ORANGE CITY LITERATURE FESTIVAL

Book Launch at the Hands of Chief Guest Author Tuhin Sinha

Inauguration Ceremony by Shri Sunil Raisoni

Pushpendra Kulshreshtha:

“Finally, after 70 years, somebody is doing Man ki Baat. The biggest crime is to say that all religions are the same. It's the biggest lie. In our literature, Dharma means Duty. It doesn't make sense to translate religion in Urdu, calling Mazhab. We need to explain religions in detail. The biggest challenge is currently not war but narrative and mind washing. People make you an enemy of your religion. The enemy might be sitting in Pakistan, the US, or Bangladesh, setting a narrative. We have nothing to do with Palestine, but still, some people drag those issues here. I worked in Pakistan for 12 years. There were Muslims from India called Muhajir, i.e. Sharnarthi. Today 26th Nov, we must remember what happened decades ago. Pakistan executed 26/11; we all know that. But all facts are not before us. Our internal security apparatus is under the home ministry. At that time, people from the ministry were in Pakistan.”

Pawan Sinha:

“I was writing a book where I came to know many things. Vir Savarkar never initiated the two-nation theory. Subhash Chandra Bose couldn't convince Jinnah. We students were never told about this. Jinnah proposes two-nation theory deliberated. There was bloodshed; that's why the two-nation theory was promoted. Hindus were never responsible for partition a rather, in the Pakistani textbook too it is no mention anywhere that Hindus wanted it. Many of those who went to Pakistan initially came back after bloodshed. We were never told the true history. Why was Pakistan there? If you study Macauley, you will find that Britishers' strategy to divide this country. "Muslims and Hindus are two-nation" was the word of Jinnah. And they cannot go together. That's where Vir Savarkar hesitantly said that we should go with two-nation theory. When we start to say, Om, people say us Ponga Pandit. We are forgoing our culture, and it could create security issues. Fifty-three terrorist organizations working in this country how can be we safe? Psychological warfares are being fought in our minds and bedrooms; you need to beware of them.”

“Arthashastra begins with samajshastra. Who don't understand society can't understand arthshastra. Every country looks for a good king. Chanakya seems first-person talk about Prajatantra. Why does Indian love to pay taxes? How we discuss saving taxes. The leaders need to be strong. Kautilya Arthshastra has 6000 sutras. It is big because it's made for kings. Chanakya Niti has 563 sutras because it is for normal human beings. It talks about normal rules regulations required to enhance the quality of life. The common person doesn't need too much. We are happy in small things, and that's what Chanakya has explained in Chanakya Niti. After necessities, it starts with moral principles, which is the main content in Chanakyaniti. You have to be a winner, and you have to exit the world anyways. Indian education has a very systematic procedure. We have different customs, and we need to be proud. I talk about parenting, married life, and life in society. One point I very much like in Chanakya Niti talks about how we should raise our children, when we should love, when we should scold, etc.”

Shatrughna Sinha:

“I am an actor and did not know much about literature, but it certainly has a great part to play in our lives. Since my autobiography "Anything but Khamosh" was published, I got many invitations for the literature festival, most of which I failed to attend. Still, I decided to join you here for the love of literature. I must mention here my experience in Pakistan, where I got a bit confused about choosing language where I thought about the importance of literature. Literature is a mirror of society that shows the right path. This literature inspires the next generation. It is a fake news era where we need motivating literature to show true stories. I would certainly like to participate in such future events.”

Ismail Darbar :

"Shatrughan Sinha sir was my idol, and that is why I chose to become a musician. I wasn't that good in studies but intent to do something good with my life. I loved movies. So I tried to find avenues to enter the industry. Love for music came here to rescue. I joined a music academy and learnt music. My journey toward my aim begins. I wanted to make my name, and I succeeded. I look toward Sinhaji, his style, his action and everything. I am fortunate to be in the industry with him.”

As Ms Vachharajani and Ms Hart get into the conversation, they start with how Ms Bijal ended up in the children’s book genre and how difficult it is compared to writing for grown-ups. Subsequently, Ms Bijal tells the viewers how writing for children keeps her on her toes and helps her bring out more interesting stories. As the conversation moves towards, “A Cloud Named Bhura” Ms Bijal’s work of fiction for children, she talks about how she discovered a cloud filled with toxic gases in Chile and it came to her mind what will happen if such a cloud shows up above Mumbai, a city she grew up in. As magical as her book, the conversation moves towards how she shaped the four protagonists of the book and how they manage to weave a strong storyline around the cloud and eventually save the city. The conversation between Ms Hart and Ms Bijal also moves in the direction of how children are far more climate-sensitive than adults and how they wish to make a bigger difference to secure their future. From character development to safeguarding the climate for our future generations, the conversation beautifully comes to a close.

