Chewing on It in Pushkar

Away from the more famous ongoing cattle fest, Pushkar’s first literature festival left ample mental fodder to chew on.

The big names on the roster did not turn up. But away from the more famous ongoing cattle fest, Pushkar’s first literature festival left ample mental fodder to chew on. The likes of Tarun Tejpal, Jaideep Sahni and Prasoon Joshi who were scheduled to speak did not make it. However, the fest, organised by literary consultancy Siyahi with the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), had some frisson.

Beginning the proceedings was conservationist and author Aman Nath. Publicly announcing his avowed ‘atheism’, he went on to elaborate the religious and cultural specificities of Rajasthan. In for particular attention was Pushkar itself. Besides the occasional fallacy of mixing up Lord Shiva’s wife for Saraswati and not Parvati, the risque legends of the Hindu deities were evoked with an interest that must have made the gods smile. By the end of his talk, the wind had picked up, causing the bamboo-anchored coverings to jolt in the desert air. The skies must have heard the speech and it set a trend: throughout the day, each session had its natural special effects moment.    

The next one was a talk-cum-performance on the Mahabharata. Author Namita Gokhale read from her book, The Puffin Mahabharata, while a group of Rajasthani folk storytellers performed the portions Gokhale read from, in their own fashion. The performers were a tribe of mainly Muslim artistes practising an old local oral narrative of epics like the Mahabharata. Writer Sadanand Dhume added to that by shedding light on versions of the Hindu epics in Indonesia, which he also deals with in his book, My Friend the Fanatic. 

Later, screen writer Anuvab Pal (who wrote The President Is Coming) drew the laughs. Urdu poet Sheen Kaaf Nizam, worked his malleable baritone with nazms that provoked the cloth-covered roof to take off. Writer Sathya Saran read from her book on Guru Dutt, which deals with Abrar Alvi’s experience of working with him. And finally, author Kota Neelima (whose latest book deals with farmer suicides and moneylenders) spoke with activist Aruna Roy. All in all, it was literature unlimited, till the cows came home.

PushkarRajasthanRTDC