Writing and art

On the second day of HLF, a talk with authors Paro Anand and Poile Sengupta was moderated by Sandhya Taksale. The panel discussion was on the topic of "Writing for children and young adults". As one would imagine, writing for children can be quite a challenge such as not to get preachy but at the same time convey a certain message in a fun way. The authors discussed about the same.

Having titled one of her books as 'No Guns at my Son's Funeral', Paro Anand spoke of how sensitive issues need to be brougt up and discussed in the form of stories. She says, "I initially started by writing happy books but when I conected with young people who had a lot of angst and pain in them, they had an innate need for their stories to be told.

So I have a story on domestic violence, and when it comes from the safety net of a story, they open up better about their problems." Poile Sengupta readily agreed that there should be no taboo topics when it comes to writing for children and young adults, as it is important to discuss the serious issues. Yet, how a topic such as porn or the LGBT community is dealt with in the books is essential, says Poile.

Poile Sengupta also dons the role of a playwright, and she says, "Writing for stage is also not easy as you have to give ventilation for the director to transform the printed page for something creative on stage, such that it can accommodate sound, music, etc." Another panel discussion with authors Anupa Mehta and Esther David was held on Day 2 on the topic of "Space of Art & Culture".

It was discussed that space needs to be created for the liberal arts, as art is therapeutic. An uneducated woman may be good at drawing and thus may be productive if she is assigned the task. The discussion was wrapped up by moderator Amita Desai with the thought that 10 years ago there perhaps was no single platform for varying opinions but in the last 5-7 years, public participation has grown largely.

Esther David, who also received a Sahitya Akademi Award in 2010 supported the same saying, "In Gujarat and Baroda, people have started to come out in the open. Otherwise there was the general opinion that artists are loners." The session ended with a reading from Anupa Mehta's 'Unseasonal Rain'.