“I think the story explains how the fascinating time of Hollywood connects to the end-of-the-British Raj in India. The sentiment of "The following Lana Turner" and a Cambridge-taught maharaja undermines his realm during the last days before Independence. A fictionalized account, The Star of India, depends on the genuine sentiment between a rising youthful entertainer and a Cambridge-taught war legend and leader of an antiquated territory. It is 1946 Hollywood, and it sparkles when the swank Maharaja of Cooch Behar, Jagaddipendra Narayan, meets Star of Tomorrow Nancy Valentine. Nancy was sent back home during India's fast approach to Independence. Amid the force battles of each political, illustrious, and strict group, Nancy is snared in a hurricane of interest, surveillance, and endeavored murder. Maharaja goes under great weight from his exquisite and imposing mother, Indira of Cooch Behar, who accepts his union with an outsider will debilitate the family's situation with their kin and make them helpless against an administration takeover. While developing resistance to the couple's association, the state's mythical Mughal Ruby vanishes, and its revile will vanish them all. From the glamour of Hollywood to the rich offices of Indian eminence, The Star of India weaves an energetic story of a solid willed lady whose destiny was profoundly laced with the pivotal birth of present-day India.”

“There are 7 Butter Fingers books. You can imagine the general Ideas behind titles. The whole series has a specific topic related to Butter Fingers. One character Arjuna very free boy who doesn’t care about anything. Characters are very peculiar. One character, Thomas, always ask questions. I have the idea of writing a book on cricket with all the boys. Girls might protest why there are only boys. In another book, I brought some girls working in and out. Characters in the book are funny, and they create humour. Children need to be humorous to share the load of homework. Humour is all about living truly; that’s why humour is an important part of the book. The first Butter Figure book is important, and every book is self-content. You can pick any book and read there won’t be an issue unlike Harry Potter, where to understand the story, it is important to read from the first book. All the characters are introduced very sophisticatedly.”

After a very warm welcome by the anchor, Mr Vishal Jain goes on to talk about how Ms Shabnam Minwalla’s new book about an 11-year-old girl is very relatable to him because of how much his 10-year-old son enjoyed it; he goes on to ask Ms Shabnam about how her kids who are now in their early teens helped her write a funny book in the children genre. Ms Minwalla acknowledges the anchor and Mr Vishal and answers his question. As per Ms Shabnam, her children played an essential role in helping her write this book, and the conversations weren’t even deliberate. While growing up, when Ms Shabnam tucked her kids into bed, they would often talk about their day to her and tell her the happy and sad parts of the day. From kids throwing water on each other to the story of a bean bag that didn’t last a day in the classroom, Ms Shabnam got a lot of stories from there. The conversation rolls on in the same direction with a few more questions before coming to a close.

One of the most celebrated Children’s writers, Ms Paro Anand gets a warm welcome from the anchor and soon after, she takes over and begins with the topic of how she managed to write every day before the pandemic. In her words, Ms Anand had never been through writer’s block because she borrowed stories from real-life instances of the children she usually spends a lot of time with. Ms Anand talks about how she went through writer’s block for the first time in her life during the pandemic because she could not spend time with children and that meant she was unable to borrow their stories. Ms Anand has spent a lot of time with children in the zones of conflict and trouble like in Kashmir. Initially, Ms Paro decided to wait until the pandemic was over to start writing again, but soon she realised that the pandemic wasn’t coming to a close anytime soon. Eventually, with the help of her daughter who was working with families in the slums of Mumbai, Ms Anand wrote 19 stories about the times in covid in her new book. As the session rolls on, Ms Anand talks about her dilemma regarding the target audience of the book, etc and soon after, the session comes to a close.

“Looks cannot stop me. Rather I proceed to give the set of experiences behind each picture. Here I give insights regarding my foundations, returning even to the appearance of my progenitors in India. While doing ordinary errands, food isn't a long way from the table. However, my solace food remains the tomato-coconut soup her grandma made for me. I'll favour hot rice, and ghee would cheerfully be my last dinner! To say, regardless of whether I'm discussing my grandma cooking her number one nourishments, or about fellowshipping with my recently discovered Armenian companion in the US, or testing Chinese food sources at a recently opened eatery.

Following fourteen days, I recollected an old thought I'd had. I required Americans to understand what I knew; that Indian food was fluctuated and modern and finished and nutritious. I portrayed my cooking as intriguing, however recognizable, encouraging, yet audacious. It was anything but difficult to cook when you had the essential procedures, and it could fit delightfully into American ways of life. My fantasy was for India's cooking to achieve the spot that Italian, Chinese and Thai food had accomplished in the American minds. Keeping that in mind, I considered a name that would be engaging, snappy and proper. I asked my friend once, "Would you mind if I utilized Un-Curried for the new business?"

“Since childhood, reading was passion. One of the old libraries where my brother was a member used to bring a book which I used to read. This reading and listening is also a great form of observation where we collect many ideas and a lot we can learn. While writing the book, I used fictional eating this and that. Some reviewer points out this on social media, and yes, they are right. Indeed there's a lot of food. Whenever I read a book, there is a mention of the variety of food. I took inspiration from these readings and used the same method. For me, the joy of writing is to respond to something I have read. Reading is an important part of writing off course. I found out that my childhood photos were missing in the floods of 2015. This loss is not big in comparing who lost their houses. I used my pain to understand others pain. While in journalism, I read many books where I thought about how could we empathize with book characters and create my own.”

