As Yohan Chacko stood at the podium before he began reading, he had just one thing to say, “Feel free to laugh out loud.” And the audience didn’t stop with laughs. They remained appropriately quiet, whispered, drew in their breaths or looked sullen all through the five readings that comprised Words Take the Stage.
The five readers who took the stage presented excerpts from the novels shortlisted for The Hindu Prize 2013. The event, a part of The Hindu Lit for Life, was held recently at the British Council.
Shaan Libby, an advocate, practising at the Madras High Court, read the short story Me and Sammy Fernandes from Another Man’s Wife and Other Stories by Manjul Bajaj. The humorous tale had a poignant message in the end. The reading was full of drama, with Shaan sometimes exploding in anger and sometimes talking through gritted teeth, bringing the story alive.
Gibran Osman next read an excerpt from Vanity Bagh by Anees Salim. An actor, Gibran has earlier worked as a journalist and a video jockey. The excerpt that was read was a court judgment and a memory that follows it. The story is of Imran Jabbari, who lives in a town that has a Muslim neighbourhood called Vanity Bagh (the locals attribute the name to an English woman who lived there). He is part of a gang called Five and a Half Men who aspire to become like their neighbourhood don, who has a missing leg but still rules the area.
Pravin Aiana, an architect and designer who dabbles in theatre, was in character as he read out from Roll of Honour by Amandeep Sandhu. He told the story of a man who runs away from his past but years later goes in search of it so that he can sleep well again. Yohan Chacko delved into the simple and quirky minds of the Chacko family as he read out from The Illicit Happiness of Other People by Manu Joseph.
Tehzeeb Katari, who ended the evening with Foreign by Sonora Jha, became the protagonist, Katya Misra. As she is enjoying a fine evening in the U.S., she is informed that her 14-year-old son Kabir, who is in Mumbai, has run away from home. Tehzeeb brought out the emotions of a mother who has just lost her son, her anxiety and fears, through her dramatic reading.
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