Hindu Lit For Life, 17th Feb, 2013. Harrington Road, Chennai. 


   

        The day warm and pleasant.Auto guy charged me extra for a 500 meter ride, and i reached exactly on time for Wendell Rodricks' session Green Room, about fashion industry. The session continued with the usual green room incidents, fashion weeks and hot models. His statement, " Models can easily spot a straight guy in the green room" made the audience giggle. The day continued with a few other authors talking about usual things and trying really hard to make their book a best seller. I felt it absurd. One guy literally begged the audience to buy his books. What a cheap..!!

     I listened to the rest of the boring sessions with much patience and over submissiveness just because Meena Kandaswami was sitting beside me. Hot, intelligent and a rebel. She wrote " Dear Nisanth, Read, Rebel! " in my notebook..Love "Meena".... I got to flirt too.. no i would not say flirt.. It's called "socializing in a very apt and over friendly way" with one of the saffron saree girls. Name is Mancy (guess i spelled it correctly). Student from WCC.. friendly.. lovable....and with a very cute smile. I fell for her..though it lasted only for a few moments. I remember how I sat down and wrote a few lines on a piece of paper she handed to me to hang it on the wish tree. All I wished for is unconditional love with a faint hope that she would read it.

 I got books too.. and got it autographed from the authors. Jeet Thayil's Narcopolis and Varun's "how i braved anu aunty and co-founded a million dollar company". The session on food by Rocky and Mayur was fun filled and yummy. Food quote was excellent and witty like always, "Though we came to chennai for literature fest, Murugan's Idli is what we liked the best" for which the crowd broke down into a huge applause.


   Jerry Pinto, the crazy kid who whistled and came in during a session was awarded the Prize for the best novel..Em and the Big Hoom. No comments. I got to see sexy Shriya Saran and beautiful Sharmila Tagore. The pervert in me managed to get a few good photos of Shriya. I should admit that I really tried to control that pervert only to find him uncontrollable. Nobody to blame. A few good memories and two books which  I am really looking forward to read. I took the night train, got back home and slept...next year.

                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                      -Nisanth Thomas
  

Hindu - Lit For Life, 16th Feb 2013, Harrington Road, Chennai. 


                            A mesmerizing day dedicated to literature, arts and culture which portrays the face of modern India. Lady Andal School's campus got crowded by the time the first session on the opening day kick started. Authors, actors, thinkers, journalists, literature students from various colleges of city and lastly,  myself. Registration was a beautiful event with all the lovely lady volunteers draped in saffron coloured sarees smiling at you and guiding you to the Hall. I found myself seated on a cozy sliding chair in  a centralized ac hall in sometime listening to the welcome address by Dr. Nirmala Lakshman, Opening session was captivating and thought provoking conducted by Rahul Bose and Yog Japee with an introduction by Gopalkrishna Gandhi . Letters exchanged by M.K. Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari was read for the crowd by Rahul and Yog. Rajaji accusing Gandhi for falling in love with a woman other than his wife made the crowd go numb.It read "come back"...where Rajaji actually meant, " come away from her".  The session ended by Yog reading a final letter by Rajaji in which he laments over Gandhi's death. About 30 years of friendship and brotherhood between them were depicted in a subtle but strong manner.
                       
                        I went out for a tea and there i met them. They say your life isn't complete until and unless you meet people of your same kind, People who share your thoughts, ideas and interests. The food lover in me had never been happy until I met them. Labelled as the India's biggest food lovers, the inventors of Highway On My Plate, one soul which loves nothing but food occupied in two different bodies named  Rocky and Mayur were standing right in front of me having a grab from their sandwiches. A friendly chat about food ,of course  and finally an autograph from both of them.

                      The day continued with poetry sessions and a debate on the increase in the number of rape in India titled, No country for Women. I felt a bit irritated when Jerry Pinto said " I love my book". That shows a lot of over confidence about his own work...its upto the readers to decide about a book ....or may be I don't know...it's the book critic in me speaking. I bought a book,Varun Agarwal's..hope its a good read...its a best seller after all. But the question how many best selling books had been  really best in its content and narrative style still lingers over me.The sessions continued till 6.30...I promised myself that I would hit back home and get a good sleep..wake up early in the morning....and catch the morning train to Chetpet so that I can indulge in  the literature delicacies on the 2nd day of Lit For Life.

                                                                                                - Nisanth Thomas         

Julian Barnes and the Sense of an ending...

 Tired of all stereotypical novels ? Then its time for you all to burn all your novels and start a new life.. a new life which begins with the sense of an ending..! Though the title claims to be an ending..its not after all an ending.. the book leaves you spellbound and ignites all possible senses on your body and leaves you thinking...about your past..present and what would become of your future..? A masterpiece in 150 pages, now that's quite hard to create and that's exactly why I believe it had been awarded the MAN Booker price for the year 2011. It details the mischievousness of the childhood, the cruelty of the teenage, seriousness of the adulthood and finally the sense of guilt and redemption of the oldage. One novel which will urge you to read and re-read because it's not an ending...it's a beginning of great unrest... 

                                                                                                   -Nisanth Thomas