“I used to read a lot and then try to write. I was interested in doing media, but professional writing began quite later. I made History in graduation. There was a college festival but not much storytelling program. The mass communication program was started at Jamia Islamia University in 90. Those years were very important. I met different people. They challenge me to think more. You need to figure out how you want to live and what education should do. I did many kinds of workshops for children to engage them with the world. They need to understand how the world works. My stories come from that interaction. Children lives are very fragile. That’s where my book “ Nida finds a way” came from. I feel it is very important that the story relates to children. We cannot shield children from what is happening in this world, but rather, we need to share our knowledge to face the challenges so that they can make sense of it themselves. Initially, I thought of writing a story about parent and children relationships. Sound allows us to create the narrative and connect us emotionally.”

Mr Nikhil Taneja portrays his struggles with patriarchy as a young boy and develops the conversation with Ms Sonali Nakshine about the long-lasting impacts of the same. In his word, patriarchy has opened up a valley between the thought processes of today’s youth and the older generations. And the freedom of expression and interaction on social media has played a very prominent role in this. As per Mr Nikhil, this gap results from our patriarchy failing young boys, who grow up around an environment that puts men in an authoritative position and gives them the liberty to abuse that authority. Subsequently, the conversation moves towards the fact that patriarchy forces young boys into a black hole where the line between authority and abuse is faded and even none existent leaves the entire society in a limbo where the usual consensus accepts inferiority of the opposite gender. Mr Nikhil Taneja very beautifully puts into perspective that behind men who abuse authority and impose it at unwanted intervals are young boys who have grown up in situations where their elders did the same. The behaviour not only became acceptable but also pushed towards a thought process that affected everyone around them.

With a warm welcome from the anchor, Mr Tuhin and Mr Vaibhav start the conversation with an introduction Mr Tuhin’s book on Birsa Munda and very swiftly the conversation moves towards the issue of the general public not really aware of Birsa Munda and the legacy he left behind because of him being a tribal freedom fighter. Mr Tuhin very well sums up how Birsa Munda shook the very foundations of the British Empire with the help of his tribe and how the British made sure that his legacy was forgotten by rigging historic records. Mr Tuhin tells how this eventually led to Birsa Munda not being a recognisable figure among the public. As the conversation rolls on, Mr Tuhin and Mr Vaibhav take a deeper dive into Birsa Munda’s legacy and how he managed to give the British masters of the subcontinent a run for their money and how it eventually impacted the tribal community in general. As the conversation starts moving towards conclusions, it comes to a close with an excellent homage to one of the greatest freedom fighters of the country.

After a very warm welcome to one of the most celebrated authors of the country Dr Manjiri Prabhu and moderator Mr Dipankar Mukherjee, the session gets underway. Without wasting any time, Mr Mukherjee cuts to the chase right away and requests Dr Prabhu to give the viewers an insight into her story, Dr Prabhu starts with how she was very fascinated by books as a child and knew at that very moment that she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Dr Prabhu goes on to talk about how she has always felt that her destiny was always to be a writer. Then she goes on to talk about how the suspense thriller and children’s genres played an important role in helping her pick her preferred genre. Mr Mukherjree in a very curious question asks Dr Prabhu how she manages two starkly different genres and if she set up two different systems to keep them different. As the session rolls on, Dr Prabhu helps the viewers get a deeper insight into how she maintains her creativity and what it’s like to be a writer in general. Mr Mukherjee does an excellent job of bringing her story out in the best possible way. With a few more questions back and forth, the session comes to a close.

“I had consistently appreciated understanding history, generally Indian history, in school. However, tragically, the set of experiences we read in school is neither far-reaching nor locks in. When I began going around the nation, with my better half, who is in the military, being posted at better places, I began studying our nation's set of experiences and culture. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to live in spots with a brilliant history and significant occasions set apart in their authentic schedule due to my extraordinary favourable luck. One such spot was Jhansi.

What's more, if you are in Jhansi, you can't get away from the overwhelming Jhansi fortification or the accounts of Maharani Lakshmibai. You can feel her quality for what it's worth. Orchha, the past capital of Bundelkhand, is only 20 kilometres from Jhansi and is an unquestionable requirement for a vacationer location for all guests to Jhansi. When I visited this enchanting town, I was scared. There was simply an excess of fables to be overlooked. Both these towns had a rich, authentic legacy, and however, in two unique states, offered me enough material for a story. Our set of experiences resembles a secret stash. The target of a chronicled fiction essayist should be to bring certain alive parts of history, not change it; to present and upgrade what's there, or haul it out from layers of lack of definition. I don't think we deserve the privilege to change the occasions by and large. In any case, history is abstract as well and diversely deciphered.”

“I grew in a family where my parents were already in theatre. My father was a director, and my mother was also engaged in the theatre. At the time of my birth, my family was already in the field of theatre for a decade. My father had a flat in Colaba on the fifth floor without walls except for washrooms. That’s where he practices, and people have to get on six floors without a lift. My father headed NSD, Delhi and created a curriculum for them. The theatre has a long history starting in 320 BC. Different place, theatre artist performs live. Emotions are very strong. Certainly, it is hard to work on stage than in films as there are no retakes. Artists have to reach out to every audience from the first row to the last, and it’s a big challenge. We get an emotional compliment when the artist performs well. The theatre will never disappear. People have an emotional attachment to it. Reading a play has personal experience. Watching a play is sharing experience between audience and performer. We won’t get satisfaction by reading a play what you will get by experiencing or watching it. In the case of music or painting credibility of theatre, the artist is here and now. Not all places are meant for all people. The theatre will never disappear. People have an emotional attachment to it.”

