The Raleigh Literary Society Hosts Panel Discussions on the Second Day of its first-ever Flagship Event
Aligarh : Day 2 of the three-day-long Raleigh Literary Festival had four panels involving eminent writers, academics and film personalities. The first of these panels, moderated by Mr. Samya Brata Roy from IIT Jodhpur, was on ‘The Existent and the Imaginary: Decoding the Future through Science Fiction and Digital Humanities’ and consisted of such stalwarts of science fiction India as Mr. Gautam Bhatia, Dr. Ritwick Bhattacharjee, Dr. Shweta Khilnani, and Prof. Arjun Ghosh as panelists.
Following this was the second panel on ‘Narratives Retold: Emergence and Literary Transition into the Realm of Graphic Narratives’, where Mr. Abdullah Parwaiz, Secretary of Raleigh Literary Society, moderated a discussion between panelists Prof. Vishwajyoti Ghosh and Ms. Afrah Shafiq. “The comic book was looked at as a space for a child […]” said Ms. Shafiq, adding that in India, the emergence of the graphic novel for adults is fairly recent, and is often political or personal.”
The third and perhaps most riveting panel of the day was on ‘Adaptation Anxiety: Exploring the Challenges in Cinema of the Decade as Voice of Memory and Shift in Paradigm’ moderated by independent filmmaker and writer Mr. Dhruva Harsh who was in conversation with renowned Bollywood screenwriter Mr. Darab Farooqui, the writer of the acclaimed film “Dedh Ishqiya” .
“There is an intellectual deficit. People want to go for the cheap content,” observed Mr. Harsh about the recent trends seen in the cinema-going crowds of India. About the relationship between art and the common people, Mr. Farooqui said, “Most of the art comes from the middle class. The middle class creates art. [But] in India, we don’t have a middle class. […] Art is something you can only do if you can afford it.”
The last panel of the day was perhaps the most imaginative and lively one. Titled ‘Science Fiction Writing in India’, the panel was moderated by Mr. Kaif Siddiqui, PhD student at NALSAR University, and consisted of such eminent names as academic, documentary producer, and author of “Aliens in Delhi”, Dr. Sami Ahmad Khan, as well as renowned science fiction author Mr. Samit Basu. “We have multiple aspects of text in India […] by Indians in the 19th century itself,” said Mr. Khan when Mr. Siddiqui prompted him about the origins of science fiction India. “So, science fiction is not something that is from the industry of import. [It] had its gene in India.” About the demographics and the kind of audience that finds science fiction appealing, there was discussion about the scope of science fiction writing in India. Mr. Samit Basu pitched in with a particularly insightful observation, saying, “The problem is that creating good art takes time and finding the right audience for that takes time.”
Overall, the second day of the Raleigh Literary Festival witnessed great interest of students and their participation in the events in large numbers.