India has been in the midst of many student movements recently. ANANYA BORGOHAIN found some more such young and curious minds at the Dehradun literature Festival
We have a tendency to place blame on the Government and the authorities for anything that unsettles us. Do you think the masses have taken for granted that they are immune to social criticismIJ”
This thought-provoking question was asked at the Dehradun literature Festival last month by an ostensibly pre-teen schoolgirl. What set this literature festival aside from others was the involvement of the numerous children from schools all across the town.
The two-day event, that started on April 22, engaged literature enthusiasts with conversations about books, genres, writing, imagination, politics, and much more. The opening session, ‘Why imagination is more powerful than knowledgeIJ’ set the tone of the event with author Dev lahiri, who has also been the principal of Welham Boys’ School, considered to be one of the country’s finest.
This was followed by similar stimulating discourses on ‘literature and History’, ‘Traditional Ancient Music of India’ ‘Art of Storytelling’, ‘Timeless Art — Beyond Boundaries’, ‘Religion and Politics’, and so on. Speakers included renowned literary figures such as Nayantara Sahgal (author of nine novels, winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Sahitya Akademi Award, Member of the American Academy of Arts and Science etc); former Man Asian literary Prize nominee Omair Ahmad (Jimmy the Terrorist, The Storyteller’s Tale, The Kingdom at the Centre of the World, and so on); two of India’s highest selling writers in English, Ashwin Sanghi (The Rozabal line, Chanakya’s Chant, The Krishna Key. Sanghi also collaborated with international bestselling crime writer James Patterson in 2014); and Durjoy Dutta (Penguin India’s bestselling author in the metro read category and a screenwriter too), among others. As the names suggest, the festival sought to merge all the genres and formats of writing to provide a wholesome experience to the visitors.
President of the World Integrity Centre that hosted the event, Nazia Yusuf Izuddin, said: “The World Integrity Center India Dehradun has been founded to be a catalyst of intellectual and cultural activity throughout the country and internationally and aims to provide a suitable ambience for this in Uttarakhand. But there should be more support from the Government establishments in Uttarakhand to promote cultural activity. It would have helped us spread the festival to a larger and wider audience, and would also have made the festival a cultural platform to reckon with the State and in enhancing the State’s capital's environment for socio-cultural and literary activities.”
She added, “We always promote all our activities across all age groups and institutions, and schools form a very large part of this community. Students thoroughly enjoyed the festival and offered to be volunteers for the next edition. In fact, a few days back, I was chief guest at Jaswant Modern School, and the principal Meenakshi Gendotra shared that the children found the experience enriching and empowering. The school will now send the students to all WIC India programmes.”
As students from several schools (and some colleges too), dressed in their uniform, carrying notepads and pens and accompanied by their teachers, assembled to listen to the discussions, the authors were bombarded with a range of constructive and articulate questions. The schools and colleges that participated in the festival included Doon Blossoms, Olympus High, Vantage Hall, Jaswant Modern School, Convent of Jesus and Mary, Hope Town and Graphic Era as well as the Indian Military Academy.
They were a consistent presence on both days and were surprisingly familiar with many of the authors’ body of work. While someone asked about the Indian Government’s role in the Kashmir conflict, another asked about how relevant imagination — as opposed to realism — is in writing stories. Questions about struggling with writer’s block, stolen ideas, as well as finding the right publishers were sent across to the panelists by the young, curious minds. Dehradun, they say, boasts of some of the finest schools in the country. And why that is was evident to all at the event.
“The motive was to ensure kids are exposed to the literary world as Dehradun had not seen such an event,” Subhashish Bharuka, Founder and CEO, Springhead Communications, one of the organisers of the event said.
Author of over 30 books, including children’s titles such as Tigers of Taboo Valley, The Crow Chronicles, The life and Times of Altu-Faltu, Ranjit lal emphasised the role of imagination while writing. “Although knowledge is undeniably important, there would have been no advancement without imagination. Imagination is the key to innovation and creativity,” he said.
lahiri added, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge can be instilled through teachers, textbooks, and various forms of research.”
The discussions also veered towards the political realm as topics such as the crisis in Kashmir came up. Speaking about the trauma and unrest in the Valley, writer and journalist Humra Quraishi, who has reported from Kashmir for more than two decades, drew attention towards the chasm between the “mainland” and the “marginalised” Kashmiris. “Kashmir changed my style of writing. The painful situation of the Kashmiris, especially in the war zone, turned me from a fictional writer to a non-fictional writer,” she said.
Speaking of heroism, author Rachna Bisht underlined how in Dehradun youths very commonly pursue the military field. “It’s very common here for the young lot to join the Army. We should appreciate and remember the sacrifice and valour of the soldiers without glorifying war.” Nayantara Sahgal, on the other hand, underlined how fundamentalism should not take a toll on nation building and societal harmony.
Nazia says about the problems in holding the event, “A festival such as this requires large infrastructure. Besides, Governmental support, help from business houses and entities to organise the festival was not available. Only one community business came in support of the festival as hospitality partner.”
We’re in the middle of groundbreaking student politics. Starting from the FTII protests and moving to the agitation at Hyderabad University, the Occupy UGC movement, and the ongoing JNU debate, it’s a time in India when the needs and rebellion of students have ignited discourses with a ferocious momentum. The school years are all the more crucial as students are exposed to diverse and often conflicting doctrines and it’s more important than ever before that they choose the right battles.
Many academics see ‘lit fests’ as a carnival that is insensitive towards literature. While they’re entitled to that opinion, exposing children to myriad discussions in these festivals and letting them decide could be a healthy balance too.
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