Satyarth Nayak on SuperStar Sridevi - The Eternal Screen Goddess In Conversation with Sangeeta Varma

Ms Daman Singh brings a sensitive but rarely explored topic to the table in conversation with Ms Shalaka Kulkarni. As the introduction very well sums up, Ms Singh took a deep dive into India’s mental health infrastructure and processes as a whole that date back to pre-independent India. In Ms Singh’s words, when mental health was a taboo across the world, the British masters of the subcontinent brought the taboo to India. They set up systems to segregate mentally ill patients from the general population. As Ms Singh continues her conversation with Ms Kulkarni, light is shone on how mental asylums came up in India and were managed by old systems set up by the British for years. When India gained independence and the mass exodus of people across the newly formed border started, many had to leave their family members behind in the asylums because there was no provision for their transfer across the border. Some patients in these asylums waited for as long as three years before the governments could sit down and set up a process for their transfer. Ms Singh also talks about how national newspaper archives were an immense help to her cause as she found several stories she couldn’t have found elsewhere through old newspapers. And she even managed to find details that weren’t mentioned in the government records. All in all, the conversation ages like fine wine in its final leg as Ms Daman Singh brings attention to how modern India, along with the help of medical science from western countries, did away with several harmful processes used in asylums and why the strained mental health system in the country is moving towards a brighter future. With that, an excellent conversation between Ms Daman Singh and Ms Shalaka Kulkarni ended.

Dr. Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai is a renowned visual anthropologist, historian, journalist, columnist and author. She has researched extensively on Indian socio-cultural anthropology and history which includes Indian folk culture and traditions. Her enthusiasm and knowledge towards this topic is very much evident in her talk with Prof.R.Radhakrishnan who is also an anthropologist and an international columnist. Their conversation mostly revolved around her book ‘The Owl Delivered The Good News All Night Long: Folk Tales, Legends And Modern Lore Of India’. She shared with us the stories behind selecting the unique book title and the making of the critically acclaimed design of the cover page. They both together covered various aspects and dimensions related to the history, significance, influential nature and beauty of folktales around the globe. Overall, the conversation is very enlightening and informative regarding various cultures and dialects and traditions and teachings and a lot more.

After a warm welcome by the anchor, Ms Kavita Ashok acknowledges the opportunity to be a part of a session with Ms Kavita Devgan. Ms Devgan acknowledges the opportunity to be a part of OCLF 2021. Ms Ashok asks Ms Devgan how her new book The Don’t Diet Plan happened. Ms Devgan explains how after publishing her first book she started working on The Don’t Diet Plan but ended up publishing two more books before this one came out for the readers. The reason was that she wanted to take all the time in this world to come up with a book that not only served the needs of the readers but also helped them understand things better. In the book, Ms Kavita Devgan talks about why the reader should not be dieting the way people normally do and why it’s important to identify the type of diet you want to get into. The session rolls on in the direction with more discussion on Ms Devgan’s new book. Soon the session comes to a close with interesting insight from viewers on dieting as a whole.

“I do write a lot about music, reviews of theatre. At one point, I was a professional musician. Translation takes a huge amount of time, and I am humbled by all writers who approached me for this. It has not that I stopped writing fiction; I do. Pandemic has put a stop to many things, but we were moving. I do write children stories to get into their minds. Initially, there was a lot of violence in my writing, but as I became a senior citizen, I wrote a lot about ageism. Assamese community is a small reader-writer. So it’s very important to bring those stories in English to a wider audience. English has a wider reach, but Assamese Sahitya Sabha has membership in lakhs. People are enthusiastic, even younger writers who write about contemporary things. People are reading in Assamese, including English. A lot of books are sold in exhibitions. Northeast has huge oral literature, and writing came later. Due to missionaries, the school might have chosen to write in English. Self-editing is important while writing or translating. You have to hold the theme. I’m not too fond of footnotes; rather, I choose to describe if something has to explain. We have to correct the draft if the content doesn’t make sense to non-Assamese personal. But not explaining every time is good. Because theme may get lost in the process.”

Mr Farhad Dadyburjor is known to be an amazing conversationist along with an outstanding storyteller and he did not forget to bring those to the table when he joined the conversation with Mr Ruhi Gilder who’s an interesting author herself. The conversation starts around Farhad’s new book, “The Other Man” which is the story of a closeted gay man who is being forced into an arranged marriage in Mumbai. The story in Mr Farhad’s words goes through a Bollywood style rollercoaster where the protagonist has to manage two lives in order to keep things intact and how those two realities come together in order for him to eventually come out to his family and lead to a happy ending. As Mr Farhad points out, he wanted the story to have a happy ending, unlike other famous Gay books that have excellent storylines but often end with a sad climax. Ms Ruhi takes the conversation towards how Mr Farhad developed characters for his new book and that’s when the accomplished author opens up about his struggles with finding relatable literature around his sexuality and how he wanted the characters to be relatable to anyone reading the book. While the protagonist was very much inspired by Mr Farhad himself, the hardest character for him to write was Disha, the girl protagonist is getting married to. As the conversation closes to an end, Mr Farhad and Ms Ruhi find themselves in agreement that “The Other Man” is a breath of fresh air if not more.

