Alexander McCall Smith
Few would be unfamiliar with Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency . Set in Botswana, the book has millions of takers for its 16 volumes and the author is all set to release the 17th this year. The Scotland-based author who will be at the The Hindu Lit for Life 2016, says, “I am delighted to be a part of the festival, it is my first time in Chennai and I’ve heard that it’s very exciting.” McCall Smith who has previously been part of the Jaipur Lit Fest, says he is most looking forward to interacting with an interested and passionate audience.
Smith, who has enjoyed reading an assortment of works by Indian authors, is a fan of R.K. Narayan. “I firmly believe that I would have never written my Botswana series if I hadn’t read his works. I owe a great deal to R.K. Narayan and he is my absolute favourite Indian author.”
McCall Smith, who has his hands full with an average of six books releasing each year, is currently working on volume 17 of his Botswana series as well as volume 11 of the Scotland Street book series. He believes that Indian authors are doing a wonderful job when it comes to fictional crime works. “Fictional crime is a good way to describe the complexities in society. One can bring in all sorts of characters. Though I do prefer to stay away from the very gory ones; I think depiction of violence can be toned down in certain books — fictional crime is really about exploring human nature,” he says.
Raghu Karnad
“Farthest Field opens in Madras, and the entire book pivots around it, and its forgotten place in World War II history. The floods last year triggered many thoughts about the crisis and evacuation of Madras in 1942 — so the city has been on my mind,” says author Raghu Karnad, adding that, “It means a lot to be coming to LFL to explore those thoughts further.”
At his session on ‘Stories about Wars’, the author will explore the genre of war writing. “Some of the oldest literature that exists, in our society and in the West, is narratives of war… there’s nothing new about that. But I do think that in modern India, the literary world has broken off contact with the military. We’ve left war-writing to pulp-novelists and jingoes, which is a great loss, because the best war stories are anything but conservative,” he says, before adding, “Indian writers are slowly coming to grips with war again, and Amitav Ghosh is the trailblazer here. The best books are about the colonial wars of the Indian Army, because there’s no expectation that they be virtuous or nationalistic. You can focus on being true to the world and your characters’ experience.”
The author whose first book left a lasting impression on many, jokes that his next one will be on World War III. “I’m only semi-joking. Who will we be fighting in World War III? It will be us against iPhones. This time I’m joking,” says Karnad, who is currently reading Susan Abulhawa’s path-breaking novel about the Palestinian exile, Mornings in Jenin .
Kanishk Tharoor
Kanishk Tharoor is awaiting the release of his first book Swimmer Among the Stars: Stories , while also juggling a full-time career as a journalist. The author who will share the dais with Annie Zaidi on Saturday is excited to meet luminaries at the event. “For a young writer like me, it’s an honour to be involved in the LFL where I’m sharing the programme with so many luminaries. I’m excited to meet many of the great writers and artistes attending the festival,” says the author, who is also looking forward to his book’s release.
“I’m proud of this collection of short stories. I think it could offer many readers a new experience, that of encountering tales that are at once familiar and estranging. But I can only hope that people will decide to read the collection and enjoy it.” The author, who enjoys reading as much as writing, particularly enjoyed Paul Kingsnorth’s The Wake , Robin Coste Lewis’ Voyage of the Sable Venus , and Amitav Ghosh’s Flood of Fire .
Talking about juggling a busy career in journalism while transitioning to one as an author, Kanishk says, “I’m dedicated to writing both non-fiction and fiction, to juggling the demands of both, and I plan to do so in the future. Right now, I’m actually working on a radio series for the BBC — set to air at the end of February — that I’ll be presenting. It’s on the destruction of antiquities in Iraq and Syria. So I don’t see any clash between my journalism and my literary ambitions.”
Nilanjana S. Roy
She’s been a part of the LFL before and is looking forward to sharing the platform with Lionel Shriver this time round. Author and journalist Nilanjana S. Roy, best known for her book The Wildings , says, “Coming back to LFL this year feels very special: Chennai has been through so much during the floods. I am in awe of the LFL team, and the way they’ve put this edition of the festival together despite the challenges.”
She goes on to add, “I loved my first visit to LFL: Chennai readers are very engaged, very curious and very polite; and that’s a winning combination.”
The author, who is looking forward to new translations by The Murty Classical Library, including books by Bharatchandra Ray and Raghavanka, also has this on her mind — Charb’s Open Letter . This manifesto on blasphemy, Islamophobia and the true enemies of free expression was finished just two days before Stephane Charbonnier was gunned down with other members of Charlie Hebdo . Talking about the changing face of Indian writing, Nilanjana says, “It’s an interesting situation — you have an exceptionally confident generation of bestseller writers and a highly skilled generation of non-fiction writers, readers with very wide-ranging tastes and absolutely no snobbery, but it’s sad to see a lack of bookstores and the absence of a rich library culture. I wish we had a hundred more Higginbothams across the country!”
Shiv Kunal Verma
His latest book 1962: The War that Wasn’t , comes as close to the truth about the historic Indo-China war as possible. But war writing for this author is a passion he developed at a young age. “My father was in the Army and his battalion, 2 Rajput, was completely wiped out in the 1962 war. Fortunately, my father survived because he was posted elsewhere. But 282 men died in one hour — this war in that sense was a watershed for me. It got me interested in military history and ever since I have been documenting the history of the Armed Forces,” says the author who had filmed the Kargil war.
The challenge about writing about wars though, he says, is that everyone has his own version of the events. “As you move away from the war itself, the chain of events get more distorted, since everyone’s perceptions of the war change. All one can do is come as close to the truth as possible, because it is vital to know what happened, where the weak links exist.”
Verma, who studied at Madras Christian College, has a deep connect with the city and is only too happy to be back here. “I did my schooling in Dehradun, but while I was at MCC I had a blast. I never learnt a word of Tamil, but it didn’t hamper my experience. People here are so helpful and understated. Up north the lifestyle is so flashy, but here one can be oneself,” he says.
“I have come back to Chennai on several other occasions, but the best would have to be when I landed in my college campus in a Cheetah helicopter when I came to record the history of the Indian Army in 1995,” he says, adding that he’s a voracious reader and enjoys reading a wide range of genres. “I’ve started more books than I’ve finished, but I can pick up anything that is interesting. I read the Harry Potter books before my daughter did,” he laughs.
