by admin | May 25, 2021 | Books
By Vikas Datta,
Title: The Written World – How Literature Shaped History; Author: Martin Puchner; Publisher: Granta Books; Pages: 433; Price: Rs 699
In that splendid comedy “Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines”, set in the age when humans had just began to take to the skies, a Prussian Colonel tells a wary subordinate tasked to fly a plane that he should follow the procedure for learning everything they do “from the book of instructions”. The operative word here is “book”.
But books, which now span and recount every conceivable aspect of the human condition and endeavour, wouldn’t have come into existence without the literature, or the “foundational texts” — religious, cultural and political–‘that they were developed to present, preserve and propagate, argues American academician Martin Puchner here.
And it is not only in our present, technology-suffused era that we have ignored the value of literature.
But before he tells us what it has done for us, involving trips through at least four continents, from along with Alexander the Great’s armies to the popular storytellers in the marketplaces of the medieval Middle East and the courts of feudal Japan to a popular contemporary literary fest in India’s Jaipur, he seeks to tell us what would happen if literature didn’t exist.
In such a world, Puchner, a professor of Drama and English and Comparative Literature at Harvard, says bookstores and libraries would be quite empty, the publishing industry and Amazon would be different, and he — and many of us — would have nothing on our bedside tables for night-time when we can’t sleep.
But while this will be “unfortunate”, he argues such a situation “barely scratches the surface of what would be lost” if literature had never existed and stories had remained oral.
“Such a world is almost impossible for us to imagine. Our sense of history, of the rise and fall of empires and nations, would be completely different. Most philosophical and political ideas would never have come into existence, because the literature that gave rise to them wouldn’t have been written. Almost all religious beliefs would disappear along with the scriptures in which they were expressed.”
Stressing literature isn’t only for book lovers, Puchner contends that since it emerged four millennia ago, “it has shaped the lives of most humans on planet Earth”.
And in this book, he shows us how as stories and preachings intersect with writing and writing technologies across the world in different ages, and affect their societies from ancient Mesopotamia, China and India to the jungle civilisations of Central America to the sandy expanses of Mali in the early modern world, down to more recent times, spanning the Communist Manifesto to the Harry Potter saga.
In his tale, which begins with the American astronauts on Apollo 8 addressing the world after orbiting the moon and becoming the first humans to see its far side from the Bible’s Book of Genesis, Puchner contends the growth of literature passed through four stages.
First, the development of the alphabet to represent speech, but the knowledge remained confined to small groups of scribes. Second, the rise of “charismatic teachers” such as the Buddha, Socrates, Confucius and Jesus, who stressed on the spoken word but became influential when their words were spread through text. Third, the individual authors supported by innovations that made access to writing easier, which were succeeded by the times of mass production and mass literacy.
Puchner acquaints us with these stages, juxtapositioned with the revolutions in writing and printing technologies that radically transformed literature, not only in how it spread and was read but also how it is written as authors adjust to new circumstances, and a range of representative works — the Epic of Gilgamesh, Don Quixote, The Arabian Nights, the Tale of Genji, the Mayan ‘Popol Vuh’ to Derek Walcott’s poetry.
And wherever possible, he supplements his rousing narrative with a range of singular characters beyond authors — and the role of women, both as writers and narrators within the story — and accounts of his own “field visits” to the areas in question.
Puchner’s choice may be subjective and his manner breezy and a bit hurried — especially in the final few chapters — but such is the breadth of erudition and fascinating tidbits he features that literary aficionados will treat this as a vindication of their stand.
For the others, it may prove to be an eye-opener.
(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Events, Opinions, Social Round-up
By Namita Gokhale,
For me, the idea of India resides in her Sahitya, in her words, her poetry, her songs, and the oldest, richest and most diverse traditions of oral and textual literature in the world. India lives in her languages: Twenty-two scheduled languages, including English, six classical languages — Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia; 122 spoken languages, 1,635 classified mother tongues, and 1,957 pending classification. This vast linguistic landscape is the backdrop for the annual ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival.
As the eleventh edition of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival approaches, I look back at the last decade, where, in the month of Magh, we have consistently celebrated both the unity and diversity of Indian literature. I am struck afresh by the number of extraordinary writers from the Indian languages that we have had the privilege of hearing in the beautiful precincts of the Diggi Palace.