After a warm welcome by the anchor, Dr Shakti asks Ms Shylashri about how she came up with the name Turmeric Nation and why she barely talked about turmeric in the book. Ms Shylashri explains that she was looking for a name that represents the entire nation from past to present and is also a defining factor in so many things. That’s how she came up with the idea to name it Turmeric Nation, as turmeric is present in the food across India and was also used by a number of civilizations in the past. As the conversation moves ahead, Ms Shylashri talks about how food defines diversity as well as the culture of India. As geography, religion and culture change with every passing mile on the road, so does the cuisine in unimaginable ways. Ms Shylashri comes up with the example of Khichdi which is cooked in millions of ways across the country but its definition is bringing up a lot of ingredients to make something that’s not only easy to cook but also tastes good. As the conversation on India’s food comes to a conclusion, the session comes to a close.

After a warm welcome by the anchor, Mr Tushar Mulay takes the opportunity to appreciate Ms Ruchira Chaudhary and her work over the years, he requests her to give the viewers an insight into her journey. Ms Ruchira gladly accepts the request and talks about she worked at an advertising agency and how things changed when she moved into the field of HR development and then eventually into leadership development. She also talks about how her journey was not a cakewalk as she had to escape organisations where growth didn’t come about and stagnation was imminent. Mr Tushar is amazed by Ms Chaudhary’s approach to work as a whole and asks her about the idea of her new book. Ms Ruchira tells the viewers that she always wanted to bring to the fore her thoughts and ideas about how coaching can unleash incredible leaders if done in the right way and that’s what the book is about. She goes on to talk about how the book hits the link between coaching and leadership development in a very subtle way. The conversation goes on in the same direction with a few more questions before coming to an end.

Two very charismatic and flamboyant personalities got together and kept everyone hooked with their conversation. The very lively, zestful individual and amazing orator R J Nisha as the moderator of the talk took us into the life journey of the award winning author Mrs Ashwini Devare and her book ‘Always a Foreigner’. The book is the Indian version of her prize winning book ,’Lost at 15, Found at 50’. In which she gives an account of how her life has been spent traversing through various countries witnessing many historical events like the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and the student led movement in South Korea. It is a story of how the whole family has together been through the constantly changing circumstances by gracefully adapting to them. Despite all the challenges and difficulties they faced in the foreign lands they managed to keep the patriotism towards their country India alive within them.

After a very warm welcome by the anchor, Mr Naveen Choudhary takes the initiative to appreciate Mr Nishant Jain for his numerous achievements and requests him to talk about how he started working at a very young age and how it led to his love with books and stories in general. Mr Nishant welcomes the viewers with a brief introduction to the topic and then narrates his story of how he was always an avid reader and started working as a proofreader when he was 15. In Mr Jain’s words, he never got a choice when proofreading, thus he ended up reading books from a variety of genres and from a variety of writers. That’s where his thought of diversifying reading habits came from. Working at a young age also gave Mr Jain the liberty to be independent and stand out from the crowd. The conversation rolls on in the same direction with a few more questions and discussions around how a world that’s impressively diverse is better understood by having knowledge in diverse topics thus diversifying reading habits fits well in today’s world, with that conclusion the session comes to a close.

“Bapu always said that he is Sanatani Hindu. Pune in those times were seats of Brahmin supremacy and nationalism. There was a lot behind why Bapu was the target. Bapu was seen as a threat by a Hindu nationalist. If the soft corner for Pakistan was the reason, then there were previous attempts when there was no Pakistan. The support group of Nathuram Godse was Narayan Apte, Ramchandra Badge, Vishnu Karkare, Gopal Godse. V D Savarkar kept himself away from this entire scene very aptly. Without his support, this would not happen; that’s what I think. Nathuram was made gun available by these support groups. It was a massive conspiracy, and Bapu’s murder was beginning. They wanted to create a Fascist Government for the newly formed democracy. The last nine months of his life were opposed by all means. The murder was attempted to frame Muslim refugees. Savarkar was an iconic leader in the Hindu faction. Congress too has a soft corner for Savarkar at that time. The case was not fought properly against the VD Savarkar. He was left out deliberately. Muslims who live there they chose to be here as their motherland. Kasturba met Savarkar because Bapu was denied meeting him. Many people tried to demean Bapu. You can hate or love him, but you can’t ignore him, and he is still very relevant.”

After a warm welcome by the anchor to the third edition of OCLF, Mr Sinha and Mr Prasad talk about how the Indian publishing community was moving into the era of celebrating books and authors which also paved the way for a genre that hasn’t really caught up to the Indian readers yet. Subsequently, Mr Sinha and his co-author Mr Prasad talk about how the characters in the book are inspired by real-life people and scenarios. The book is about how China plans to dominate the world one way or the other and how the pandemic is a part of the same master plan. Both Mr Tuhin and Mr Suraj have managed to weave in reality and fiction in a way that makes them inseparable and hit the right notes at the right time. The conversation continues in the same direction as both the authors talk about curating the characters and how they made them more impactful throughout the narration. An excellent conversation comes to a close with an insightful sneak peek in one of the most appreciated books of the year.

