In recent times, I have come across so many writer-photographers, who seem to deftly swing one from avatar to another, that I had begun to feel pretty unidimensional. (Since, when did the arts start merging this way?) But that was about to change. I had enrolled for a Photography Workshop by Shirish Karrale and I was going to be a multifaceted artist too. (Click here to read the whole post)
The Kala Ghoda Art Festival 2010 kicked off this morning (yesterday morning, technically, since its past midnight as I’m writing this).
My favorite time during the entire of this annual event (Click here to read the whole post)
And we’re back! Apologies for the late post; here are the details for the 6 Literature workshops at Kala Ghoda this year. To register please write in with your name and contact number to kalaghoda.workshops@gmail.com with the name of the workshop in the subject line. Registration includes a Rs.500/- fully refundable deposit.
Writing to be Published (Advanced)
6th and 7th February: 11am to 4pm both days.
Venue: Seminar room, first floor, Elphinstone College, M. G. Road, Fort.
Conducted by Anita Roy, Manisha Lakhe and Annie Zaidi.
This two-day workshop will be a series of presentations, intensive exercises, and discussions which will help any would-be authors avoid the pitfalls and make the most of opportunities in the contemporary publishing world. There will be a lunch break during which participants may go out for a meal at their own expense.
An Introduction to Freelance Writing (Beginners)
6th and 7th February: 11am to 4pm both days.Venue: Kala Ghoda Association Office, 4th floor, c/o ATE enterprises, Dr. V. B. Gandhi Marg, Fort.
Conducted by Kavitha Rao
This 2 day workshop will introduce participants to the basics of what a freelance journalist does, and show them how to write pitches or story proposals, approach editors and write for the foreign media. Kavitha will also share tips on negotiating payment and copyright. The workshop will feature interaction with editors of different magazines and newspapers, who will share their thoughts on freelance writers. There will be a lunch break during which participants can go out for a meal at their own expense.
Creative Writing and Reporting (Kids up-to age 15)
6th and 7th February: 11am to 4pm both days, including an hour-long break for lunch.
Venue: BNHS Auditorium, Fort.
Conducted by Amrita Ganguly Salian of Disney Adventures Magazine
Everyone can creatively write and report! You don’t need to be gifted to be able to write well. But you can always learn how to sniff out a story, observe the world around you and process all kinds of information for creative use. Learn how at this fun, game-packed, two-day workshop. There will be a lunch break, during which participants may go out for a meal at their own expense.
Graphic Storytelling (Advanced)
13th and 14th February: 11am to 4pm both days.
Venue: Seminar room, first floor, Elphinstone College, M. G. Road, Fort.
Conducted by Sarnath Banerjee, Samit Basu and Ambarish Satwik.
Creating a Graphic novel is rarely a one-man effort. In this 2-day workshop the workshop leaders will demonstrate how in good storytelling, there is no hierarchy between writers and illustrators! How a story arc can result from a communion- with prose writers and artists/illustrators as communicants. Participants will also observe how devices and maneuvers on the panel can change with collaborations. There will be a lunch break during which participants may go out and have a meal at their own expense.
Beginning Playwriting (Beginners)
13th and 14th February: 11am to 4pm both days.
Venue: Kala Ghoda Association Office, 4th floor, c/o ATE enterprises, Dr. V. B. Gandhi Marg, Fort.
Conducted by Anuvab Pal.
Writing a play is always terrifying. Not half as terrifying as looking at a blank sheet of paper before starting it! This two-day session takes you through the nuts and bolts of writing for the stage, if not to make you write the next Hamlet, at least to think about it. There will be a break for lunch during which participants may go out and have a meal at their own expense.
Creating your own Tinkle Superhero! (Kids up-to age 15)
13th and 14th February: 10:30am to 3:00pm both days.
Venue: BNHS Auditorium, Fort.
Conducted by Savio Mascarenhas and team from Amar Chitra Katha.
Do you dream up stories and create imaginary characters? Do you wish to see yourself as a comic book artist or write stories about your own superhero? This is your chance! This 2-day Tinkle workshop will teach you to convert your story into a comic format. you will learn to develop main characters, write dialog, and illustrate your story! At the end of the workshop, you would have created your own superhero comic!
Posts on Literature events and readings coming up shortly! We look forward to seeing all of you at the festival!
While the adults discussed the pros and cons of literary awards, marketing, cash prizes, the vulgarity and the necessity of categorizing literature and selling it, the little boy read Raold Dahl’s ‘The BFG’.
