Retrieved via the Wayback Machine. Originally posted by Yazad Jal

Three writers. Reading from their books. Talking about serious issues. An invigorating discussion with the audience. Sounded like a fun way to spend two hours.

(photo courtesy: Akshay Mahajan)

Shivani Vakil read out a passage from Scarred: Experiments with Violence in Gujarat where Dionne Bunsha visits a VHP / Bajrang Dal “training camp” in Gujarat. Bunsha patiently described the activities at the camp, from rifle shooting to religious lectures to training for emergencies. Her gentle interaction with the camp supervisors and interviews with young men attending the camp opened up a small window helping me understand the roots of the riots in Gujarat.

Dilip D’Souza spoke about his transition from software programmer to writer, seeking elegance and logical processes in both activities. He read from his book Branded By Law about a chance encounter with Deepakbhai, a tribal who was at the same public meeting. Both of them were bored by the speeches and Deepakbhai invited Dilip over to his small hut next to a dirty sewer. And so impressed was Deepakbhai with Dilip’s concern that he exhorted Dilip “to never leave the feeling for the poor that I’ve seen in your heart”

Darryl D’Monte spoke about his experiences while writing Ripping the Fabric:
The Decline of Mumbai and Its Mills giving us an insight into the sale of the Khatau Cloth Mill lands in Byculla and the involvement of the underworld leading to the murder of Sunit Khatau in 1994.

After this, Darryl threw open the floor for questions and comments. Not one to leave such an opportunity abegging, I asked the first question on using technology like the Internet and blogging to enhance reach and promote an interactive dialogue. Dilip, though a blogger himself, was a tad pessimistic about the reach of the Internet. Dionne was far more enthusiastic, being tired of “writing in a vacuum” and wanted Dilip to help her start a blog. A nice old lady vigorously insisted that Darryl was being too kind to Datta Samant who was quite a violent man. Darryl defended Samant and his role in the labour movement, conceding that Samant may have been violent, but he wasn’t the only one.

We then took part in the favorite sport of the highbrow in Bombay - TOI bashing. It started with another lady bemoaning how newspapers of her generation were looked up to, unlike today. Various favorite stories of how the Times is trash were told. Was good fun, considering that Darryl was Resident Editor of the Times in the early 1990’s and Dionne was a former TOI reporter. In the spirit of fairness (yes, even for the Times of India), I gingerly pointed out that the city pages of the Times had substantially improved their coverage in the last few months and that the Times was a sponsor for cultural events, including the Kala Ghoda Festival. That caused a bit of a furore with Dionne accusing the Times of being insular, not looking beyond the city and “it really isn’t a newspaper’s job to sponsor festivals.” Darryl spoke of how the Times blacked out the Bandra Festival just because it was sponsored by DNA.

In sum, I had an enjoyable time hearing extracts and experiences from three keen writers followed by a lively discussion. One of the best events I’ve attended up till now at the Festival.

Hey, you were at this event? So was I!

Comment by Anand on February 10, 2006 @ 11:14 am

A beautiful account. I couldn’t make it to the discussion, sadly.

Comment by Yazad on February 10, 2006 @ 12:11 pm

Really Dilip? Your family was sitting close-by, but didn’t see you with them. Must’ve missed you ;-)