After a warm welcome from the anchor, Mr Utkarsh Majmudar and Mr Kartik Borikar start their conversation on a much-awaited topic by the audience. Mr Borikar starts the conversation by requesting Mr Majmudar to give the audience an insight into his journey which led him to environmental conservation. Mr Majmudar tells the audience how he ended up in environmental conservation from working in the private sector. As per Mr Utkarsh, it’s high time that we start implementing groundbreaking methods to conserve the environment. He talks about how corporations have incredibly massive carbon footprints and how he along with his compatriots calculates these footprints and helps these organisations take actions with a lasting impact. Mr Majmudar talks about why corporates need to be pushed onto a path that eventually leads them to a net-zero carbon footprint to save the planet. And that’s what his new book is about, in which Mr Majmudar talks about net-zero as a concept and its practical implementation in the coming years. With a few more questions on the book, the session comes to a close.

OCLF 2021 witnessed an amazing session on the Importance of Reading among Children and Young Adults by Author and Poet Anoushka Sabnis. She talked about building reading habits and how parents play an important role in helping children start reading. She talked about how reading and setting small achievable goals starts with the parents. The young poet was confident with her answers when asked what changes she would want in the world. She said if she could, she would change the way we see each other. We only see the differences among us, but the world would be a better place if we start seeing each other for our similarities. The session consisted of thrilling questions, rapid-fire, and reading a small excerpt of her book. A fresh take on reading and with so much clarity in her thoughts, Author Anoushka Sabnis hosted a fantastic session at the Orange City Literature Festival 2021!

Two fellow book club members Dr Tarana Hussain Khan and Mr Amitabh Baghel got together to talk about her latest book, ‘The Begum and The Dastan’. Dr Tarana is a cultural-historian from Rampur and has done extensive work in this arena. They start the talk with Mr Amitabh commending her for her outstanding work in this particular work which he himself has read and enjoyed. It is a book about the story of a woman called Feroza Begum who represents all women of the 19th century. It is a tragic, gripping, moving tale of a young woman who gets kidnapped by the Nawab while attending Sawani celebrations for which she has gone against her life. This event proves to be a turning point in her life. Mr Amitabh discusses various aspects about the book and her writings. The session turns out to be a very poetic and pleasant experience for all.

After a warm welcome by the anchor, Moderator Mr Tushar Mulay gives a brief overview of the session and puts forth a few questions about Subhash Chandra Bose for Mr Kingshuk Nag to answer. Mr Kingshuk appreciates the overview and answers Mr Muleys questions by talking about how the files that document Subhash Chandra Bose’s death have been made public by the government and why the story doesn’t convince him. Mr Kingshuk goes on and talks about how right before the independence of India, the British were in a hurry to leave and so were the officers posted in the subcontinent, who hadn’t been home since the beginning of the Second World War. This led to an exodus of British officers from India and thus, a number of higher-ranking positions were taken up by Indians. That’s how one officer unearthed a number of files that opened the secrets of the Empire including the death of Subhash Chandra Bose. The discussion between Mr Kingshuk and Mr Tushar goes on in the same direction with a few more questions and after an interesting discussion, it comes to a close.

“Hindu is a very broad term. We cannot bind it in preconceived thoughts. To be Hindu, you don’t need to wear “Janau” on your coat, neither you need to read Geeta or Ramayan. You even don’t need to believe in God to be a Hindu. You can choose to go by the path of Meera, Charvak, Kabir or whoever you want to be with. Hindus have freedom of everything. We have a habit of creating boundaries. Hindu code bill defines who Hindu is. Live and Let Live should be the motto of Hindu. Hindu may don’t have Gods or books but still, you are Hindu. We can choose between Bharat and Hindustan, and there is no problem. Political connotation has separate Bharat and Hindustan. Politics is being taken negatively rather; it is an important part of Democracy. You can be of any party and any religion. At independence, Britishers thought we couldn’t take independence because we were backwards. But we have proven that we are strong Democracies. People with 50 MPs became Prime minister, and Rajiv Gandhi, with 415 MPs, couldn’t complete his terms. All this is part of Hindustan’s Democracy. It is important to summarize your experience at some point; that’s why I tried to be put my thought into this book.”

Mr Vikram Sood is the former head of India’s foreign intelligence agency R&AW and has authored a number of books about his adventures and experiences working for the agency. In conversation with Dr Paturkar, Mr Sood talks about how direct conflicts are immensely complicated and require a lot of events to lead up to them. As the conversation moves ahead, Mr Sood and Dr Paturkar take a deep dive into the role of narrative in the event of conflicts and internal as well as external security. Mr Sood explains why it’s very important to judge international decisions by what the specific nation considers the right thing to do in terms of its government and the narrative among the people. How every external decision eventually leads to internal gained or lost points makes sense when Mr Sood brings his points to the table. The conversation rolls on in the same direction as conclusions start rolling in and with that, a fruitful and informative conversation comes to a close.