Seemed to validate Sankar’s point that some books, like those by Sarat Chandra need no awards or marketing to sell even now.
Well, books may not need the awards or the cash, but am sure, authors do. The male authors seemed to disdain the need for money, the women were more practical.
At the Kalaghoda Literary Festival,
a panel discussion with Namita Devidayal, Usha K R, Sankar, P Sachidanandan and R Sriram. Moderated by Vikram Doctor.
15 February, 2009 in the David Sasson Library garden.
The Translating poetry workshop was starting at 2.30 PM.
It was 2.26 pm and I still hadn’t found the entrance to the Elphinston college! I walked up and down the side walk and in desperation called Ayesha who guided to to the side entrance. Rushed up looking for room no 108 and reached the class room 5 mins late. I was reliving an old nightmare. The teacher here didn’t look as formidable or as pissed off as the teachers in my nightmare. He just nodded when I panted “May I come in “.
Feeling about 2 inches tall I settled in my chair. Sachin Ketkar, was our Teach for the evening. He has an impressive portfolio. A writer and translator, he has done is PhD in languages from Gujrat. He has translated not only in Marathi but also in Gujarati.
There were nine or ten people. Every participant had some experience as a writer, some in English and a few in Marathi.
Sachin had brought notes for us which also had a few poems for us to translate. We got into discussing poetry and how translating it is different that the prose. Is it possible to translate every poem? Or some are more difficult?
Once when I had read a Haiku, four friends came up with four different interpretations, all different than mine. Does their point of view have same validity as mine?
When they say- lost in translation, what exactly is lost and how?
What about idioms, and cultural references or poetic forms?
Is it possible to carry these from one language into another?
What is more important, translating the words as they are, or assuming more license while capturing the meaning behind the words?
A poem is open to many interpretations. How do we decide what the poet wanted to say? Then in what way is a translation any less than an original creation? etc etc etc.
Not every answer Sachin gave us was acceptable, and very soon it became a ‘students v/s teacher’ debate, but as in any debate, everyone was left to find his own answers.
We were given a poem where all our questions were put to test.We had about 15 minutes to do it. We had been asked to keep Marathi / English dictionaries with us. But frankly speaking, we didn’t need them. As we had discussed earlier, translating the idiom was the real challenge. We submitted our work to our teacher who while not commenting Rightness or wrongness of anything seemed more curious to see what our interpretation had been.
All in all, while not satisfying completely, it was a good experience.
In two parts (so you can’t register for just one)
Saturday,7th Feb (session 1) 1:30-3:30pm
Sunday, 8th Feb, (session 2) 1:30-3:30pm
Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) auditorium
Open to beginner and intermediate level writers
Maximum Number of Participants: 20
Language: English
Conducted By: Urvashi Butalia and Anita Roy
Sunday, 15th February, 6pm-7pm
BNHS Auditorium
For children aged 9-12
Maximum Number of Participants: 25
Language: English
Conducted by Aniruddha Sengupta
(This is a two-session workshop, so you must attend both sessions.)
Saturday, 14th February (Session 1) 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Sunday 15th February (Session 2) 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
BNHS Auditorium
For children below the age of 8
Maximum Number of Participants: 15
Language: English
Conducted By: Nilima Eriyat
Saturday, 14th February, 10am - 11am
BNHS Auditorium
For children aged 9-12
Maximum Number of Participants: 20-25
Language: English
Conducted By: Saker Mistri
Sunday, 15th February, 10 am - 11:30am
BNHS Auditorium
For children up to 8 years
Maximum Number of Participants: 20
Language: English
Conducted By: Anushka Ravishankar
In two parts (so you can’t register for just one)
Saturday, 14th February, 11:00 am – 1:00pm (Session 1) and 2:00pm - 4:00pm (Session 2)
BNHS Auditorium
For children aged 7 to 10
Maximum Number of Participants: 15
Language: English
Conducted By: Neeru Nanda
Sunday, 8th February, 2pm-5pm
Elphinstone College Seminar Room
For children aged 9 to 12
Maximum Number of Participants: 15
Language: English
Conducted By: Chatura Rao
Sunday, 8th February, 10am - 1pm
BNHS Auditorium
For children aged 13-16
Language: English
Maximum Number of Participants: 15
Conducted By: Anshumani Ruddra
6th–14th February '10
A project of the Literature festival
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