Archive for February, 2014

22
Feb

Keynote Address at Punjabi University Patiala

   Posted by: aman    in Other

Prof. Rajesh Sharma invited me to give the keynote address at the Department of English Seminar at the Punjabi University Patiala. I was nervous. I knew what I wanted to say but I did not know how the talk would be received. To my delight and surprise Punjab welcomed me with open arms.

I emphasized on the need for Punjab – all Punjabis beyond lines of religious, caste and gender divisions – to engage with the decade of 1980s and recount what has happened to us.

Please read the Punjabi coverage in the Tribune here.

Please read the English coverage in the Tribune by scrolling down this page.

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22
Feb

My Review of Fatima Bhutto’s debut novel in TBR

   Posted by: aman    in Other

Novel: The Shadow of the Crescent Moon

‘In conflicted lands, everything in a border town is at risk. Everything takes a beating: people, families, friendships, histories, geographies, and most of all identities and trust. Such towns are poisoned webs and one never knows where one will lose one’s mind, respect, or life or all. Fatima brings her angst of being stateless to draw out a richly human story of those who we normally call nonstate actors from shadow lands that sit on national consciences.’

Please read.

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The Author TV folks have been kind. They have interviewed me and put up my video on their site. Thank you.

Please click.

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I spoke at The Hindu ‘Lit for Life’ at Siri Fort in Delhi on Feb 8 as part of a panel discussion on the 1984 anti-Sikh violence. As a curtain raiser Swati Daftuar caught me just as I was catching a crowded, noisy vehicle a few days before. This interview is completely spontaneous. Please read, there are some points I raise here on which I would otherwise tread cautiously. Thank you Swati, this is how this should have been done.

“The fundamental issue I have is that, post the ’84 riots, the Sikh narrative has become a narrative of victim-hood. I don’t think Sikhs were ever conceived as victims or needed to portray this all the time. Along with that, the in-fighting within the community post the riots is another concern I have.”

Please read.

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The Hindu Lit for Life was from January 11 to 13. My book Roll of Honour was nominated and my presentation, with other writers’ is in this link. Please see from Minutes 9.45 to 19.45 for my section. Click here …

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The anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984 is often invoked in political discourse but I did not know enough about all the literature that is available on the subject. So, I took my editor’s prompt as a trigger to research the documentation. Here are my findings. I am disappointed by how Punjabi did not really fully respond to the events and am impressed by how Hindi, English, even Assamese, Malayalam and Tamil have responded. Writing this article helped me create my own list, I do hope it serves as a map for your readings.

PS: My thanks to Rajesh Sharma, Daljit Ami, Surjit Singh, Nirupama Dutt, Chaman Lal, Deepinder Kaur, Abhirami Sriram, Kumar Anupam for immense help with information and guidance with this article. I am sorry I could not include everything but I am enriched by your support.

Please read.

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