Noted writer Nayantara Sehgal on Thursday said that history is slowly being wiped out and mythology is taking over in contemporary India. Speaking at the Dehradun Community Literature Festival (DCLF), she announced her upcoming novella, ‘When the moon shines by the day’. Newsd is the digital media partner for DCLF which started on April 19 and will continue till April 22 in Dehradun.
Nayantara Sehgal, Roshen Dalal, and Kavita Kane held a discussion on ‘Controversies in History and Myths of India’ at DCLF 2017. The session was moderated by Mitali Mukherjee.
Kavita Kane commented that mythology and literature are interlinked. She feels that even though Indian mythology is ancient but still is very contemporary.
Roshen Dalal, the famous historian, opined that there is a space exclusive for both history and mythology. She also disclosed that she will soon be releasing a book on Vedas.
The second day of the four-day long Dehradun Community Literature Festival witnessed interactive and engaging sessions. The highlights of the literature festival were book signing, panel discussions, standalone sessions and much more.
The second day started with a session on ‘female sexuality in Indian literature’ with Ira Mukhoty and Aditya Narayan Dhairyasheel Haksar as speakers, and was moderated by Nishtha Satyam.
Ira Mukhoty during her session said, “What we today consider as western and subversive actually existed in India thousands of years ago. They were the part of culture of those days. We must remember where we came from.” Ira is known for her articles in magazines on travel and culture.
Haksar is a well-known translator of Sanskrit classics into English. Born in Gwalior, central India, he is a graduate of The Doon School, Allahabad University and Oxford University.
Author Eldad Beck spoke about, ‘The Voyage of Journalist from Israel’. He was in conversation with Harsh Dobhal. Beck is one of the rare Israeli journalists who report from Arab and Muslim countries about major events in the Middle East.
The concluding session of the day was on ‘Prison Tales of India’s Most Famous Inmates Behind Bars’. Sunetra Choudhury threw light on the topic and the session was moderated by Jairaj Singh. During the session, stories of the struggle of jail inmates were discussed.
Students from Hopetown Girls, Tibetan Children Village School, Doon Presidency School, Graphic Era Hill University and Unison World School participated in the fest.
