Reading enthusiasts of the Capital participated in an intuitive literary session where they read short stories by ten authors. The stories explored multiple literary themes like Feminist Literature, Atomic Bomb Literature, Dalit Literature and Eroticism
BHUBANESWAR: On a lazy Sunday afternoon, Bibliophiles of Bhubaneswar, a small group of reading enthusiasts from the city organised a short story marathon where they read stories written by 10 different authors at Gupshup Café here.
More than 20 people attended the session. Readers also had the freedom to bring their own choice of stories and read along. The literary event spanned across multiple themes and genres including Feminist Literature, Atomic Bomb Literature, Dalit Literature, Eroticism, and so on. The list comprised of 10 authors, in a male and female ratio of 1:1.
City-based bibliophiles who participated in the event read storied written by 10 different authors- Chitra Divakaruni Banerjee, Kawabata Yasunari, Shubangi Swarup, Mulk Raj Anand, Anton Chekov, Baburao Bagul, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Anais Nin and Ken Kesey -.
Organiser Sanchita Dwivedi said, “Our aim behind starting the book club is to keep the culture of reading and conversing alive. In the fast paced world, we owe it to each other to stop awhile, breathe, and share stories. We are planning to hold monthly sessions from now on. Short stories are extremely underrated and are often dismissed as child’s delight without really delving into the gravity of them.”
Participants read out the works of writers such as Kawabata Yasunari, a celebrated novelist and short story writer. Yasunari was also the first Japanese to have won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968. His stories, though simple in their subject, are nuanced and tug at all the right places. The participants read from his story ‘Silver Fifty-Sen Pieces’.
The participants also read from the work of well-known novelist Chitra Divakaruni Banerjee. Divakaruni’s short stories are terribly underrated and sparsely read. Simple and linear on the surface, his stories are deeply textured and layered once you dive in.
Excerpts from one of her stories read, “Sometimes, bathing at the lake, I would move away from my friends, their endless chatter. I’d swim toward the middle of the water with a lazy backstroke, gazing at the sky, its enormous blueness drawing me up until I felt weightless and dizzy. Once in a while there would be a plane, a small silver needle drawn through the clouds, in and out, until it disappeared.”
Works of another author Shubhangi Swarup, a Mumbai based journalist, novelist, and educationist were also read during the event. Swarup made her mark with her first work ‘Latitudes of Longing’. She weaves an exquisite and compelling story with her debut novel.
The group also read ‘The Women On The Dunes’ by Anais Nin and ‘Tractor and Corn Goddess’ by Mulk Raj Anand.
Saranya Das, a book club regular said It was beautiful. We basically want to indulge in a reading spree, and help our fellow readers with some motivation for the same, by arranging for group reading session where we discuss some brilliant writers and their works.We made it a point to dwell upon the pieces by a few lesser known, yet extraordinary, writers, so that literature doesn’t stay within limited realms
