Welcome to Hyderabad Literary Festival 2010

If I am not wrong, the last time Hyderabad played host to such a multitude of writers was when the ACLALS (Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies) Seminar / Conference on Post-Colonial Literature was held here. In the year 2004, if memory serves me right.

I was there at the event and though I don't remember much about it, I remember meeting Mr. Keki Daruwalla and showing him my poetry. And I also remember trying to talk to Hoshang Ji :-)

2004 seems eons ago and in my case, much ink has flowed since then. And now again Hyderabad will play host to some of India's most notable writers -- writing in our richly vibrant, regional languages and English.

At the Hyderabad Literary Festival 2010, (December 10-12) organized by Muse India and OUCIP.

Registration is a must to be at the HLF 2010 and is just Rs. 500 (inclusive of luncheons and refreshments) for all three days. Which in other words is as pleasantly inexpensive as our own Irani Chai, in my humble opinion.

So go here and register before Dec 5th, or risk missing out on literary history in the making, here in Hyderabad itself!

Saundhi -- An Evening of Poetry

Apart from being a number of things that are food
for thought, Evening Hour is also a bookstore
(and lending library) that sells books online.
My book has been available at Evening Hour's Kukatpally
bookstore for almost 4 months now and Priyanka (who's
single-handedly taking Evening Hour places)
also tells me that it has been doing well and
attracting readers.

For as long as I remember, Priyanka has been
inviting me to interact with Evening Hour's
customers under their "Meet the Author" event.

For as long as I remember, she has also been indicating
a keen interest to organize an event specifically for poetry.

That's the setting then, for Saundhi -- An Evening of Poetry
at Evening Hour's store on 26th of June.
I will be there and in conversation with Dr. A Giridhar Rao.
Thereafter, it will be an "Open Mic" session, for poetry readings.

If you have wanted to meet me and are in Hyderabad on
Saturday do please drop by and say hello.

And yes, if you have wanted to experience the magic of
a poetry reading, or wanted to read out poetry
(by you or by anyone else) to a very receptive audience
in an informal, chilled-out atmosphere, don't miss
this "Open Mic".

Saundhi - An Evening of Poetry
When - 26th June, 2010, 6.30 pm onwards
Where - Evening Hour Store, JNTU Lane, Kukatpally, Hyderabad

Questions about "Open Mic"? Call Priyanka at 040-65873003

Know somebody who you think writes amazing poetry? Let him / her know!

Invite - Screening of “Lost and Found: Six Glances at a Generation”

Osmania University Centre for International Programmes &
Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad cordially invite you to a screening of

“Lost and Found: Six Glances at a Generation”
(99 mins., 2005)


Time: 3 pm
Day & Date: Wednesday, 28th April, 2010
Venue: AV Room, OUCIP

About the film

Nurtured in war and turmoil, raised in fragile
democracies, the first post-Communist generation of young men and women from Central and Eastern Europe is now poised to play a leading role in the world. In Lost and Found, six young filmmakers from this region present their personal views on the subject of “generation” and the many changes that sometimes separate them radically from the generation of their parents….In Lost and Found, a generation takes a look at itself – and confidently asserts its position in a new Europe.

Invite - Empire of the Moghul : Brothers at War

Hachette and Akshara invite you to the book launch of Alex Rutherford's (Diana and Michael Preston) second book in the Empire of the Moghul series, Brothers at War.

Time and Date : 6:30 PM, Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
Location : Saptaparni, Road No. 8, Banjara Hills

Sridala Swami, a poet from Hyderabad will be in conversation with the authors (Diana and Michael Preston, Alex Rutherford is their pseudonym).

Watch "Four Minutes" at OUCIP

Osmania University Centre for International Programmes
& Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad

cordially invite you to a screening of

“Four Minutes”
(Dir. Chris Kraus, 112 mins., 2006)



Time : 3 pm
Day & Date : Mon 22 Mar 2009,
Venue : AV Room, OUCIP


About the film: Four Minutes is “a powerful drama about an
elderly piano teacher and her relationship with a young
prison convict”. It “tells an unusual story with equally
unusual conviction”. Traude Krüger has been giving piano
lessons in a women's prison for decades. She meets Jenny,
a reserved young woman convicted of murder who was
once considered a child musical prodigy. Her attempt
to guide her pupil to victory in a music competition
leads to a difficult, contradictory relationship
between the two women which fascinates to
the very last second.

OUCIP is located in the Osmania University campus, and can be reached by turning left opposite College of Arts (if you are coming from the Tarnaka side) OR by continuing straight from the Administrative Building (if you are coming from the Vidyanagar / Shivam side).

Invite - Meet the Author @ Evening Hour

Evening Hour is organizing a Meet the Author session with Priti Aisola, author of See Paris for Me (Penguin Books, 2009)

Date - 20 March, 2010
Time - 6.30 PM onwards
Venue - Evening Hour Store, JNTU Lane, Kukatpally, Hyderabad

Consider this a personal invite from Evening Hour, for more details, click here

Invite - Evening Hour Storytelling competition for kids

The nice people at Evening Hour are organizing a storytelling competition for kids. Details are as below,

Date - 06 March, 2010
Time - 6.00 PM onwards
Venue - Evening Hour Store, JNTU Lane, Kukatpally, Hyderabad

The competition is for kids between the ages 3-10, for more details contact Evening Hour on 040-65873003

Invite - The Scholastic Aviva Storytelling Night

Scholastic is organising an evening of Story Telling for children between the ages of 8-14. The event is at St. Mary's College, Yousufguda, on Saturday, 20th Feb, starting at 6.30pm.

Canceled !!

Sorry folks, this event has been canceled due to a sudden change -- for the worse -- in the situation on OU Campus.

Just heard this, just now...

Documentary Film Invite from OUCIP

Osmania University Centre for International Programmes

cordially invites you to a screening of

‘Please Don’t Beat Me, Sir!’
(by Shashwati Talukdar and Kerim Friedman; 80-mins).

The screening will be followed by a discussion with the directors.

Time: 2 pm
Day & Date: Mon 15 Feb 2010
Venue: AV Room, OUCIP

-----------------
‘Please Don’t Beat Me, Sir!’ is still a work in progress. The
documentary is about a troupe of young Chhara actors
using theater to fight police brutality and the stigma
of criminality. The Chhara are one of 198 communities
in India—now over 60 million people—labeled
“born criminals” by the British. Although the British
are long gone, the stigma still remains. We meet Roxy
whose father was beaten to death for speaking out, and
his best friend Dakxin who was thrown in prison for
writing plays critical of the police. We meet Dakxin’s
Dadi(grandmother), who tell us about life in the
government-run prison camps.

The film is about a society in transition: the older generation did
whatever it took to make ends meet, but they want a better life for
their children. With social prejudice blocking all exits, for some
young people, theater offers the only way out. From busy
street corner protests to a climactic nerve-wracking
performance in front of cadets at the Police Academy,
'Please Don’t Beat Me, Sir!' takes us inside the lives
of these young people as they use theater to carve out a
place for themselves in the world.

See the trailer here

P.S. - Posting this a bit late as I have been dealing with an iffy Internet connection all of today (I came to know about this yesterday).

OUCIP is located in the Osmania University campus, and can be reached by turning left opposite College of Arts (if you are coming from the Tarnaka side) OR by continuing straight from the Administrative Building (if you are coming from the Vidyanagar / Shivam side).