The second day of AKLF saw a host of interesting back-to-back events. It began by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, British journalist & writer speaking to Sujata Sen and Reba Som about her experience from her book Food Stories: Stirring Moments.
This was followed by Transgressions: Essaying the New in Indian Films with filmmakers Shyam Benegal, Onir, actor Dhritiman Chaterji and film critic Mira Hashmi.
book launch of Shobha De's Sethji followed with chief guest Rakhi Sarkar and with interaction with Rita Bhimani.
Afternoon saw a host of panelists in conversation with Urvashi Butolia, touching on topic of Tomorrow and the Written Word. They touched on topics of finding a publisher, what a publisher wants and what a writer should write.
Evening brought William Dalrymple too talk on his Return of a King, the First Afghan War told through the lives of unforgettable characters.
Lastly, it was the announcement of winner and presentation of the 2013 prize by Tibor Jones South Asia Prize Avni Doshi received the prize for her manuscript, Girl in White Cotton.

Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, Jan. 9-13, 2013 began their festival with the first day with a cinemagic: A TRIBUTE TO A CENTURY OF INDIAN CINEMA where an exhibition on An Enchanted Look at Hindi Cinema Through the Priya Paul Collection. This was followed by A Filmmakers Forum and finally Inauguration Ceremony of AKLF 2013 at the historical Victoria Memorial. The inauguration was done by Hon. Governor M. K. Narayanan. This was followed by keynote address by eminent filmmaker Shyam Benegal.
The second day seems to be an exiciting day for writers with several book launches. The day has started and I'm off to Rosewood, the banquet hall in Park Hotel for interesting back-to-back events!

I waited. Yes I did. For  some news to put here in the new year. The outpourings in the shape of the first few words of 2013. I was in my teaching centre falling into a day-dream. And then it happened...
The screen of my cell-phone showed the name of Kulpreet Yadav as the cell woke up from its New Year's slumber. "Mo Tejani is no more!" The shell-shocking news caught my voice unawares. Kulpreet went on to say that our writer friend had succumbed to a massive heart attack at 2.30 am on 1st January.
I rushed home, my heart bursting with the news. I wanted to share this with the others. The group message box in Fb showed some waiting text to be read. Andrew Bond, one of our writer friends had already put up the sad news.
We shared the sad music of our hearts by filling the vessel called Mo with our tears. However, Mo's personality was so endless that our tears were ashamed as it failed to reach the brim to overflow. Mo was filled with humour. And his life always gifted him with sudden surprise risks at most bends.
Each and every word that we exchanged in the message box were insufficient to Mo's sky-reaching personality. Now I realize that each and every moment of life is to be cherished. This realization came this time from our departed friend, Mo. Funeral flowers were given from us by one of our writer friends residing in Chiang Mai.
Here is a tribute to Mo in the shape of a poem from all of us the AP Writers community.

Mo, the Humorous Bomb

A humorous bomb is a bomb

which is built within you from the moment you are born.

And when a storm from Uganda attacked you

this bomb kept you alive

because it was fireproof

it was bloodproof.

It gave you courage, this bomb

it confidenced you, this bomb

it united you, this bomb

it loved you, this bomb.

This bomb

became your passport

your beloved     your friend

your son    your daughter

your father    your mother.

This bomb made you sing

it made you dance

it made you play.

And you told Idi Amin,

“You may go to hell.

I have my humour

a stronger bomb

and you cannot destroy me.”

And with your bomb of humour,

you united the people around you

you got us drunk with your humour.

We laughed aloud

danced with funny caps

and cartoon sunglasses.

We tapped our feet in your rhythm.

We became you

because you became us

with your love.

YOU HUMOROUS BOMB!!

 

I know that all of us are really shattered with the brutal atrocity on Damini. Like you all, I am not the left-out one. I have been constantly composing poems about the atrocity on Indian women's insecurity. The poem below, had been posted in Facebook>

To One and All (with due apologies to Mark Anthony)

Friends, Indians, countrymen, lend me your ears;     
I come to bury the 23-year-old girl, not to praise rape.
The evil that men do lives after them;
the good is oft interred with their bones;
so let it be with Damini, the twenty-three year old.

All of you know that she was returning by bus
from a late-night movie show.
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
and grievously has she answered it.
Here, under leave of the laws of your country--
for the laws are honourable;
so are all the law-makers, all honourable men--
come I to speak against injustice.
She was young, pretty and studying paramedics:
but the six men say she was over-ambitious;
and that her youth-hood was what drove them to rape her.

She wore a smile which captivated her boy friend
and her smiles filled his heart:
Did this in her seem over-ambitious?
When she cried, she rested her head on his shoulders;
over -ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet the six say she was over-ambitious;
and the laws of the land are honourable;
so are all the law-makers, all honourable men.

You all do know she and her boyfriend boarded the bus at 10:15 pm.
was that a wrong time to travel?
Yet the six say she was over-ambitious;
and, sure, they are honourable men.
I speak not to disprove the laws of your country,
but here I speak what I do know and what you know.

You all did love your country once by throwing the British out;

and that was not without a cause:
What cause withholds you then, to redress your country?
O judgment! You have fled to brutish beasts,
and the country has lost her reason.
My countrymen, all our hearts are with the 23-year-old,
so let me pause till they come back to us.

  Hi there, everyone!
  I am I am.
  And when I say those two words I mean another step has been taken by me. Yes you got it right. The e-book version of LLCC is already out, and I'm thrilled to see one review already sitting close to it.
   Now let me share something with you. Of late I've been pondering a lot on introducing some more relevancy into Jill and Jack, the sequel to LLCC. JJ is all set and ready to sail in the e-book ship; however, I just woke up my mind to the face that something more can be added to make the life of Jill and Jack a bit more interesting.
   In the meantime, I will see you soon as JJ is calling me!
   Have a great day:)

Post LLCC

   You might be wondering where I had vanished all these days. Nowhere. I recently had a book launch done in Crossword, Elgin Road, one of the finest book stores of the city. The actor and director, Arindam Sil was the Chief Guest and Richa Sharma, Mrs. India International 2011-2012 the Guest of Honour.
   Well, the sale graph of Love and Life in a Changing City has been slowly and steadily rising, thanks to my fans. And now, the book is getting ready for an e-book format. Moreover, you should watch out for Jill and Jack the sequel to LLCC. It has already been ready but I want to first get it out in the e-book format. It falls under a mixed genre of literary fiction, paranormal, horror.
   It's about to be published soon.
   Till then, happy waiting!!

You know I only realized the other day that even for marketing, an author has to have patience. My book, Love and Life in a Changing City, though it got published last month June 20120 year, it has yet to hit the stands. It will be out in all the stores of Crossword in Calcutta, possibly this week. I can't wait for its e-book format, but many of my trusted friends say I should hold on to this bug and release it not before 6 months have passed.
My publisher will send the details of the book to Flipkrt this week also.
Boy, how do I stop myself from biting my nails!!