The academic curriculum was wrong; that’s why many people still hold that falsified History. RSS saved Darbar Sahib 2 times, but there is no mention of this event. Oral tradition has a huge part to play, but we have forgotten that nowadays. Non-fiction books usually promote truth or theory. I used the internet very minutely but read a lot of reference books. You can access these resources through endnotes. It creates a chain that takes you to the source. Our History is written colonial point of view; that’s why we need to Rewrite History.”

This book is amazing, extraordinary and a page-turner. The story revolves around Jeevanram and a young trainee who works under him in the night shift at the mortuary of the Grand Trunk Hospital in Mumbai. The young trainee, who has a degree in business management, has started working in the hospital under compulsion as he couldn't find any other job. He is not very comfortable with the fact that he has to deal with dead bodies. On his first night at work, he threw up all over the floor at the sight of a dead body, as seeing death from a very close range is not something he is used to. Thus, Jeevanram, who has been working in the mortuary for the past three decades, starts telling him stories that will help him face his fears and give him courage.

These bone-chilling nine dark stories deal with the horrors of the human psyche, loneliness, guilt, loss, and emotional struggles of an individual. I kept the writing style simple and how have developed each story. These stories are horrific, and the ending of each story makes the reader contemplate. Some loved reading stories are 'The Old Woman's Soul', 'Meeting Freddie', and 'The Lookalike'.

“My favourite character was Sita. She was and is part of our lives. I always drew to her story of strength, courage and patience. I wanted to bring out the qualities she has in my book that every woman can aspire to. She has gone through a lot, and we can learn a lot from her life. My father had a scientific temperament where he explained very evidently the story of Ramayana. I found pride in all religious literature, where there is so much to learn and understand. I did research which gave me insights, and I wrote. Sita was a princess, and overnight she had to go forest, and she didn’t mind. Sita was a “Gungrahi” who attracted positivity and absorbed goodness.”

In an exciting conversation with Author Rupa Bhullar about Unconditional Love, Transformation and Literature at Orange City Literature Festival. Ms Bhullar talked about how she relied on writing as a tool to push through her fog of emotions. The session discussed how writing became a comfort for her and her journey from deciding her story to delivering the book in three months. When it comes to Unconditional Love, Ms Bhullar says Unconditional Love is when they want to see you happy. When asked about the top three tips for writing, she replied with three very easy to remember tips. She advised budding authors not to wait for perfection, be open to being vulnerable, rejection and criticism, believe in oneself, and never give up.

“The research work for this book was pure nectar. I enjoyed studying our scriptures. I immersed myself in them. I observe, meditate and learn teachings of the great wisdom of our seers and sages. I object to the word Mythology as it suggests a fiction in which something never happens. For us, these scriptures should be “Itihasa”, i.e. History. I heard Ramayana from my grandmother and my teachers, which was part of my growing. So I got attracted to Ramayana. I read much western literature as a child, but I was looking for something Indian. I thought to write the book and put it on the shelf, but it succeeded tremendously. The role of Hanumanji is to help you with stress, and that’s why people go to Hanumanji. There is a lot of learning from these scriptures relevant to us today. Children have the best question in the world. Out of the box question!! I didn’t struggle to write any of my books due to meditation and my love for the scriptures. My elders blessed me sufficiently to complete this task of writing books. If the first book is very good people expect more from the second. Ramayan has amazing stories to share.”

“Ramayan has many women characters which were not have been focused on very much. Previously I did Ramayana through different perspectives such as Hanuman, Sugriv, Ravan etc. Then I had thought of summarizing and bringing forward women of Valmiki’s Ramayan. Many don’t know that Rama had an older sister Shanta. Mandodari, Kaikeyi, Manthara, Urmila and many others. It should be seen as poetry than a thriller as it has a very serene atmosphere throughout the reading. These stories come from experience. For example, imagine why Manthara would have felt wrong when Ram was coroneted? Was she felt threatened that if Ram became king, will she continue her job or not? It represents a Common perspective in our day to day life. Though these things have happened in long gone past, human consciousness is still the same. This book is an attempt to throw light on it. There are around 40 prominent women characters in Ramayana, and dealing with them in a precise perceptive was a long haul. But as I was already aware of those characters, I think I managed well. Our scripture needs deep understanding to understand well. We are carrying very regressive assumptions due to Abrahamic religions impact on our thinking. Our scripture is thinking manuals that show us the path to thinking.”

After a warm welcome by the Anchor, Mr Mihir Vatsa acknowledges OCLF 2021 for hosting him and Ms Piorre Hart for moderating his session. Ms Piorre Hart, in a wonderful question, asks Mr Vatsa about the thing that fuels his poetry. Mr Mihir tells the viewers that his poetry to a very large extent is fueled by the sense of belonging which he found hard to relate to in a big city and that’s where Tales of Hazaribagh comes in. Mr Vatsa’s Tales of Hazaribagh is a poetic masterclass that relates his move back to the town of Hazaribagh from a big city to historic happenings of the town located in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region. In Tales of Hazaribagh, Mr Vatsa manages to find the right words to balance history and poetry in a beautiful sense that makes it relatable for the readers. As Ms Piorre Hart takes the session on with more questions, we get a deeper insight into how the small town of Hazaribagh inspired the poet within Mr Vatsa. With a beautiful conclusion, the session comes to a close.