Unmesh: Festival of Expressions The Gigantic International Literature Festival-Shimla – By Divya Mathur
Source : Confluence – South Asian Perspectives – May – August 2022 issue
Shimla, 16 June 2022. As a part of the 75th Amrit Mahotsav, the biggest international festival so far, celebrated literature, art, music and freedom of expression. It took place against the stunning backdrop of the Himalayan foothill, in the historic Gaiety Theatre on The Mall, under the joint aegis of the Ministry of Culture and Sahitya Akademi with the support of the Department of Art and Culture-Shimla. The theatre is the hub of cultural events; very popular among Bollywood stars because several music videos and movies are filmed here. My stay was arranged at the beautiful Li Sa Re hotel on top of a hill with breath taking views. Inaugurated with a great pomp and show in the presence of State Ministers, Governor, 425 litterateurs, artists, humanitarians, politicians, TV and cinema personalities, publishers and entrepreneurs, covering 5 generations. Kudos to the entire team led by Dr K Shrinivasa Rao and Kumar Anupam for carrying it through well!
Over the span of 3-days, panel discussions, workshops, readings, talks, debates, book launches, music and dance performances, storytelling, film screenings, exhibitions of books, art & craft took place in 60 languages. It was a privilege to be invited to participate in a session on Indian Diaspora: Literary Expressions, along with Vijay Seshadri, Chitra Divakarni, Manjula Padnabhan (USA) Abhay K (Madagascar), Anju Ranjan (South Africa), Sunetra Gupta (UK) and Dr Pushpita Awasthi (Netherlands).
My theme focused on Indian Diaspora writers. As Caroline C. of the University of California has put it, ‘A word written by a woman changes the story of the world; Modifies the official or official version. Its relevance is timeless. Women’s rights remain a problem even today and writers themselves have a huge responsibility in this fight. This is the reason why I have always given preference to women writers in the editing of my books. The movement has made
considerable progress in the five decades since ‘Women-Lib’. In her foreword to my greatest story collection yet – Ik Safar SaathSaath’ (A journey together), Professor Francesca Orsini says that ‘Through this collection, we can get to know the concerns and narrative style of the writers, as well as what the first generation Diaspora women in the “West” feel. It presents a constructive history of diaspora life, which has been carved by women who have gone through struggles, hence its authenticity is beyond doubt.
It was impossible for anyone to attend more than 3 to 4 sessions in a day, besides the performance at 7 pm daily. Shimla resonated with Gulzar’s ghazals, Vishal Bhardwaj and Prasoon Joshi’s songs, dancedramas by Sonal Mansingh, Kacheri by P Jai, Nagada by Nathulal Solanki, Dastan-e-Karn by Mahmood Farooqui, Bhakti and Tribal Music, amongst many more.
The Sessions on Literature & Cinema, Indian Writing, Tribal Writing, LGBTQ Writers, Media and Literature, Folklore, Bhakti Literature and Cultural Integration through Translation etc were brilliant, the eminent writers and celebrities included Sai Paranjpe, Anamika, Deepti Naval, Linda Hayes, Daniel Negers, Chandrashekhar Kambar, Namita Gokhale, Arif Mohammad Khan, Pratyush Guleri, Hoshang Merchant, Sitanshu Yashchandra, Vishwas Patil, Ranjit Hoskote, Leeladhar Mandloi, Arun Kamal, Baldevbhai Sharma, Buddhinath Mishra, Satish Alekar, Vishnu Dutt, Surya Prasad Dixit, Laxmishankar Bajpayi, Maneesha Kulshreshth, Anant Vijay, Ravi Tekchandani, etc., alongside young writers from various Indian states.
Many sessions of multi lingual story as well as poetry readings by eminent authors alongside their four generations was heartwarming. Sessions on Uniting Cultures through Translation, Why do I Write, the Northeast connection, World Classics and Indian Readers, Future of Poetry, Why I write, Indian Literature in Foreign Languages, Transcending Barriers through Translation, specially Literature & Women Empowerment, which included eminent authors Thamizhachi Thangapandiyan, Manju Jaidka, Paramita Satpathy and Sanjukta Dasgupta.
The session on Women’s Writing in Indian Languages with Geetajalishree, Dr Mridula Garg and Varsha Adlaja was worth attending. Many agreed in the audience with Mridula when she expressed her unhappiness over the subject itself – why should women’s writing be dealt separately.
Hon’ble Governor of Kerala Sri Arif Mohammad Khan chaired the session “Singing the Faith: Bhakti Literature in
India, it was overcrowded. Local artists saving the folk culture related to Pin Valley of Lahaul Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh, celebrated the Legacy: Discussion on TheSaga of Indian Folklore.
Founder of VatayanUK, Divya Mathur is an eminent and award winning author, translator and impresario. During the Lockdown, she has set an unequalled record by organizing over 110 international events in which eminent authors from all over the world participate.
