August 10, 2013
The third day of the festival picked up the threads of art and culture from the day before, with a focus on the vibrant mural tradition in Bhutan. Kesang Choden T. Wangchuk was in conversation with Tshering Tashi where they gave an introduction to the enduring survival and conventions of art forms that are a way of preserving stories. Tshering Tashi started the session by introducing Guru Rinpoche and his teachings. He spoke of how Guru Rinpoche is the one who had brought Buddhism to Bhutan.
Kesang Choden T. Wangchuck spoke about the murals found all over Bhutan and her work towards their restoration. With a presentation full of images of the rarest and most stunning Thankgkas that are a part of her book The Lotus Light Palace Of Guru Rinpoche: Visions Of The Buddhist Paradise in The Sacred Kingdom of Bhutan, she demonstrated how in Buddhist art, the symbols and colors always hold a deeper a meaning.
Rahul Bose and Aparna Sen discussed Indie Cinema with Aparna starting off by asking, “Why do we choose a visual medium to tell our stories?” A frank discussion of the different kinds of cinema followed leading into the complex definition of independent (indie) cinema. Rahul spoke of how the financier is not truly a way of deciding what is indie or not, but rather creative freedom is the true parameter.
While Aparna spoke of how the experience of the big screen is slowly dwindling with the viewers choosing to watch main stream cinema due to various reasons including the rates of tickets, Rahul brought out the pragmatic side of the matter by saying that the better commercial cinema does, the better they will be able to support other ventures.
The third session of the day at Tarayana Center had Barkha Dutt discussing media, social issues and her love for her work with Namgay Zam. Barkha spoke about how her work has changed her and that the greatest reason she loves journalism is because it allows her to keep learning something new every day. She talked of the glass ceiling that exists for women and how the way gender discrimination creeps into our treatment of public figures.
She discussed with Namgay how social media has revolutionized journalism and how from day to day reporting we have now moved on to a world where even minutes count. She also talked about the responsibilities that a journalist has and how hard it is to maintain a distance from your stories at times. When asked on how she wants to be remembered, Barkha answered that she just wants to be remembered as a great reporter who is honest with her work.
The last session of the day at Tarayana Center had Jane de Suza and Karma Tenzin ‘Yongba’ in conversation with Sathya Saran. The two authors discussed the allure of the whodunit and the making of their detective stories and characters. Yongba talked of how his book evoked such a response that people have wondered whether the events he has written about have truly happened. Jane started by reading an advertisement that starts her book and left the audience in splits.
The first session at Taj Tashi, A Room With a View, discussed restoration and preservation of family homes. Kunzang Choden and Dolma Roder talked to Namita Bhandare on the restoration that they have done of the family manor at Ogyen Choling which can trace back its roots to the fifteenth century. Kunzang spoke of the long time it took not only to completely restore the manor to its present state as a museum but also for the architectural mapping. The Ogyen Choling: A Manor in Central Bhutan, is a composition of the architectural mapping talking about the place and anecdotes speaking about the people who used to occupy that space.
Omair Ahmad, Lyonpo Om Pradhan, Pavan Varma talked to Barkha Dutt about all the changes that are faced by Bhutan as a recent democracy. Lyonpo Om Pradhan talked of how even with just two parliamentary elections done, democracy is already causing a split in the people due to their affiliations and it has only been the assurances of His Majesty that have pacified them into remembering that after the elections they are again one family.
Pavan Varma and Omair Ahmed both talked about the pace at which Bhutan is changing even though the pace has been set by the kingdom, not thrust upon them. Pavan spoke of change is contextual and cannot be thought of in absolute terms. Lyonpo spoke of how the second government of Bhutan is on an average twenty years younger than the previous one and how youth should be handed over the reins of the nation.
Sudha Shah gave a moving presentation on the last king of Burma. She has defined the roots of a nation in The King in Exile. She discussed the exile imposed upon the king and his family by the British where they left the Glass Palace and were moved to Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. She spoke of how brutally the lives of the royal family were affected by this decision and how deeply the story moved her. This is a book written after meticulous research done over seven years. Pramod Kumar KG read a paragraph from the book, ending the session on an uplifting note.
Namita Gokhale was in conversation with Tarun Tejpal in the last session of the day. Namita’s question regarding the contradictions that make up Tarun led to him discussing how conformity leads to mediocrity. He spoke of how he believes in the collective but not in conformity and how he has a great deal of piety for the truly outstanding.
Answering a question from Mr. Siddharth Shriram, co-chairman Usha International, Tarun mentioned how India is a glorious civilization, but how currently it is not living up to the legacy it has received from its founding fathers. He talked of the marginalized and how now they are finally coming into their own. His frank words that ‘loving someone does not mean being blind to his faults’ provided a fitting end to the discussion on the faultlines that currently run through India.
The presenting sponsors of the festival, USHA international feel that the event has been very informative. The theme matches well with the ethos of the company by supporting art, culture and women empowerment.
Jerry Pinto held a creative writing workshop at the Tarayana Center which received an overwhelming response, especially by the students. In a similar fashion, the Nehru Wangchuck Cultural Center also saw a large number of students attending the movie screenings.
The night ended with poetry recitals and music at Mojo Park.