“The way we have defined nationalism and Hindutva is a significant aspect of History. It has been ignored. We have been told that was a very wrong History. It was not about data but chaps and people. Our History was made boring. We were told that there was no Bharat, but Britishers came and taught us some manners. Ramjanmbhoomi movements need attention. It is important for History. I am talking about China, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, RSS and many other things. Our ideals were forgotten. I am not a professional historian, but we don’t have baggage. History can be a very interesting subject, and we just need to rewrite it properly. I try to cover History from 1925 because very little material is available. Ganga-Jamuni Tahzeeb is also false. The academic curriculum was wrong; that’s why many people still hold that falsified History. RSS saved Darbar Sahib 2 times, but there is no mention of this event. Oral tradition has a huge part to play, but we have forgotten that nowadays. Non-fiction books usually promote truth or theory. I used the internet very minutely but read a lot of reference books. You can access these resources through endnotes. It creates a chain that takes you to the source. Our History is written colonial point of view; that’s why we need to Rewrite History.”

This book is amazing, extraordinary and a page-turner. The story revolves around Jeevanram and a young trainee who works under him in the night shift at the mortuary of the Grand Trunk Hospital in Mumbai. The young trainee, who has a degree in business management, has started working in the hospital under compulsion as he couldn't find any other job. He is not very comfortable with the fact that he has to deal with dead bodies. On his first night at work, he threw up all over the floor at the sight of a dead body, as seeing death from a very close range is not something he is used to. Thus, Jeevanram, who has been working in the mortuary for the past three decades, starts telling him stories that will help him face his fears and give him courage.

These bone-chilling nine dark stories deal with the horrors of the human psyche, loneliness, guilt, loss, and emotional struggles of an individual. I kept the writing style simple and how have developed each story. These stories are horrific, and the ending of each story makes the reader contemplate. Some loved reading stories are 'The Old Woman's Soul', 'Meeting Freddie', and 'The Lookalike'.

“My favourite character was Sita. She was and is part of our lives. I always drew to her story of strength, courage and patience. I wanted to bring out the qualities she has in my book that every woman can aspire to. She has gone through a lot, and we can learn a lot from her life. My father had a scientific temperament where he explained very evidently the story of Ramayana. I found pride in all religious literature, where there is so much to learn and understand. I did research which gave me insights, and I wrote. Sita was a princess, and overnight she had to go forest, and she didn’t mind. Sita was a “Gungrahi” who attracted positivity and absorbed goodness.”

In an exciting conversation with Author Rupa Bhullar about Unconditional Love, Transformation and Literature at Orange City Literature Festival. Ms Bhullar talked about how she relied on writing as a tool to push through her fog of emotions. The session discussed how writing became a comfort for her and her journey from deciding her story to delivering the book in three months. When it comes to Unconditional Love, Ms Bhullar says Unconditional Love is when they want to see you happy. When asked about the top three tips for writing, she replied with three very easy to remember tips. She advised budding authors not to wait for perfection, be open to being vulnerable, rejection and criticism, believe in oneself, and never give up.

“The research work for this book was pure nectar. I enjoyed studying our scriptures. I immersed myself in them. I observe, meditate and learn teachings of the great wisdom of our seers and sages. I object to the word Mythology as it suggests a fiction in which something never happens. For us, these scriptures should be “Itihasa”, i.e. History. I heard Ramayana from my grandmother and my teachers, which was part of my growing. So I got attracted to Ramayana. I read much western literature as a child, but I was looking for something Indian. I thought to write the book and put it on the shelf, but it succeeded tremendously. The role of Hanumanji is to help you with stress, and that’s why people go to Hanumanji. There is a lot of learning from these scriptures relevant to us today. Children have the best question in the world. Out of the box question!! I didn’t struggle to write any of my books due to meditation and my love for the scriptures. My elders blessed me sufficiently to complete this task of writing books. If the first book is very good people expect more from the second. Ramayan has amazing stories to share.”

“Ramayan has many women characters which were not have been focused on very much. Previously I did Ramayana through different perspectives such as Hanuman, Sugriv, Ravan etc. Then I had thought of summarizing and bringing forward women of Valmiki’s Ramayan. Many don’t know that Rama had an older sister Shanta. Mandodari, Kaikeyi, Manthara, Urmila and many others. It should be seen as poetry than a thriller as it has a very serene atmosphere throughout the reading. These stories come from experience. For example, imagine why Manthara would have felt wrong when Ram was coroneted? Was she felt threatened that if Ram became king, will she continue her job or not? It represents a Common perspective in our day to day life. Though these things have happened in long gone past, human consciousness is still the same. This book is an attempt to throw light on it. There are around 40 prominent women characters in Ramayana, and dealing with them in a precise perceptive was a long haul. But as I was already aware of those characters, I think I managed well. Our scripture needs deep understanding to understand well. We are carrying very regressive assumptions due to Abrahamic religions impact on our thinking. Our scripture is thinking manuals that show us the path to thinking.”

After a warm welcome by the Anchor, Mr Mihir Vatsa acknowledges OCLF 2021 for hosting him and Ms Piorre Hart for moderating his session. Ms Piorre Hart, in a wonderful question, asks Mr Vatsa about the thing that fuels his poetry. Mr Mihir tells the viewers that his poetry to a very large extent is fueled by the sense of belonging which he found hard to relate to in a big city and that’s where Tales of Hazaribagh comes in. Mr Vatsa’s Tales of Hazaribagh is a poetic masterclass that relates his move back to the town of Hazaribagh from a big city to historic happenings of the town located in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region. In Tales of Hazaribagh, Mr Vatsa manages to find the right words to balance history and poetry in a beautiful sense that makes it relatable for the readers. As Ms Piorre Hart takes the session on with more questions, we get a deeper insight into how the small town of Hazaribagh inspired the poet within Mr Vatsa. With a beautiful conclusion, the session comes to a close.

