The HLF gets going today (started writing 2 days ago). I had no role to play so I was not sure what to do there. I thought I'd attend my friend Krishna Shastri Devulapally's session but he could not make it as he was indisposed. As fate would have it I was asked to step in for Krishna and be in conversation with friend Vamsi Juluri, writer and Professor of Media Studies from the University of San Francisco, on the topic 'Films and Fiction'.
Which is good. Two years ago we three were on a panel about Hyderabad being writers from Hyderabad - moderated by poet Meena Alexander who read some of her poetry there. In response to her question of what Hyderabad means to us, Vamsi said he liked the rocks of Hyderabad, Krishna said something similar and I said I liked the Irani cafes.
I liked that version of the HLF best because I found my profile right next to Gulzar's in their booklet. Last year I was in conversation with India's most prolific and versatile writer Anita Nair but somehow my profile went missing in that booklet - a sign of things to come. This year I thought I'd be missing from the venue itself (because no one invited me and it'd be terribly festival-junkieish if I insisted on going especially as I knew very few and enjoyed the company of fewer) until Vijay called and asked me to converse with Vamsi. (I think this is what happens when you don't publish books often enough.)
The venues are in the middle of the town - Road No 8 - were easily accessible which is a plus. I liked the main venue Ashiyana which had the lawns, the hall and the pool side, all wonderful locations for the literary festival. The pool side was the best because it did not need one to climb down steep steps and climb them back up again. I saw some old friends and acquaintances - Jayesh Ranjan, Papa Raju, Sridala, Suryaprakash, Praveen. Vijay and Giri from the HLF of course as also Surya.
The conversation between Vamsi and me was centered around, unintentionally but quite relevantly, Vamsi's first novel 'The Mythologist' which was about a boy who thought he would make it in movies because he is promised a role and how his life meanders into that of a writer after that does not happen. Films and fiction you see! We spoke about why novels and why not screenplays (is there a persona problem there because one is private and another public), which is easier to write, do we have a screenplay in mind when we write our stories, the purpose of making films and writing novels, what would our take be if a director or producer mutilated our stories, who would play the Mythologist if it was made into a film, would Vamsi visualize his story as a film, how easy it was to write a story about cricket (for me) etc. Some questions about Draupadi and Durga and how they were alike or not, about the writing process, about self-publishing and how to attract publishers and we were done. An impromptu interview by young Chandralekha of St. Francis for their college radio and we were really done. We missed having Krishna's presence and certainly Chitra's - I can't imagine them separately anyway - and could not help wondering how much more fun it would have been if Krishna had been there in the discussion. Also missed having Anita around but she is busy promoting her new book 'Idris' which seems to be getting good press.
I drank some chai (not good) and went home. I returned on Day 2 primarily because Vinod was there and we attended readings from fiction in the afternoon session. I loved Colin Cheong's reading from his book 'Man in the Cupboard' - both content and his reading style - he's brilliant. I must now copy his style. Difficult but. Makarand Paranjpe said that he (and perhaps all writers) write in the hope of being famous and rich.
I moved out again with Vinod and we went to La Makaan where the surly guys at the canteen served us with little interest or love, they epitomize the commercial angle so well, and we ate hot egg bondas and drank some chai (good stuff). Dropped Vinod and went off to the airport to do some picking up duties.
The HLF grew well in the past few years and I liked seeing those milling crowds and all those writers and poets, film makers, publishers and book sellers, readers and young writers around. The venue is superb - can't get better save the parking issues but that's okay. The feel is good and I think the committee can pat itself on its back for a job well done again. Hoping to see bigger and better names, and a growing and vibrant HLF that truly delivers what it set out to - bridge the literary gap between all these.
Which is good. Two years ago we three were on a panel about Hyderabad being writers from Hyderabad - moderated by poet Meena Alexander who read some of her poetry there. In response to her question of what Hyderabad means to us, Vamsi said he liked the rocks of Hyderabad, Krishna said something similar and I said I liked the Irani cafes.
I liked that version of the HLF best because I found my profile right next to Gulzar's in their booklet. Last year I was in conversation with India's most prolific and versatile writer Anita Nair but somehow my profile went missing in that booklet - a sign of things to come. This year I thought I'd be missing from the venue itself (because no one invited me and it'd be terribly festival-junkieish if I insisted on going especially as I knew very few and enjoyed the company of fewer) until Vijay called and asked me to converse with Vamsi. (I think this is what happens when you don't publish books often enough.)
The venues are in the middle of the town - Road No 8 - were easily accessible which is a plus. I liked the main venue Ashiyana which had the lawns, the hall and the pool side, all wonderful locations for the literary festival. The pool side was the best because it did not need one to climb down steep steps and climb them back up again. I saw some old friends and acquaintances - Jayesh Ranjan, Papa Raju, Sridala, Suryaprakash, Praveen. Vijay and Giri from the HLF of course as also Surya.
The conversation between Vamsi and me was centered around, unintentionally but quite relevantly, Vamsi's first novel 'The Mythologist' which was about a boy who thought he would make it in movies because he is promised a role and how his life meanders into that of a writer after that does not happen. Films and fiction you see! We spoke about why novels and why not screenplays (is there a persona problem there because one is private and another public), which is easier to write, do we have a screenplay in mind when we write our stories, the purpose of making films and writing novels, what would our take be if a director or producer mutilated our stories, who would play the Mythologist if it was made into a film, would Vamsi visualize his story as a film, how easy it was to write a story about cricket (for me) etc. Some questions about Draupadi and Durga and how they were alike or not, about the writing process, about self-publishing and how to attract publishers and we were done. An impromptu interview by young Chandralekha of St. Francis for their college radio and we were really done. We missed having Krishna's presence and certainly Chitra's - I can't imagine them separately anyway - and could not help wondering how much more fun it would have been if Krishna had been there in the discussion. Also missed having Anita around but she is busy promoting her new book 'Idris' which seems to be getting good press.
I drank some chai (not good) and went home. I returned on Day 2 primarily because Vinod was there and we attended readings from fiction in the afternoon session. I loved Colin Cheong's reading from his book 'Man in the Cupboard' - both content and his reading style - he's brilliant. I must now copy his style. Difficult but. Makarand Paranjpe said that he (and perhaps all writers) write in the hope of being famous and rich.
I moved out again with Vinod and we went to La Makaan where the surly guys at the canteen served us with little interest or love, they epitomize the commercial angle so well, and we ate hot egg bondas and drank some chai (good stuff). Dropped Vinod and went off to the airport to do some picking up duties.
The HLF grew well in the past few years and I liked seeing those milling crowds and all those writers and poets, film makers, publishers and book sellers, readers and young writers around. The venue is superb - can't get better save the parking issues but that's okay. The feel is good and I think the committee can pat itself on its back for a job well done again. Hoping to see bigger and better names, and a growing and vibrant HLF that truly delivers what it set out to - bridge the literary gap between all these.
3 comments:
I have started on Vamsi's book about Bollywood. It looks promising.
Hari, thanks for the affectionate references! Missed you, too! Seems like it was a really fun event this time. Cheers.
Hi Chitra, Good to hear from you. HLF got better certainly and the venues were really nice and more importantly, accessible. See you soon at Hyderabad with your book. We can explore some more nooks and corners of Hyd then.
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