The renovated heritage building – Audrey House was filled with excitement and zeal with the arrival of all time favourite writer of each individual in town. Known for the literary collections like the Room on the Roof, Mr. Oliver’s diary, the adventure of Rusty, School Days, Frogs in the Fountain and many other literary work that fascinated the readers in their childhood days taking them to the foothills of the Himalayas and pristine beauty of hill stations was a treat for the audiences when ‘Bond’ made his debut here.
The author of children best sellers -- Ruskin Bond inaugurated the second edition of Jharkhand Literary Meet – 2018 here at the Audrey House along with the eminent writer Uday Prakash on Saturday. The fest organised with an aim to bridge the existing gap in the field of literature and other cultural differences while providing a platform to the regional writers to share a stage with the popular authors, gave chance to avid readers to interact with a few best ones in the literary field.
The unruffled ambiance of the Art Complex added an element of exclusivity to the event. Be it students, teenagers or elderly people, the book in hands written by Bond and the craze of getting a glimpse of the eminent writer was quite evident on the premises of the Art gallery.
Bond who once craved to be on Birsa’s Land seemed equally excited after witnessing the charm of the Capital City and was overwhelmed with the response of the audiences especially the children. The 84 year-old writer not just admired the beauty of the city but spoke his heart out.
“My first visit to Tatanagar as I refer to Jamshedpur was extremely good. I thought that it will be like any other filthy industrial belt but found that it is just the opposite. The greenery around and cleanliness there is worth appreciating. Similarly, Ranchi reminds me of the undulating terrains of the majestic hill, deep forests of Mussoorie about which I am quite nostalgic,” added Bond.
The recipient of Padma Bhushan and Sahitya Academic awards, during his session, the Bond movies – Ruskin Bond on the adaptations from his selected literary works….from ‘Junoon’ to ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’ shared his experience on facing the camera for the first time in ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’ based on his book Susanna’s Seven Husbands including the other aspects of filmography as how far it has influenced the world of literature in the name of expanding the reach, covering different mediums.
Another session of the day titled ‘Lokpriyata ya sahityik sach: what is the real objective of writers?’ delved upon the topics like technology and books, celebrity status, language barrier, urban literature, portrayal of farmers in new – age novels, lost heritance, etc.
Citing examples from his own personal life and experiences, noted poet, columnist and critic Uday Prakash in conversation with Ashutosh Chaturvedi, Managing Editor of a Hindi daily during the session opined that a writer should never oppose technology or feel threat from it rather he should see the presence of gadgets as a helping tools.
Further, talking about the attainment of celebrity status, Prakash said that the Indian writers can be a source of inspiration but not a celebrity. “The writer revitalises the readers with their detailing and expressions, one cannot expect to be a celebrity but can definitely hold a prominent place in individual’s life that unwinds their souls.”
The session ‘Sahityik Patrika ka Bhavishya’ expounded the visions, opinions of local as well as renowned writers as it discussed challenges and new ideas for keeping a great legacy alive. The first day was concluded with the musical evening. The Prince Musician highlighted the music and magic of SD Burman, Balaji Vittal and Anirudha Bhattacharjee spoke about their biography based on the great music composer amalgamating an audio-visual and musical presentation. ‘Phir le aaya Dil’ featured Rekha Bhardwaj, ace playback singer.
Expanding the reach of the Lit Meet, Chanakkya Choudhary of TATA Steel, the prime organiser of the event quoted that through engaging maximum people at large for value addition in different domains is the prime motto of the company, hence, such events eradicates all differences paving way for better tomorrow.