The joy of being at the Kasauli Litfest-18

Dr Sanjeeva Pandey and Dr M K Ranjitsinh:  book launch at the litfest

                       

Mark Tully- erudite, witty and humorous

Dr M K Ranjitsinh: sheer elegance 

                                      

 Another miss last weekend. “Is ‘Palampurbeats’ losing steam?” you might wonder. But the fact of the matter is that your truly was at the 7^th Khushwant Singh Litfest at Kasauli (12-14 October). A bumpy  journey – particularly between Parwanoo and Dharampur - in a decrepit, weather-beaten Punjab roadways bus, a sleepless night in the PWD Rest House manned by  inhospitable staff, and therefore a sulky and angry frame of mind when I woke up on Saturday, plus the intoxication of being among the literati, conspired to prevent me from completing my half-written piece and share it with you as my blog post.

But now about the Litfest.

Having missed the opening, forenoon session, when I took my seat in the jam-packed back courtyard of the Kasauli club where the litfest  was being held, an animated post-lunch discussion on the knotty problem of Indo-Pak relations getting knottier by the day, was underway. And there was a sharp divide between the peaceniks and the votaries of a strong, muscular policy- both between the speakers on the stage and in the audience. But discuss as you may, both the Heaven-cursed countries lack the will and wisdom of say,  the two Germanies, and this sad, violence-torn subcontinent continues to suffer and bleed, mired in the British-inflicted misery with no end in sight at all. This fact came forth again in another discussion the next day on the topic: India-Pakistan: Breaking the logjam when Lt General (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain was the interlocutor and Tilak Devasher and Lt Gen (Retd) Kamal Davar were the speakers.

The forenoon topics which I missed were very exciting. I would have loved to listen to Bhaichand Patel on Khushwant Singh, and Gurcharan Das on ‘Kama: The Riddle of desire’ – his latest book. But was fairly compensated by listening to the likes of distinguished writers and speakers such as Mark Tully, Maja Daruwala, Syeda Hameeda and Seema Mustafa covering a wide range of subjects: women’s rights, human rights and other women-centric themes. All discussions were revealing and enlightening.  But I loved Mark Tully’s short discourse the most. He spoke about his two latest books and about the life and beauty of villages in Eastern UP, about the charm of travel in Indian railways (which he said, need more governmental focus than the insipid air travel) and how ‘misgovernance’ at all levels hinders India’s progress. His wit and humour throwing the captive audience into splits of laughter made it all so delectable and enticing.   I was delighted to find Dr Sanjeeva Pandey, my old friend – to whom goes the credit of nursing, grooming and protecting the GHNP Kullu with  care and dedication – give glimpses of  his book ‘The Great Himalayan National Park’ co-authored by Dr Anthony J. Gaston. Incidentally, yours truly had worked with Dr Gaston ( an avid birdman from Canadian Wildlife Service and in love with Himalayas) in the late 70s’ doing wildlife surveys in the Beas catchment areas- a pioneering work contributing to the establishment of GHNP. And it was a great pleasure to hear Dr M K Ranjitsinh- one of the great authorities on India’s wildlife - introduce Dr Pandey and the book in his chaste and elegant English. I also spotted the calm, composed figure of H Kishie Singh seated in a  corner and quietly soaking in the delights of this tryst with world of 'words'. As you know, he writes a column in The Tribune in his own gripping style on 'safe driving'. He too spoke briefly on a book he has just brought out on the subject. Should be a must-read, I am sure.

Travel weary – and it was getting chilly too -  I skipped the last few events and retired to the uninviting Rest House, little knowing that the glum and sullen ‘caretaker’ will refuse to serve me daal-roti dinner and that  the rajai with a mouldy, smelly, shrunken cover will give me a sleepless night.

But a great feast of illuminating intellectual sessions was in store for me the next day on the 13^th.
                                                                                         (To be concluded)

                                                  ***