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MORPARIA’S PAGE E-mail: [email protected] Contents AUGUST 2013 VOL.17/1 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ THEME: Morparia’s page 2 Literature Go ahead and write! 5 V Gangadhar Managing editor Indian English writers in great demand 6 Mrs. Sucharita R. Hegde Debina Chattopadhyay Will ebooks kill the printed word? 8 Rama Kumaraswamy Thoopal Editor Anuradha Dhareshwar Children‘s literature comes of age 10 Vinitha Ramchandani Writers turn publishers 12 Sub editor Preeti Singh Rajlakshmi Pillai Waiting to be discovered 14 12 Joygopal Podder Design The wind beneath a learner’s wings 16 H. V. Shiv Shankar Mahua Guha Should there be literature in cinema? 18 Marketing Sanjit Narwekar Mahesh Kanojia Getting children hooked on books 21 Lina Mathias OIOP Clubs Know India Better Vaibhav Palkar The Unheralded Rajasthan 23 Akul Tripathi Subscription Face to face: Preeti Shenoy 36 Nagesh Bangera Face to face: Bodhisatwa Dasgupta 38 23 Features Advisory board From food insecurity to food sovereignty 41 M V Kamath Nandini Chavan Sucharita Hegde Justice S Radhakrishnan Health to the beat of drums-the Panchayat way 44 Venkat R Chary Swapna Majumdar Cultural Kaleidoscope 47 Printed & Published by Youth Voice: Ashna Contractor 50 Mrs. Sucharita R. Hegde for Columns 51 One India One People Foundation, Nature watch : Bittu Sahgal Mahalaxmi Chambers, 4th floor, 22, Bhulabhai Desai Road, In focus: C.V. Aravind Mumbai - 400 026 Cool Champ 53 Tel: 022-2353 4400 Young India 54 Fax: 022-2351 7544 e-mail: [email protected] / 36 Great Indians 56 Preeti Shenoy [email protected] Printed at: Graphtone (India) Pvt. Ltd. A1 /319, Shah & Nahar Industrial Estate. S. J. Marg, Lower Parel (W) Mumbai – 400 013 visit us at: www.oneindiaonepeople.com Dr. Veena Mazumdar Lalgudi Jayaraman Major Sushil Aima KC www.facebook.com/oneindiaonepeoplefoundation oneindiaonepeople2020.blogspot.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Let us conserve our environment The topic of conservation (OIOP, July 2013 issue) was a timely one, especially after the Uttarakhand flood. While natural calamities cannot be stopped, what can be done is to stop exploiting nature for our selfish needs. The flood would have any how caused damage but the degree of destruction could read. I especially liked the article ‘Every drop counts’ by Dr. have been definitely minimised had the government taken Arvind Kumar. This year, Mumbai received good rains and proper steps to check whether the so called development reports indicate that at least three of the city’s lakes which projects were in tune with the hilly environment. How much provide water to the city all year through have overflowed, can you change the course of rivers, break mountains and because of which there might not be any water cuts this destroy forests to fulfill the greed of a few? Hope, all of us, year. Reason to rejoice. But should we sit back and relax now the citizens of India, would now learn a lesson from this tragedy that we do not have to worry about water shortage this year? and ensure that our environment is protected and conserved, Rains or not, what is needed today is water conservation and so that it protects us in return, and that our children too what better way to do it than rain water harvesting? It should would be able to enjoy the bounties of nature, as we could, to be made mandatory that every building and house, not just in some extent. Kudos to OIOP for taking up such a topical issue cities but even in villages, should harvest rain water. Considering and covering all its aspects so aptly! the increase in population and the percentage of potable water – Rajiv N. Sharma, Pune available, the day will not be far when we will have to face acute water shortage or even droughts. As Dr. Kumar says, Water, a valuable commodity – do not waste it let us make the 3Rs our mantra – reduce, recycle and reuse. The OIOP July 2013 issue ‘Conserve...or Perish’ was a good – Neelima Rajan, Mumbai Mahalaxmi Chambers, 4th floor, 22, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai - 400 026 22, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mahalaxmi Chambers, 4th floor, Letters should be addressed to Foundation, One India People The Editor, 022-2351 7544 e-mail: [email protected] / [email protected] www.oneindiaonepeople.com 022 - 2353 4400 Fax: Tel: 4 ONE INDIA ONE PEOPLE August 2013 SATIRE GoGo aheadahead andand write!write! Indian English writers are very much in demand as V Gangadhar finds out. After all, his lift man, dhobi, a taxi driver and even his wife have churned out best sellers. HE old lift in our building