Amblingindian at the Bangalorelitfest...

The Bangalore Lit fest arrived. And caught me by surprise. Sure wasn't prepared for it, so I just landed up, a bit foolishly, sans the magnum opus- the "Amblingindian Manuscript". Obviously, had there been even an iota of preparation, I should have been ready not just with the Manuscript, but also with a powerful powerpoint presentation and pitch to the publishers in attendance, as were many hopefuls.Guess an extempore was not really welcome, so came back a bit disappointed. But not completely.

For, there were so many delightful conversations about writings in Urdu, Hindi and the regional languages, some so beautiful, they just beget translation. And, to pay reverence to one of the oldest poets and saints - Kabir, a couplet that comes to mind instantly and lends much needed solace to the manuscript:

"Dheere Dheere re mana, dheere se sab kuch hoy,

Maali seeche sow ghada, ritu aaye fal hoy".

"Go slow, dear mind, everything in life happens slowly. Even if a gardener waters the plant a hundred times, the plant will fruit only when season comes."

To be fair, I did meet a lot of interesting people there, even starting with birds, the complete spectrum of birds fluttering around Velankanni tech part, in the middle of electronic city taking one by complete surprise. Had passed by the place many a time, always to think that e-city was nothing but a mass of concrete structures with blue facades, each one indistinguishable from the other, interspersed with some shops. So, in a way, it was the Bangalore Lit fest that opened my eyes to the fact that something completely different exists, right in the middle of Bangalore. A tech and real park so beautiful, it needs to be seen. And discovered.  And in the middle of that discovery, I also discovered many more people, authors, readers and mere mortals like me, and a couple of interesting reads too. At the bookshop that is. One being the Adventures in a megacity " Delhi- by Sam Miller" and another " God Save the Dork- About office life by Sidin Vadukut" , two titles picked up from a large mass of others, all beckoning for attention, all inviting too. But cities and work, being a major chunk of life today, and fascinating subjects that they anyways are, seemed the obvious choice.

And so, here i am, back from the Bangalore Lit fest, with two titles in tow, hoping to do them some justice, for the pace at which I read nowadays is worse than that of a snail, and hopefully, have something interesting to report, by the time the next one comes around. In precisely 365 days, that is.

Regards,

Aina Rao,

The amblingindian.