Environmental Talks, Play Readings and Poetry ruled the last day of Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2013
The last day saw many noted personalities Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak, Prasoon Joshi, Rahul Bose, Alyque Padamsee, Nandita Das at Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2013.
The day that saw Prasoon Joshi bring to life folk music on the very stage of Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest. Everyone knows he is a poet and a lyricist, but few knew that Joshi who already wears many hats, also wears the hat of a singer on Sunday evenings, where a heated discussion about poetry and lyrics is underway.
The discussion that preceded this awe inspiring moment saw Jerry Pinto, Prasoon Joshi and Amit Khanna discussing the difference and similarities between lyrics and poetry and quoting the works of Sahir Ludhiyanvi and Kaifi Azmi.
The Gender Divide in Competitiveness was a discussion that revolved around the new age problems of women playing more important roles in corporate industries, the world at large and how the hierarchy of patriarchy is being challenged all around. “As a man, I am able to relate to women consumers in a very rational way based on data I get, but women bring that emotive link that is impossible to substitute and therefore having women decision makers in critical in our meeting rooms in the own interest of the corporate,” Mr. Harish Bhat said. A progressive discussion by Harish Bhatt, Rakhshin Patel and Sucheta Dalal, it saw a lot of audience participation.
Mansoor Khan’s conversation with Siddharth Bhatia on the subject of ‘Growth’ was an interesting history and theory on economics. He traces the history of economics since 1820 till 2008. “We are all measuring economic growth in terms of tokens like money which is created by us. But no one is measuring it in terms of energy which is natural and not in our hands. There is no accounting of energy happening at all,” Mansoor explains further.
The discussion on Corruption in Cricket was an intense one as topics like cricket and politics were discussed quite frankly by James Astill, Samanth Sumbramaniam, Yajurvrinda Singh and Rahul Bose.
The Launch of Jonathan Porritt’s ‘The World We Made’, with Bittu Sahgal and chaired by Martin Wright was a session that gave many a hope of a better future. The book that is set in 2050 is a futuristic narrative of what is possible for the world we live in. A presentation that followed the launch spoke about how the technology to support a better and green environment and how the youth will be the biggest change makers. “All you have to do is be more self aware,” says Porritt.
Girish Karnad and Maria Aurora Couta have known each other personally and professionally. “I told Aurora your mother is so phenomenal. Keep the focus of this book only on her,” said Karnad. And so did many other people including her publishers. The result is ‘Filomena’s Journey’, an account of an exceptional woman, who believed in living her life on her own terms and did so too. It is also a story that explores the caste system in Goa. “I remember a catholic Brahmin once told me that I would rather that my child marries a Hindu Brahmin than a low caste Catholic,” says Karnad.
Arthur Miller: An actor’s godsend which was a lecture demonstration by Alyque Padamsee on the power of words of America’s greatest ever playwright and Antigone which was a visual enactment of one of the greatest stories ever told about a young girl who decides to stand up for her beliefs were performed beautifully. The Sunken Garden rang with the stories of Manto in the voice of none other than Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah. It was a evening to remember indeed!
The four day literary festival concluded on a thrilling note. A success in every way, the Festival saw a host of Literary giants and much more participation from people this year.