groaned as it started its “Indian modern fiction is different,” my wife explained. “It had slow journey up. The lift man, now in his 70’s, having to be realistic, reflect real life, use earthy language. Our dhobi TTconvinced himself that the lift would continue its and liftman told me they used only the ‘gali’ words which journey up safely, sat down on his small stool, drew out a black they heard and used all the time. Neo-realism, they called it. book and began to scribble something. Mind you, three publishers made him handsome offers for “Household accounts?” I asked. “It is good to know how much this book and he is now negotiating international rights for one earns and how much one spends in these days of inflation.” the same.” “No, sir,” the liftman replied with an embarrassed laugh. “Strange world,” I said. “Suddenly everyone is on a writing “This is the third chapter of my first novel in English and it is spree.” coming along nicely. I studied upto standard VIII and know My wife hesitated a bit. “Fiction writing brought some relief some English. But then knowing English is not necessary to those who did the same kind of work daily. By the way, these days to write a novel in that language. That is what our you are in for some surprise.” She extended her hand and milkman told me. He is now onto his third novel, all in announced, “Meet the author of ‘Cutting Carrots’, a crime English.” thriller about a serial killer who develops the habit of cutting “This is quite remarkable,” I observed. “I thought anyone who off the heads of women who cut carrots in the kitchen. It is decided to write a novel had to master the language in which quite gruesome. My publisher who is releasing the book next they decide to write it. You are a good liftman but as for month was full of praise. Said it would make a wonderful writing a novel in English…….” theme for a horror movie and Vikram Bhatt has already made “Ha, you don’t know the modern trends in Indian fiction an offer for filming it. It will star Emran Hashmi who has writing,” he sneered as the lift came to a stop. “Have a look developed a passion for kissing carrots.” at some of the Indian novels in English. Language….bah!” Too stunned to speak, I went out and got into a cab for some “We will talk about this later,” I told him, got off the lift, outing but felt hungry after sometime. “Chalo, let us go home, entered the flat and spotted the bundle of ironed clothes left Mujhe bhook lagin hain”. behind by our dhobi. When I lifted the bundle to put it aside, The cabbie who had been quiet till then came alive. “Thank a packet full of papers fell down. “Did you give the dhobi God, you said it. I mean the word ‘Bhook’. I am writing a some papers to be ironed?” I asked my wife. book for the ‘Booker Prize’ but forgot its name. Thanks for She looked up from the magazine she was reading. “Oh, reminding me.” there it is!” she exclaimed. “It is the first draft of the novel “What is the book about?” I wanted to know. our dhobi is writing. Good theme, all about a shirt which The cabbie smiled. “I want to ask the Booker people to consider went on an eternal search for a perfect iron. Lots of symbolism my book for the prize in the ‘faction’ category, I mean a mixture and things like that.” of fact and fiction. The hero is actually the taxi which recounts “Shirt, in search of a perfect iron!” I exclaimed! “What does and exposes the misdeeds of its owner – ignoring passengers, it mean?” tampering with the meter, overcharging passengers, going on “The dhobi tried to explain but it went over my head,” my strikes every other day and being rude to wife confessed. “He says he got the idea from the hissing everyone. Oh, Mumbaikars would just love sound from a shirt when he placed a hot iron over it. These the book! Just by reading it would make them creative people….. they have such peculiar ideas.” believe they were travelling in the city’s “Who wants to read such stuff?” I wanted to know. “I mean a cabs.” normal novel is okay…..” The writer is a well-known satirist. ONE INDIA ONE PEOPLE August 2013 5 5 LITERATURE IndianIndian EnglishEnglish writerswriters inin greatgreat demanddemand In a constantly changing and relentlessly growing literary scenario, Indian writers in English have carved a niche for themselves and are now determining their own way forward, says Debina Chattopadhyay. NDIAN English literature seems to have finally come to Indian English literature that terms with its place of origin—India. Indian writers living was not an Indian immigrant’s Iin India are depicting India as it really is, not an exoticised idea of home, but an essentially version or only as a background.