Literature, art and all that jazz

I went to a writers-meet yesterday. I don’t know if ‘writer’s meet’ is the right word. It might be something else. By went, I mean I attended a solid two hours of a two-day event. It was called People’s literary festival 2018. It was about going against conventional ‘literary festivals’ that they say are a sham. If my younger-self saw me attending this event, he would probably reassess his situation and change whatever the fuck he was doing with his life. But you know, life is a collection of experiences and we learn from each of them. I had no intention of going to this event. But I did go and by the end of it, it felt pretty good(even though I weirded out a couple of people). I went because a friend invited me. Why else would I go? I don’t intrude into uninvited events(would be hell of a lot fun though, especially if I wiggle my way into ending up on stage, speaking to the audience about Robert Zemeckis movies. Note to self: add idea to bucket list). The main reasons why I decided to go are:

1. I had nothing to do that weekend
2. I was feeling lonely and depressed

So I figured the best way to fight the depression was to surround myself with nerds.

Now, a little bit about myself:

I don’t read

I don’t write

I have nothing to do with literature

I am a big fan of learning and idea-exchange

I like to meet new people. Wait… that’s a stretch. Lets just say I like to meet people who think differently. Even if their beliefs or ideas go completely against mine. I like to hear the same story told from different perspectives. I like to hear opinions on things. So when the panel started to speak on censorship in their work and daily lives, I was intrigued to hear different views. Some of them spoke about how artists receive death threats on a regular basis to a point where it doesn’t seem to matter anymore. It has become the new normal. I think that’s fucked up.

I noticed someone sitting in the second row(probably the event organizer) getting a little anxious when one of the panelists wouldn’t stop speaking. I saw her waving to someone on stage but they couldn’t understand what she was saying. So I helped out. I raised my arms, pointed to my watch and showed hand gestures that meant,” zip it lady. Wrap it up”.  

On an unrelated note, Is there an unwritten law that says, as you go higher up in intellect, the girls need to cut their hair short and guys need to grow long hair? Don’t get me wrong. Me like short haired girls too(especially after attending this event). Who gives a shit about length of hair anyway.

 

Art

Went to an Indie art festival yesterday. I have to say I met some very interesting and nice people there. There was singing, dancing and chanting. There were people playing the most unusual instruments. There were the most bizarre outfits, food, nudity and most importantly a lot of hugging! It was amazing to see these artists with absolutely no kind of financial help do art on the streets. Most importantly, they were making people happy! For free! How cool is that? Oh and did I mention nudity? There was a lot of that too! 2017 is definitely strange but I am glad I got to witness it!

Festivals

“Puja is just around the corner”. People at work started to say this at least a month before the festival actually started. They were excited because we would get a four-day weekend. My immediate reaction to this was to check flights to home. I wanted to experience Puja but was scared about being left out alone. I planned to make my trip back home a surprise visit. My mother would be so happy. Few of my friends were coming home as well. All my plans got destroyed when I checked the flight prices. The festival is even more huge than I thought. The prices had doubled. Durga Puja is one of the biggest festivals in India. However, it is not celebrated on a large scale in the south.

Days passed by. Decorations began to pop up on the streets. The festival mood had begun to set in. People were unusually happy (including my grumpy manager!). Everything changed. There were more lights in the streets. There were good smells lingering in the air. People were all dressed well. Songs played all the time(tunes you can dance to but wouldn’t listen to at home!).

Today was the last day of work before the holidays started. I was walking back from work when I suddenly noticed these bright lights.

All of a sudden my attitude towards the whole thing changed. I thought to myself, “Maybe its better if I joined in”. I don’t know why but I suddenly felt happy. I felt the festival vibe. Christ! I even liked the music! What has happened to me? (Having understood there’s no way out, my mind probably said fuck it!). My next plan was to call up the few friends I have here and find out what they were doing for Puja. Even though I was forced to stay back, I think I might actually enjoy this!