A new poetic impulse

After a hiatus of three years, the All India Urdu Mushaira lit up the city stage on Saturday. The evening, held at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch as a part of the Pune Festival, brought together poets from all over the country – Indore, Bihar, Rampur, Delhi, Kanour, Nasirabad, Akola, Malegaon, Bangalore, Mumbai, Gondapur and Jabalpur. Dressed in white pyjama-kurtas with embroidered topis, they infused the evening with poetry that transcended borders. Yet, the ardent fans were missing.

'Tartib se zahan mein, main rakhta chala gaya, Ghar se tange hue the takaze, idhar udhar...' (I kept on putting the world in order, but my own house was going haywire with various demands.) These lines, recited by poet Ejaz Anjum, talk about the changing nature of Mushaira. A change that embraces their 'new' form to bring back the audiences .

Anjum, who has been reciting at mushairas for the last 12 years, chronicles the change in poetry beautifully. “I am a madai, a hasya kavi. For me, mushaira changed when popular culture embraced it,” he says. An emcee by profession, Anjum believes that the art form is being altered to suit the common man. “First, we would only write poetry dedicated to one’s beloved. Today, we write poetry that takes that love to other people and places . Love for brotherhood, nation and character, is now most written about,” he adds. What accounts for this change, according to Anjum, is the way Urdu has been embraced in popular culture . “Even now, while talking to me in Hindi, you have used so many Urdu words. It seamlessly blends with other languages . This is the impact of Urdu in films, songs and everyday conversations,” he says.

Full report here Indian Express

Words worth

With the British Library completing its 50th year in Pune, the new director for the British Council, West India, Samantha Harvey was in town for the celebrations. Only her second time in India, Harvey talks about her experiences and new responsibilities. “The first time I was in India, I only visited Delhi and parts of Rajasthan. With India being so big and diverse, I can honestly say that western India is something that I have never seen before,” she says.

Harvey has spent much of her career in foreign locations. Starting off with a stint in Palestine and Gaza, she then moved on to Egypt for five years, before spending another five years in Nigeria. Currently only two months old at her job in India, Harvey, who is based in Mumbai, has Pune and Ahmedabad under her jurisdiction. She says, “India is one of the most important countries for the British Council, and that is reflected in the fact that we are already celebrating our golden anniversary in Pune.”

Full report here Indian Express

UoP holds seminar on Marathi literature

“Mystery, suspense and horror stories are also part of literature and can develop a liking for literature among the youth,” said noted writer H M Marathe while inaugurating a seminar on “Marathi Stories: Mystery, Suspense and Horror”. The seminar was organised by the Marathi department of the University of Pune in association with Manovikas Publication, Dhananjay Varshik.

Marathe said it might be the first occasion that a seminar on such a subject has been arranged. “It is, however, the responsibility of readers, authors and researchers to discuss this neglected subject. It will be a great contribution to literature if a critical discussion on this subject could yield some conclusions,” he said.

Full report here Indian Express

‘I failed in bid to join defence academy’

“I failed in my attempt to join the Academy and am honoured to be here,” said author Chetan Bhagat at the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, on Tuesday.

Bhagat was addressing the cadets as part of a series of lectures aimed at giving the budding officers a broader perspective, which would in turn help them to evaluate and form opinions on various topics, said a statement issued by the NDA here.

Speaking on the topic ‘Believe in yourself’ and advised the cadets to never give up. “Ups and downs are part of life, but one should never give up, said Bhagat, whose works include Five-Point Someone and One Night @the Call Center. He cited his own career which he said had witnessed many highs and lows, as an example.

He put across his views in a simple and humorous manner which had the cadets’ complete attention, said the statement. Bhagat urged the cadets to be proud of their profession which he said provided “an ideal balance of work, leisure and more importantly, respect and pride.”

Full report here Indian Express

An idea that can transform India

If education has been recognised as the fundamental transformative force that can literally pull generations out of the clutches of poverty, why then are our libraries the most neglected of public institutions?