There is a generation of great and inspiring writers gone by, like the late Mahasweta Devi, who delivered the evocative keynote speech in 2013, my dear friend U.R. Ananthamurthy, who addressed us at the opening of the 2009 edition, and the incomparable Sunil Gangopadhyay, who was with us in the same year. I remember chatting with them outside the Durbar Hall and their childlike enthusiasm for the vibrant energy of the festival. In 2013, when he was to speak once again at the festival, Sunil da had left the world, and U.R. Ananthamurthy, who had been shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Writing in 2012 as well as the Man Booker international award in 2013, (both of which were announced at our festival) was unable to attend because of ill health. Last year, octogenarian S.L. Bhyrappa, best-selling Kannada writer and revered literary figure, was in conversation with Vivek Shanbhag, Ananthamurthy’s son-in-law, whose Kannada fiction has had a worldwide impact.
Across languages, across generations, the rooted traditions of Bhasha writing and the heritage of the Indian languages continue to enrich each other, and the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival, with its predominantly young audiences, (60 per cent of our audiences are under 25) remains a crucial platform for the young to read and encounter these legendary names. Be it the great Rajasthani writer and scholar Rani Lakshmi Kumari Chundawat, who was at our festival in 2012 and 2013, before she died in 2014 at the age of 93; or Vijaydan Detha, ‘Bijji’ to his adoring fans, who addressed us via a film shot by the brilliant Hindi writer Uday Prakash, our festival remains a crucial space for honouring the languages and literature of India.
We are equally invested in folk cultures, narratives and the oral traditions. The great maestro of Rajasthani Dingal poetry and performance, Shakti Dan Kaviya, has performed at Jaipur, as have the late Mohan Bhopa, Ghafaruddin Mewati, the last custodian of the Pandoon ka Kada traditions of the Mewati Mahabharata, and so many others.
Our festival celebrates both the heritage and the evolution of Hindi, in its many dialects and nuances. Ashok Vajpeyi, Narendra Kohli, Om Prakash Valmiki, Chitra Mudgal, Mridula Garg, Alka Saraogi, Pushpesh Pant, Mrinal Pande, Uday Prakash, as well as the next generation that includes Ravish, Shazi Zaman and Yatindra Mishra, have been friends and well wishers of what has been described as “Sahitya ka Mahakumbh”.
Be it Volga and C. Mrunalini in Telugu; Dhrubajyoti Bora, Anuradha Pujari Sarma, Arupa Kalita Patangia and Aruni Kashyap in Assamese; Pratibha Ray and J.P. Das in Odia; Bama, Salma, Charu Nivedita and Perumal Murugan in Tamil; the greats of Indian literature have graced us with their presence. K. Satchidanandan, Paul Zachariah, K.R. Meera, Sethumadhavan, as well as the towering figure of M.T. Vasudevan Nair, have all been speakers at the festival. The video recordings of their sessions provide an accessible and invaluable video resource for the understanding and study of literary traditions.
Each of the Indian literatures carries rich historical and aesthetic traditions, with the languages rooted in their physical and cultural geography. The writing that is emerging in these many avatars is dynamic and contemporary. It is full of questioning, sometimes anger, but it also carries a continuity of thought and identity.
India exists in a constant and ongoing state of translation. Quality literary translation from source languages is the key to understanding and facilitating exchange between the Indian Bhasha writing. Jaipur Bookmark, the publishing segment of the festival, has provided steadfast support to publishers and translators and acted as one of the catalysts and enablers for changing on-ground attitudes.
The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival and countless other valuable literary events and initiatives across the Indian subcontinent have helped establish a literary community, forged through language and the intangibles of culture, establishing a common matrix of understanding. The idea of many languages and one literature continues to hold true.
(Namita Gokhale is one of India’s foremost authors and co-director of the upcoming Zee Jaipur Literature Festival. The views expressed are personal. She can be contacted at jlf@teamworkarts.com)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
For representational purpose only
By Amit Khanna,
In India you have hundreds of film, literature, music, dance, sports, fashion, investment, technology, science and other festivals in every part of the country. This should be a happy indicator of our rich cultural heritage and our predisposition to the arts. However, most such events are forced gatherings of similar sets of people.
The genesis of these festivals is steeped in history. In post-Independence India, it was essential that a wounded but free nation established its cultural diversity, tradition and its new-found confidence through creative expression. So, Nehru rightly set up bodies like the Sangeet Natak, Lalit Kala and Sahitya Akademis. An International Film Festival, Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan, National Book Fair, etc., were also set up. What should have been the take-off points of various arts, soon lapsed into a well-oiled machine of state patronage. Various awards instituted within the first few years became politicised.
