« 2005-06 Winners of Edward and Sally Van Lier Fellowship | Main | Chicago - Book Club 3/20 - The Kite Runner »
March 17, 2005
SAJA Event in NYC - Follow Up!
Last Saturday, I had a chance to go to a sold-out reading hosted by SAJA in NYC. It was a 2 hour reading followed by a reception.
What made this event exceptional was the caliber of the authors: Meena Alexander Anita Desai, Amitav Ghosh, Jhumpa Lahiri, Suketu Mehta, Pankaj Mishra, Kamila Shamsie, Vijay Seshadri Manil Suri, and Shashi Tharoor.
Going into this, I wondered how all these writers – each who could command half a day to read their works –was going to be completed in 2 hours. I’ve been to similar conferences which lasted a full day or two. Apparently, the authors had 10 minutes or so to read along the theme.
The purpose of this event was to raise money for journalism fellowship to bring media attention back to the tsunami torn region. Therefore, the organizers had requested each author provide their own interpretation of Dante Aligheri’s quote: There is no greater sorrow than to recall joy in times of misery"
Anita Desai, elegant to the tilt as always, chose to read Rabindranath Tagore’s work and evoke lush memories of Bengal. Suketu Mehta read about the beautiful frenzy of an anticipated monsoon rain and a Walt Whitman poem, which eerily paralleled emotions of tsunami victims. Amitav Ghosh read from his new book “The Hungry Tide,” and Kamila Shamsie read from “Broken Verses.” Both writers have a great presence reading their work, truly bringing it alive.
Jhumpa Lahiri and Manil Suri read from their upcoming work; a bit frustrating since it is like tasting from the pot before it is finished cooking and won’t be served for some time. So there’s a pleasant taste in your mouth, but your stomach is still empty. Speaking of food (actually not really), Pankaj Mishra, upon special request, read a light story from his previous work, “Butter Chicken in Ludhiana.” Vijay Seshadri had some great interpretations of fairy tales, politically and sensibly corrected. Here are some other poems of his: Long Meadow
Shashi Tharoor was last and read from “Bookless in Baghdad.” This book is due this summer and I really cannot wait; I know Mary Anne has posted something regarding this as well. The piece he read described going to a book ‘souk’ in Baghdad years ago, on a UN related trip. People were selling valuable books in order to survive. The sad irony was that those that truly loved the books were the ones selling them, not reading them. He paralleled it with a statue of Sheherazade, the storyteller of Baghdad. He remarked that while it was a beautiful statue, it lacked a plaque indicating its history. The stories and books of the people of Baghdad are disappearing.
What was also great about this event is that I have not read Mishra, Suri or Shamesi, but I definitely have added them to my list of ‘must-reads’. I’m not a fan of Meena Alexander’s poetry per se, yet she’s edited a book of “Indian Love Poems,” which sounds really appealing - like a box of colorful, gooey Indian sweets (the kind you could only eat one at a time).
Even though there were over 300 people in attendance, I was surprised that majority of the authors remained to meet and greet the audience. We snared a few pictures and chatted with our favorite writers, which was fun!
By the way, Pooja Makhijani was there, and was recognized as an 'author in attendance'. (Great to meet you too, Pooja!)
Posted by Ashini J. Desai at March 17, 2005 10:37 PM
Comments
Hi, nice round-up of the event. I was there as well, and really enjoyed it...
My clear favorites were Mishra, Mehta and Desai.
It's going to be my next blog post, actually.
Posted by: elck at March 18, 2005 09:10 AM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)