Amitav Ghosh discusses his new book River Of Smoke, the art of writing a trilogy, his dramatic characters, the nuanced language they speak, and the Imperial intrigues that culminated in the Opium Wars.
After Amartya Sen, yet another noted intellectual has come out strongly against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Acclaimed author and Padma Shri awardee Amitav Ghosh has said that for him Modi remains someone culpable for the Gujarat riots of 2002 and for someone like him to become prime minister would be deeply destabilising for India. In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN's Deputy Editor Sagarika Ghose, he also said that the politics of Hindu nationalism is destroying Hindu religion.
'The pandemic has led to an immense disruption in the world's political, financial, military and geopolitical situation. The pandemic was a warning.'
As the world grapples with extreme weather events and climate change becomes the buzzword of contemporary times, author Amitav Ghosh says the crisis has been in the making since the 17th century and it is imperative to take into account history before beginning to tackle the issue.
'We know many things are going to happen.' 'People should be preparing for sea level rise, for increased cyclonic activity, for drought.' 'One reason I wrote the book is to alert people to the dangers that they face.' 'For example, Mumbai faces enormous threat.'
'The novelist's dilemma in facing climate change is really the symptom of a wider failure.'
'A majority of filmmakers cannot truly understand the city because they don't live here,' says Anusha Rizvi, Director, The Great Shamsuddin Family.
'A very large part of this would have come from opium.'
'But one of the important things to remember is that what we are seeing today in India -- the destruction of the forests, the opening up of the forests to mining companies.' 'It's a horrifying thing that's going on.' 'Yet, if you look at who owns the mining companies, you will see that almost always they are vegetarians!' 'They are people, who in their own lives would probably not even hurt an insect, but yet have no qualms about destroying an entire ecosystem.'
'We need to retell this history from many different perspectives.'
'I would like to believe that out of this struggle (to effect climate change) will be born a generation that will be able to look upon the world with clearer eyes than those that preceded it; that they will be able to transcend the isolation in which humanity was entrapped in the time of its derangement; that they will rediscover their kinship with other beings, and that this vision, at once new and ancient, will find expression in a transformed and renewed art and literature.'
Did the human drama provoked by the Japanese invasion of Burma and the Indian exodus from Rangoon inspire director Vishal Bhardwaj's forthcoming epic?
Nilanjana S Roy compiles a list of the most eagerly awaited books next year.
'Chetan Bhagat is not great literature. Is that like you write third rate books and people can't do much better than to read those third rate books. Is it really an achievement?'
President Pranab Mukherjee -- rewarded as president yet not trusted enough to be prime minister.
Bharti Kher is a researcher, a mathematician, an anthropologist, and a rare contemporary artist pushing boundaries in her creative quest.
When Correa was hailed as India's greatest architect in 2013, he said, 'Greatest is so...so definite. Most innovative might have been better'
'Never lose your optimism. Never lose your aspiration and never -- even if India becomes a prosperous consumer society -- never ever lose that shining light in your eyes,' advises Dr Peter McLaughlin, headmaster of the Doon School.
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