When royal patronage of arts disappeared after the abolition of princely states, music, dance, fine art and literature almost disappeared from public spaces. So it was imperative that the government kick-started their revival. It was good when this was done in the 1950s. However, wherever politics and bureaucracy creep in, a new pecking order based not so much on real talent but political and other (social, economic, regional) considerations come into play.
So, by the end of the 1950s, there emerged a new cultural aristocracy. A group of aficionados, some genuine, some pretentious, who over time would be identified by their omnipresence on various committees and the invitation lists at concerts, festivals and other such events. This newly-minted social class did have some real scholars who did inspiring work in furthering the arts, but largely these were self-styled critics, failed artistes and social climbers.
As a new festival circuit developed initially in New Delhi and then elsewhere, it was a boon for performing artists, filmmakers, painters and authors who got a chance to reach out to a larger audience through these platforms. One has to realise that in the 1950s the only source of income for artistes was All India Radio and a few private mehfils. A chosen few like Pandit Omkar Nath Thakur, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Indrani Rehman got a chance to perform abroad. The Indian Council of Cultural Relations, an organisation under the Ministry of External Affairs, did send some artistes and films overseas, but again the selection was at the whim of some sarkari patron.
The International Film Festival of India did not acquire a proper structure till the 1970s. If you were lucky, your film, based on some foreign critic’s recommendation, was chosen for screening at a foreign film festival like Cannes, Berlin or Venice. There were auditoriums where one could watch art cinema. Film societies, with help from embassies, managed to get some films for private screenings for members in major metros.
Plays were restricted to some cities like Mumbai, Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Delhi. Literature Festivals were things of a distant future. Book launches were confined to a few established authors like Amrita Preetam, Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan and a few important journalists. Most artistic/cultural activity was limited to a few events where individuals were the catalyst for an art form’s growth.
There were some honourable initiatives like the Swami Haridas Music Festival in Jalandhar or the Dover Lane Music Conference in Calcutta. The Shriram Family (DCM) of Delhi held the annual Shankar Shaad Mushaira in the capital, which was the subcontinent’s most prestigous annual gathering of Urdu poets. They also organised the annual Shankarlal Music Festival and the Bharatiya Kala Kendra Ramleela and concerts.
In the South, the Thyagraja Festival and the Madras Academy concerts are largely privately funded. Soon the Sangeet Sammelan of AIR and three Akademis started holding events in major cities, which were eagerly awaited. The government also started promoting Indian festivals abroad.
In other spheres, drama was largely semi-professional except for regional theatre like in Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and Punjabi. The first Triennale (Art Exhibition) was held in in 1971, but top artistes had gained popularity among Indian cognoscenti.
It was only in the 1970s that corporates entered the arts circuit and industry groups like the Tatas, Birlas, JK, Jains (of The Times of India) and multi-nationals like ITC became sponsors of cultural events. By then a familiar coterie of cultural interventionists could be seen on the scene. They were organising, judging, participating or just attending event after event. I was for a while a part of this jamboree. Soon from this emerged a new Brahmanical order of culturatti generally dominated by what are now known as left-liberals.
Economic liberalisation and satellite TV changed the paradigm. Today there the hundreds of festivals across disciplines. Private groups professionally organise most of these. There are expensive delegate fees for such events. So you have at least a dozen film festivals (MAMI in Mumbai, Kolkata Film Festival, Kerala Film Festival in Thiruvananthapuram and IFFI in Goa are major ones) from Guwahati to Dharamshala, Lucknow to Bengaluru.
There are a dozen litfests, led by the Jaipur Literary Festival, and events in Mumbai, Delhi and other state capitals. Several music and dance festivals, and theatre festivals like the one organised by the National School of Drama in Delhi, and those organised by the Mahindra Group, Aditya Birla Group, IPTA, Prithvi, Nandikar and others. And hundreds of smaller events.
Museums and art galleries all over hold regular exhibitions and seminars. All sponsored and many of them money-making. There are professional event mangers, PR companies and tie-ups with broadcasters. Besides, every media group, TV channel and several chambers of commerce and industry hold hundreds of events, award shows and conclaves. We are spoilt for choice.
What has not changed in 70 years is the list of 500-odd people who are the usual speakers, participants, critics and guests at these events. I am tired of hearing the same people turning up at such events with the regularity of homing pigeons. This tired lot says the same things, loaded with their ideology and opinions (often redundant) month after month, year after year. The same panelists (including me), the same chief guests and often the same applause-junky, name-dropping professional quote hangers. The show goes on.
(Amit Khanna is a writer, filmmaker and media guru. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at amitfilm@gmail.com)
—IANS