After a heartwarming welcome by the anchor, Mr Tapan Sharma takes the opportunity to thank the anchor and goes on to add a few more achievements of Mr Ashish Kaul for the viewers to get a grip on his identity and remarkable work. Mr Sharma then requests Mr Kaul to give the viewers a walkthrough of his journey so far. Mr Ashish talks about how being a Kashmiri Pandit exposed him to culture and society that is run by women and is known for being among the most educated communities in the world. He goes on to add that Kashmir has kept a continuous record of history for the past 5000 years, even before the Egyptians set out to build the pyramids. Then Mr Kaul goes on to tell the viewers how his Grandmother introduced him to Didda, a forgotten queen of Kashmir and how it influenced him to write a book about her stories. The session goes on in the same direction with a few more interesting stories by Mr Kaul before it comes to a close.

Dr. Devdutt Patnaik On "Insights from Mythology into Hinduism for Happiness" In Conversation With Archana Sharma

“I grew up in a very traditional household, but I wasn't very interested in religion at all. It wasn't very easy for me. But I kept my identity because I thought it would cause a lot of trouble. When I came to the USA for study, I came in contact with Sikh literature available in English. My college library had a book by J D Cunning, "The History of Sikhs", which I read and found fascinating. First time in my life, I developed an appreciation for Sikhs Gurus. Then I move on to other books on subjects. I started reading Punjabi writers. After teaching Sikh history to young children, I decided to put it into the book. I wanted to inspire the younger generation about Sikhism. The book is not written formally because I wanted the book to be utilized academically by historians. The podcast is informal, so many listeners told me to make a book. It wasn't that hard to convert a podcast into a book. Translation of poetry is the important part. My engagement with Gurugranth sahib was in English. At the same time, the translation process changes the essence of the original work. Though I have translated, I would suggest readers go by original to feel the real essence.”

“This book is an account of everything you want to know about the food of Kolkata. Food is an undeniably very intricate part of Calcutta residents. For example, Puchka, Jhal Muri, puffed spicy rice, Ghugni, semisolid smashed or whole yellow peas, and many others. People of different origins reside in Calcutta in British India, which was the capital of India at that time. This book is not only about food, but it also covers Calcutta's history. It covers different communities, their participation in the food of Calcutta. It also covers the growth of hospitality of Calcutta. Hotels, the history of British westerns, and many other things related to food. Pre-independence eateries were meeting hub of freedom fighters. Even Ramkrishna Paramhansa loved the dishes of potatoes. Subhash Chandra Bose loved to eat fritters from the shop which exist even today. In the time of Mughal, Bengal was very prosperous due to textiles and silk. British are responsible for the degradation of Bengal. British certainly have a great influence on food habits. It was considered the pillar of food culture. They prominently introduced beverages. I have also covered coffee and Tea in this book. British learn the taste of Tea quite later than Europeans. I feel this book will take you on an amazing food exploration journey.”

Explaining in much detail and depth the concept of ‘Holistic wellness’ are two charismatic personalities, Major General Anand Saxena and Col Ateendra Godbole in their session. Major General Anand Saxena talks with a wealth of experience, knowledge and wisdom acquired by serving in the Indian Army for 32 long years and a triple master’s degree. Both of them have an army background and passionately work in fields of education and personality development. Holistic wellness is a much supported and advocated approach by various educationists, life coaches and leaders in present times for enriching the quality of one’s life. Major General Anand Saxena describes the structure of our life to be like a wheel, wherein the inner three spokes stand for our mental, spiritual and physical health. They need to be catered to first before moving towards the outer three spokes consisting of our social, financial and professional lives. According to him the pathway for holistic development is to look and focus inwards rather than outwards for our happiness and wellbeing. That is how he sums up the inside out paradigm for holistic wellness.

After a warm welcome by the anchor, Ms Kasturika Mishra talks about how she plans to conduct the session, which was evident to the viewers. In a very humble tone, Ms Mishra talks about why stories about women must be told in one way or another to contribute to the cause of women empowerment. On the same note, Ms Mishra starts reading mesmerising poetry focused on women to the viewers one after the other. As Ms Mishra goes on, a sense of empowering aura among the women who specially tuned in for the session must have emerged. Ms Mishra is known for her work as a single mother who adopted an Adivasi girl child. She lives up to the expectations as the session comes to a close with her final poetry.

“Writing journey began in school, where I wrote essays and articles. In the 1990s, while being in the USA, I wrote articles for a journal about the Indian business scenario. Since then, I have been writing books, journals and articles. I read a lot, listen to a lot, and read a lot. I also learn to write poetry in "Haiku", a Japanese type of poetry where we express ourselves in 17 syllables. Due to the pandemic, our and also other countries hit a roadblock. "The Billion Butterflies" discussed the critical situation of Indians who, we forgot, that they exist. But when the pandemic hit, we saw them on roads. These days intellectuals are dictating terms such as vaccine despite Government expenditure on research. We have to reframe the whole scenario and what life is all about. Reframe what defines a good life.”