In a freewheeling conversation at Alliance Francaise, authors William Dalrymple and Akash Kapur tackled a diversity of topics, including the insider-outsider perspective in writing, the growing trend towards non-fiction, the growing literary market in India and the challenges of organising the Jaipur Literature Festival, which Mr. Dalrymple co-organises.
During an evening of lively discussions and a Q and A session moderated by Alliance Francaise director Olivier Litvine, both authors revealed that their next projects would have links with Puducherry’s past.
Mr. Dalrymple’s Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan and Mr. Kapur’s India Becoming: A Portrait of Life in Modern India have just been published in French as Le retour d’un roi: la bataille d’Afghanistan and L’Inde de demain respectively.
Introducing Mr. Dalrymple, Mr. Litvine noted that his great strength lay in the fact that his works were perfectly documented and drew from untapped sources, adding that it led to “lively, vivid narratives.”
Mr. Litvine introduced Mr. Kapur as “Pondicherry’s own” and said his book, India Becoming puts in perspective the lives, hopes and disillusionment of the ‘midday children’ and presented a humane picture of the complex challenges of people living in an India going through a great transformation.
The authors examined the advantages and disadvantages of having an outsider’s perspective in writing. Mr. Kapur, who has Indian and American parentage, was asked by Mr. Dalrymple whether being an outsider is an asset. Mr. Kapur replied that the distance helps in research and writing, but for anyone writing in India, the level of distance was always there, just lesser or more.
On his part, Mr. Dalrymple said the outsider tag made him work harder and double-check facts but also that there were chances of being misunderstood. “However long I stay here, I know I will never be all too familiar with India. There is something impenetrable about India,” he said.
Mr. Kapur said the next book, which he is currently working on, revolves round Puducherry and Auroville in the 1970s. He said he did not want to reveal much as the audience was predominantly from Puducherry and Auroville and he could be interviewing some of them for his work.
Mr. Dalrymple also revealed his new book is centred on the East India Company and also have something on French Governor Dupleix of Puducherry.
The authors also read from their works and took questions from the audience, followed by a book signing session.
