By the river Pampa they sat for three days, relishing literature and debating questions covering individual, social and political wanderings of contemporary writings from South and North East India. As curtains came down on the third edition of South India Writers’ Ensemble, which drew quite a crowd from across the State, at Chengannur on Sunday, festival director T.P. Rajeevan said it was only natural for the Pampa to bear witness to the contemplations on literary image, as the place always had a niche in creation of another kind of image — that of the Gods. “The region is famous for sculptors chiselling idols.”
The festival this year showcased 50 writers who actively took part in 15 sessions at two venues. Assamese writer Apurba Kumar Saikia flagged the issue of censorship, which he said was getting worse by the day in his State. “While the government has its machinery to ban works by authors they do not approve of, it is up to the community of writers to stand together and fight for their right,” he said. “We must also write with immense responsibility and should not reduce ourselves to becoming fashionable, publicity craving, nonsense writers,” he added, signalling the fast movement of proscribed books.
Kannada writer S. Diwakar said books were mostly opposed by people who had not read them. A fine point on poetry was made by Ananya S. Guha, a poet from the North East, who said it was unfair to probe what the poet meant when he wrote it. “A good poem has its own logic and a poetic experience is embedded in it. The logic of a poem is in the creative process of writing it and it is related to the person who is writing it,” he said.
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Kanaka Hama, chief coordinator and Kannada writer, was happy that the festival was a success in terms of audience participation.
Special Correspondent
The festival this year showcased 50 writers who actively took part in 15 sessions at two venues.