Just as the mid-day meal scheme of 2002 has worked wonders in drawing children to school, so too can an innovative strategy in the form of interesting, well-stocked libraries make a difference to children in rural and municipal schools in India. Libraries, not with boring and badly printed government text-books full of spelling and grammatical mistakes, but with well-illustrated, colourful and pop-up books, scientific and educational toys.

While establishing the world’s largest radio telescope near Narayangaon, Pune, radio astronomer Govind Swarup had made a visit to the nearby village school at Khodad. Everything went well till he visited the school “library”. Some new books had been kept locked in a cupboard and children were meant to admire these books through the glass door. The books were not to be touched because “they would get spoilt”.

Full report here DNA

His story

He was a chemical engineer, but decided to follow his true calling writing 10 years ago and went on to create the Vikram Aditya series, an adventure tale involving two young detectives, modelled on famous youthful crime busters such as the Famous Five and Secret Seven series.

“The stories have elements of travel, photography, adventure and exotic locales. I enjoy all these activities tremendously and they find a place in the books,” says Deepak Dalal, the author of the series. Speaking at the launch of the latest book in the adventure series, Sahyadri Adventure at Reliance Timeout, Deepak says, “I always felt that most children growing up in urban areas do not learn much about their own cities. Schools follow a regimented style, which ensures that students give up the subject as soon as they can.”

“Sahyadri Adventure” is a story that goes back and forth in time and concerns itself with a tale in the Sahyadri ranges that surround Pune, Deepak's home town. “The regimented form of teaching history ensures that not many children or adults have any idea about the history of cities like Mumbai, which has seen a multitude of changes in its long history.” Though the Fort in Mumbai is a well known location, not many people know that an actual fort stood on that very location few centuries ago, he points out.

Full report here Hindu

India's first RTI library named after Prakash Kardaley

Pune has become the first municipal corporation in India to have a Right to Information (RTI) library. Magsaysay award winner Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the library that is named after Prakash Kardaley, a journalist from the city, who had a major role in the drafting of the Right to Information Act.

Calling Kardaley a guiding force in the RTI movement, Mr. Kejriwal said that it was only apt that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had named the library after him.

Till now the PMC was ensuring transparency by voluntarily disclosing information. It was keeping all the files open for inspection by public (Under Section 4 of the RTI Act) on every Monday, a PMC official said.

House of documents
The library, situated in the PMC building, will serve like a reference to all those seeking information. Instead of seeking information under RTI Act, now the people in Pune can get the information in the library itself. The minutes and the agendas of the meetings, all the contracts and agreements by the PMC and the elections details will be made available, PMC officials said.

Full report here Hindu

Shrinking Heroes

Once again we have a display of the insecurities of the Maratha people. Even after having their own state for fifty years, the leaders of the Marathi speaking people are out agitating against one page of a book written by a foreign scholar on their hero Shivaji.

On a previous occasion too, these agitators had already destroyed a jewel of Maharashtrian, indeed, Indian scholarship when they burned down the Bhandarkar Institute’s Library in Pune. This sort of self abuse continues. Now, even the Congress has joined in the demands that despite the Supreme Court judgment, the book be not sold in Maharashtra. The idea that the Constitution guarantees the right of free speech and within that, access to books which are not banned, is beyond the intelligence of Congress chief ministers nowadays. What matters are vote banks and knee-jerk populism.

Full report here Indian Express 

Dreams on a palette

Pune-based author Paritosh Uttam has penned an engaging new book, veering off from his software engineering coded path

City-based author Paritosh Uttam held up the product of his literary alter-ego when he recently unveiled his latest novel titled Dreams in Prussian Blue. With a BTech from IIT Madras and MTech from IISc, Bangalore, Uttam's professional and authorial lives run parallel, and in full steam. He explains, “Books and reading were always encouraged at home, so it was no surprise that I got hooked on to reading quite early. When you read so much, your tastes are bound to grow and evolve. What I do as an engineer hardly has any bearing on my interest in literature, at least not in reading. In writing, my engineering background probably influences how I go about plotting and structuring my novel. How I think of going from point A to point B, or how I keep track of chronological time versus narrative time, and so on.”

