Author: Express News Service
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: February 22, 2002
Trust Sir Vidia to do the needful.
It was supposed to be a cosy photo-op. Two days after the ICCR's herd of
participants in its first ever festival of Indian literature were cocooned
in Neemrana's multi-layered splendour, today they were supposed to gather
themselves in a wide-angled frame and be the very picture of literary unity
in diversity.
Instead, when the print and electronic
media descended on the heritage resort, there were murmurs (all with the
request that they be kept safely anonymous) about Nobel laureate V S Naipaul's
spats, about the aimless panel discussions, about a class system subtly
instituted among the writers.
First of course, were heatedly exchanged
accounts of Naipaul's outburst against Wera Hildebrand, wife of American
ambassador Robert Blackwill, in the initial hours of the retreat.
An informal talk about her native
country, Denmark, it was repeatedly said, invited the most unexpected epithets
from Naipaul. Certainly, foolish is not a word she must have expected to
hear about herself but she recovered fast and informed the Trinidad born
writer that she had been through his works and realised his opinion of
women. He in turn said only one of the two warring parties could remain
at the table, and walked off, threatening to boycott Friday night's do
a Roosevelt House, residence of the American ambassador in New Delhi.
That was what was heard. The rest
of Naipaul's outbursts were unerringly captured on many television camera
on Thursday morning. At a seemingly innocuous panel discussion on Shared
Histories: Issues of colonialism and relationship with the post, Nayantara
Sehgal, author of many an acclaimed novel, including Rich Like Us, and
Jawaharlal Nehru's niece, got a full blast. "Why do you keep drumming up
the glue of colonialism," he interjected.
Her plea that it was pertinent to
the topic simply invited a reminder that India had gained freedom more
than 50 years ago.
"Fifty years have gone by. What
colonialism are you talking about? Give me a date. Otherwise it's like
dancing in the air," he said as a hush descended on the International Festival
of Indian Literature conference being held in a 15th century fort 120 km
(75 miles) from New Delhi.
Ruchir Joshi, last-minute invitee
and author of The Loa Jet Engine Laugh, rose to Sehgal's defence, but clearly
Naipaul wasn't done.
Shashi Deshpande, the Bangalore-based
author of an impressive corpus of novels like Such a Long Silence, was
next in fine. She was chided for harping on themes like gender and oppression,
about colonialism, this thing about gender oppression, "the very word oppression
wearies me," the 69 year-old Trinidad -born author said.
Vikram Seth, one of India's best-known
authors for works such as The Golden Gate and A Suitable Boy, pacified
Naipaul as he shook with rage.
"Banality irritates me. My life
is short. I can't listen to banality," said Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul,
known as Sir Vidia after being knighted in 1990. "If writers only talk
about oppression, then they are not going to do much writing. Writing for
me is not about abstraction. I have made a living from writing," he added.
But Shashi Deshpande got back in
the end, to much applause, when she pointed out that while gender and oppression
were issues for her, she did wonder whether exile - which has been such
a theme with Indian writers of the diaspora, including the Nobel laureate
-was an issue.
