By Shevlin Sebastian
At the author’s lounge at the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters at the Kanakakkunnu Palace at Thiruvananthapuram, the ever-smiling curator Sabin Iqbal is interacting with a host of guests. After a while, he sits down to take a breather. Suddenly, he hears a ping tone. When he clicks on the mail, a smile breaks out on his face.
It is good news. His Polish publisher has just informed him that the release of his novel, ‘The Cliffhangers’ will take place in March. Sabin will be the first contemporary author from Kerala to have his work translated into Polish.
Last year, a few Polish publishers came to attend the festival. They met Sabin. He presented them with their book. They liked it and decided to publish it in their language.
Meeting a career diplomat
At lunch, as authors sat around at several tables and chatted with each other, a man came and sat next to me. He was a tall and lean man. And he used the cutlery in a very delicate way, without making any noise. Perfect manners at the table. After a while, we started talking. He was a retired career diplomat. Ajay Bisaria was the High Commissioner to Pakistan in 2017. In August 2019, the Pakistan government expelled him because of the abrogation of Article 370, which changed the special status of Kashmir.
Ajay worked in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), under National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra during the time of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. According to Wikipedia he attended more than 50 international summits with the Prime Minister as part of his delegation.
Ajay had just written a book called, ‘Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship between India and Pakistan’ (Aleph Publishers).
Sitting next to me was the well-known journalist Saba Naqvi. She had come to speak on her book, ‘Saffron Storm – From Vajpayee to Modi’’. I introduced Saba, whom I met at the festival for the first time, to Ajay.
He said, “Saba, you don’t recognise me. I used to work in the PMO during Vajpayee’s time.”
For a moment, Saba did not recall. Then a light flashed in her eyes and she said, “Oh, of course, of course, I remember you.”
Courage despite threats
Saba Naqvi is perhaps the first Muslim woman journalist to cover the BJP for the past 20 years. The former political editor of Outlook Magazine now writes for a host of newspapers and is a commentator on television. Owing to her forthright reporting, Saba has received a lot of threats and has been subjected to online bullying by right-wing followers. This has taken an emotional and psychological toll.
At the session at the festival, moderated by senior journalist B. Sreejan, Saba had to carefully choose the words she spoke, knowing any slip-up in meaning could cause an army of trolls to attack her. But despite this never-ending pressure, her answers were forthright and bold. And she provided an interesting insight. “You must know that Narendra Modi is having a fun time,” she said. “Posing for selfies, dressing well, standing on scenic beaches, and travelling everywhere. He is a 24/7 politician.”
At the bookstore, a couple of hours after her session, Saba heard the good news that all her books had been sold out.
Waiting for the muse
I went up to Subhash Chandran, one of Kerala’s preeminent writers, and said, “Sir, I have not read any of your works.”
Before Subhash could get offended, I said, “I don’t know how to read Malayalam as I grew up in Kolkata.”
Subhash smiled as I said, “Sir, when you write, do you depend on the unconscious?”
“Yes, absolutely,” said Subhash. “Creative inspiration always comes from the unconscious mind. I wait for it to happen. That is one reason my productivity is low, as compared to others.”
The multiple award-winning author has published around ten books so far.
Subhash said that being the editor of the weekly literary magazine ‘Azhchappathippu’, of the Mathrubhumi newspaper, takes a lot of his time.
He then spoke about P. Rajeev, the state minister for industries, law and coir. Rajeev moderated a discussion of Subhash’s book at the festival. Subhash expressed his admiration for Rajeev’s insightful knowledge of his literary works.
Escape from Libya
AJ Thomas is basking in the success of the well-received book he had translated into English titled, ‘The Greatest Malayalam Stories Ever Told’ (Aleph). But during a conversation, at the Kanakakunnu Palace, he spoke at length about the harried time he experienced in Libya, a few years ago.
At that time, he was teaching English at the Garyounis University (later Benghazi University). Thomas was on leave from the Sahitya Akademi, in the post of Editor, Indian Literature.
At the beginning of the revolution, against the ruler Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, in February 2011, Thomas was evacuated along with his colleagues from Benghazi port by ship to Alexandria. From there, he was flown to Delhi by the Indian Embassy. He resumed the editorship of Indian Literature.
On October 20, 2011, Gaddafi was shot dead. The country descended into chaos. However, an interim unity government was set up in January 2012. At the university’s insistence, Thomas returned on January 4, 2012. Unfortunately, the unity government collapsed in April 2013.
Ansal al Sharia, an extremist Islamist organisation unleashed jihad in the country, followed by ISIS. A few months later, they suddenly targeted foreign passport holders with Christian names. Sensing imminent danger, in mid-December, 2014, Thomas and a colleague, travelled 400 kilometres through backroads and escaped through an airport close to the border with Egypt and flew back to Delhi. Within a week, 33 Egyptian Coptic Christians were beheaded by ISIS. “It was a close shave for us,” he said. Altogether Thomas spent six years in Libya.
Thomas also spoke about a Kerala-based friend, and former colleague from his Sahitya Akademi days in Delhi, whose health had broken down. “I am going to meet him soon,” he said. “It will be very sad to see him like this. I have spent a lot of good moments with him.”
Thomas falls silent as he realises that no one can stop the passage of time and the damaging effect it can have on one’s health and mental equilibrium.
A US-based Malayali author
Manohar Thomas wears an eye-catching yellow shirt. He is a past president of the Literary Association of North America. This is an organisation that comprises writers of Malayali origin who have migrated to North America. Their aim is to promote Malayalam literature on a global scale. He is the founder of ‘Sargavedy’, an organisation for Malayalam language and literature in New York.
“The problem for us is that the second generation of Malayalis in America do not know how to read in Malayalam,” he says. “It is a big loss for our culture. But that is the price you pay for immigration.”
Manohar is a published author. But to earn a living, he sells wine in New York. To guarantee that he buys the best French, Australian, and Italian wines he has to taste it. To ensure that his tongue remains sensitive, he has had to eschew Indian food with its wide variety of spices. So, Manohar has bland food all the time. That’s the price he has to pay to have a successful business.
Wrong identification
Sipping a cup of tea was Rahul Jayaram, wearing a colourful Nepali Topi. Rahul is a teacher, freelance journalist and bibliophile. He held a copy of ‘City on Fire: A boyhood in Aligarh’. I only saw the book in Rahul’s hand, rushed towards him, shook his hand, as I kept staring at the cover, and said, “I have not read the book yet, but I read the reviews. They are all great. Congratulations.”
Rahul smiled and said, in a formal manner, “I am not Zeyad Masroor Khan. I am the moderator for the discussion. Zeyad will come soon.”
“Oh, oh,” I said, finally looking up at Rahul.
I had to burst out laughing. Rahul is a friend.
“That’s so funny,” I said.
It was Rahul’s turn to laugh.
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