Full report here Indian Express

Jim Morrison gets four-city tribute in India

"Your our child, screamin' wild... An ancient lunatic reigns. In the trees of the night," DJ David Masilamani aka Black Jack quotes from rock legend Jim Morrison's track 'Wild Child' as he begins his Morrison tribute tour covering four cities to mark the iconic rock musician's 49th death anniversary.

"The lyrics capture the soul of the maverick musical genius who was a musician, songwriter poet and filmmaker - all in one," the Hyderabad-based DJ said.

The tribute tour opens at Cafe Morrison in the capital on Sunday, July 4 and travels to Visakhapatnam, Pune and Bangalore over a fortnight.

Masilamani, one of the country's oldest DJ and founder of India's first Internet radio, Myopusradio.com, describes the concerts as "his date with The Door's lead vocalist" who died young at 27 on July 3, 1971.

"It is all our date," he adds in his open invite to fans on Facebook.

Tales of storytellers

Sound of energetic Wah Wahs resonated in the main theatre of Film and Television Institute of India. The stage was set, perfectly suiting the era of the Dastangoi- the ancient art of storytelling. The 50 year golden jubilee celebration at FTII was the apt occasion to celebrate this ideal blend of poetry and drama.

Marked by dramatic, loud hand gestures and set on varied pitches, this performance by Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain was a visual delight as well. Farooqui has been involved in the revival of this art since 2004. Talking about his first encounter with this art form he says, “In August 2002, I first encountered the Dastan-e Amir Hamza and I was asked to help out somebody who was making a film. Though the film never got made, I got interested in Dastangoi.”

Full report here Indian Express

Library books a mouse click away

There is good news for those who do not want to go to library but still want to access a wide variety of books. Dharya Information Private Limited, which has set up Librarywala.com, India’s first circulating cum online library, has three centres across the country, including one in Bangalore.

The customer gets the library membership registration done online and also pays the membership fees over the Internet. Reviews can be read and book chosen online.

The chosen books are delivered to the member’s home within 24 hours of booking and are also picked up from home by the company’s personnel.

Librarywala.com, which has more than 12,000 individual members and around 60 corporate members across the three centres of Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai, stocks more than 25,000 books, according to Dhairyasheel Pawar, co-founder and director of Librarywala.com.

Full report here New Indian Express

Writing about a better life

Pune's 22-year-old Chitra Lele has penned a self-help book to motivate people of her age

Most often, it is people with wisdom earned over a lifetime who decide to share it with the world by penning a self-help book. However, Pune-based Chitra Lele has recently come out with The 6 Spheres of Life: Unlocking the Door to Success and Happiness at the tender age of 22.

Record-setter
The book, published by Atlantic Publishers, has a Foreword written by Tim Connor, bestselling author of over 70 titles in the motivational genre of books. He writes: “The book you are now holding can have a galvanising and positive impact on your life... It is a wonderful tool to help you chart your progress and maintain your course... It is books and counsel like Chitra's that enables me to discover what really matters in life both now and in the future... Thank you Chitra for sharing your wisdom with the world. When the world has more people like you, it will be a better place.”

Chitra has appreciation pouring in from all over the world. “I have received more than 70 plus Letters of Commendation from world leaders and world organisations for my book,” she says, “namely, the President of India, Ireland, Croatia and so on.” In fact, she has two entries in the 2010 edition of the Limca Book of Records: one for the maximum number of appreciation responses from world leaders and the other for being the first Indian to receive ‘The Peace Maker Award' from the Peace Writers Organisation (USA) for her peace-driven writing.

