Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction Juno Diaz on his first visit to India to participate at the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival, speaks to Fiona Fernandez about the familiarities between his native country, the Dominican Republic and India, migration, and why he thinks Indian women are hot
Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction Juno Diaz on his first visit to India to participate at the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival, speaks to Fiona Fernandez about the familiarities between his native country, the Dominican Republic and India, migration, and why he thinks Indian women are hot
Junot Diaz would pass off as the casual, candid, pullover-sporting sports coach from your typical Hollywood flick. Or at least it was exactly this demeanour that caught most of the media unaware when he strolled into Diggi Palace, the venue of the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival,u00a0 on Saturday. Sunday Mid Day caught up with the Pulitzer Prize-winning Dominican American author for a chat:
Since this is your first visit to India, what's struck you most about the country?
More than anything, it's the glaring fact that India has more diversity than the rest of the world put together. It seems that way to any outsider. Even if I spend an entire year here, I'd still think I haven't seen anything.
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What strikes you as similarities between the Dominican Republic and India?
You know, there's this big joke that my travelling partner, Louisa and I share -- that India appears uncomfortably familiar. We are hybrid societies that have a crazy medieval structure. There is an abiding toxic history of colonization. Of course, there is much more to gain here.
Half the people I know think I am f****** Indian! Both countries were colonized before, and have deep poverty. Even the populations practice similar occupations. (He quickly adds how he finds Indian, brown-skinned women "hot" and hopes people in the West appreciate this.) It feels like I'm back home!u00a0
What was the process you followed while writing, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao?
My process was to write till I die. It's all very complicated. I didn't even know what I was doing, and yet I had good instinct, and that saw me through. That book took me 11 years to complete...
Why did you pick Oscar Wao?
I picked up the most unlikely hero in Oscar Wao. He was very different and yet very familiar. He was the perfect means to portray Dominican history, masculinity and its identity.
Your views on the global debate that plagues the issue of migration?
Countries don't like immigrants. I've always been fascinated by how the world must debate whether it should welcome an influx of new people or strive for a purist population.
It was by regional demand
"I grew up in small-town Bihar where buying a ticket was considered uncool, where dating was unheard of and mating was more common, and where Rishi Kapoor aroused more men than Neetu Singh!" said Avijit Ghosh, author of Cinema Bhojpuri, on Day 2 of the fest at a 10 am session at Baithak, one of the four festival venues.
Amid peals of laughter, he continued to regale the crowd even as moderator Amitava Kumar and fellow panelist Sharmila Kantha joined in the chuckle-a-minute session that looked at Bhojpuri cinema's impact in India.
But it wasn't just about the laughs. Fellow Bhojpuri writer Kantha threw light on Bhojpuri's influence on literature. "World Bhojpuri Day is celebrated on Kabir's birthday, so you can imagine how old our roots are," she reminded the audience of over a hundred.
She said Bhojpuri street theatre was increasingly finding its voice, especially during election rallies, "however, Bhojpuri literature hasn't taken off. It's more of an oral tradition." Kumar ensured both voices shared their views on this popular dialect. Incidentally nearly 200 million people speak it.
Ghosh, whose book was released last year, said, while literature still needs a solid grounding, its cinema is big enough to cause political parties to seek mileage from it, citing examples of the violence in Punjab and Maharashtra.
When the session was thrown open to the audience, a host of interesting statements emergedu00a0-- from how Bhojpuri films provide a platform to the underclass, to the reality that Bhojpuri films are still projected in ramshackle spaces where the average ticket costs Rs 12.
The trio said they think Prakash Jha's cinema manages to report from the Bhojpuri hinterland.What got the loudest applause? Dabangg is a Bhojpuri film made in Hindi!
Sidelights from diggi palace
Of the four venues, the Front Lawns seemed to attract the maximum audienceu00a0-- and was easily the most popular. Hundreds packed the venue for sessions throughout the day; including one on Imaginary Homelands, which had an impressive panelu00a0-- Kamila Shamsie, Junot Diaz, Ian Jack, Majushree Thapa and Marina Lewycka in conversation with Chandrahas Choudhury.
Boots ruled the fashion barometer, with women of all ages and sizes sporting knee length, calf-length, leather, patent leather (gasp!), nubuck, and wotnot. Brown won the maximum votes in the colour palate department.
Can't manage to squeeze in time to shop at Jaipur? No worries. Jaipur's wares will come to you. The organisers have handicrafts, tote bags, jootis and furniture on sale at the venue.
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