Full report here Hindu

Bibliophiles at bookstalls in droves

Oblivious to the sweltering March heat, citizens since Sunday morning thronged the SP College ground in numbers Pune does not often witness. No, it was not in anticipation of the Big B’s arrival; he was slated to land in the evening. Much before that, book lovers lapped up books by the dozens at the exhibition and sale of a maze of books put up as part of the 83rd Marathi Sahitya Sammelan.

Through the day, the heart of the city buzzed with activities. It actually did much before the inauguration of the sammelan on Friday and reached a crescendo on Sunday despite it being a holiday for schools, colleges and offices. From schoolchildren cycling in at their pace, college students zipping across cluttered roads, families, professionals and activists, book enthusiasts of all motions and moods made their presence felt.

If the range of books — science, history, geography, art, culture, health, farm, religion, yoga, meditation, education — available cheered the buyers, the discount offered, right up to 50 per cent, was an added attracted. It was difficult to figure out the choicest pick of the buyers as every stall was scanned by different groups and individuals.

Full report here

Marathi varsity to come up in Ambajogai

A resolution to establish a Marathi University at Ambajogai, the birthplace of renowned Marathi poet Mukundraj, was passed at the valedictory function of the All-India Marathi Literary Meet (Sahitya Sammelan) in Pune on Sunday, March 28.

The idea was highlighted by several of the speakers. Later, Kundalik Atkare, secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal (ABMSM), proposed the resolution, which was passed unanimously.

ABMSM president Kautikrao Thale-Patil appealed to the Rural Development Minister Jayant Patil, who was among the audience, to help in establishing the Marathi University in the golden jubilee year of the foundation of Maharashtra.

Full report here Indian Express

Big B lauds Pune's role in promoting Marathi

He came, he recited poems, and he conquered! Superstar Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday, March 28 mesmerised 20,000 or so literature lovers in Pune. He not only expressed gratitude to Maharashtra and its people for everything he has gained in life, but he also recited some poems by his father, the late Harivansh Rai Bachchan, which had the audience spellbound.

Bachchan was in Pune to attend the concluding session of the three-day all-India Marathi literary conference. Addressing the gathering, he said, “I consider myself part of Maharashtra. This state has given me name, fame, home, wife, children and even criticism, which is necessary for one’s life.

“Whatever I am at present has been due to Maharashtra. In my 68 years, I have lived in Mumbai for 41. And I consider myself part of this glorious state.”

Full report here DNA

Pune hosts Marathi literary meet

Marathi publishers are gearing up for the stalls at the 83rd Marathi Sahitya Sammelan — theall-India Marathi literary meet — which will be inaugurated in Pune on March 25. The three-day event will host 310 book stalls, which are expected to sell titles worth over a crore of rupees.

As is usually the case, Mumbai publishers have also shown keen interest in the event, with around 40 from Mumbai participating. “We will be offering 21 schemes for purchasing the books, so that it inspires people to buy more books. We will put up 1,000 titles and even a few English titles,” said Mukund Bhagwat of Mauj Prakashan.

“Maharashtrians look forward to the meet as it is an occasion to purchase some really good and rare titles. The sale of books easily crosses over a crore of rupees, and this time we expect an even better business,” said Ashok Kothavale of Majestic Publishers.

Full report here DNA

FTII hosts seminar on literature and cinema

The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), in association with the Film Writers Association (FWA), Mumbai, will organise a seminar ‘Cinema and literature: The question of adaptation’ on adaptation of literature in Hindi cinema on March 21, Saturday.

The seminar will deliberate on various facets of cinema and literature in sessions titled ‘turning novels into films,’ ‘folklore for folk cinema,’ ‘making long films of short stories,’ ‘mythology and Indian films’ and ‘drama in our films.’

Prominent film-personalities including Gulzar, Javed Akthar, Kamal Hassan, Govind Nihlani, Dr Jabbar Patel, Kamlesh Pandey, Vishnu Khare, Shama Zaidi, Vishal Bharadwaj and Anurag Kashyap will participate in the deliberations.

Report on the seminar in The Indian Express