The JLF Adela de 201 ex er en e

Scottish writer William Dalrymple traces his family back to Mughal princess Noorjehan, but also has some Brahmin blood in his veins.

Maori healers once told Indian actress Manisha Koirala she must direct ‘loving energy’ to her ovaries. This was way before doctors found she had advanced ovarian cancer.

As James Crabtree, British journalist, took a quick break while interviewing nowdisgraced Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, he found a toilet made of pure gold.

BY SUNILA VIG

My ta ea ays from this year s delaide ere so much more than these interesting nuggets of information resented a o e. Over an illuminating three days, I heard some fascinating riters read from or tal a out their or and got my oo s signed from them (ama ing ho alrym le for instance s ends a fe moments tal ing to you and then rites a ersonal note). admit ent to learn more a out the latest in Indian literature, but I came a ay ha ing heard some enlightening discussions about Indian history going back to the earliest Indians, about the migration experience, about death and dying, and many other to ics.

TONY JOSEPH

(EarlyIndians:Thestoryofourancestors andwherewecamefrom)

Journalist Tony Joseph taught us that India is a ery ancient land. fraction of a s ull of an un no n homo s ecies has een found there by archaeologists from 265,000 years ago and stone tools from as far ac as . million years. hen migrants from frica began to come in 65,000 years ago, India as already ro ustly o ulated. ndia s Indigenous communities, Joseph observed, probably carry a history in their genes dating ac to ohen odaro years ago.

WILLIAM DALRYMPLE

(Koh-i-Noor:HistoryoftheWorld'sMost InfamousDiamond) ast for ard a fe millennia and ndia ased cottish riter illiam alrym le regaled us ith stories of oh i noor. ne of the largest cut diamonds in the orld the stone is elie ed to come from the ollur mines and today is art of the ritish cro n e els. e ended ith a funny s etch of ndian tourists ho yell out hor chor as they moon al across the museum room here the ohinoor is dis layed.

Dalrymple spoke of the legendary curse of ohinoor tracing its history from a out years ago right u to the resent day. There are at least 8 countries that lay claim to the roc he said.

That Dalrymple loves India is palpable in many a chance comment. e lo es ndia as she should e lo ed ith all the eauty noise fren y dirt tra c history food colour hich co e ist.

SHASHI THAROOR (IngloriousEmpire;WhyIamaHindu) Tharoor, one of the stars of the festivals, examined the colonial project in its larger sco e and the remnants ( ghosts ) of m ire. Will India ever be rid of the colonial mindset olonising of the mind as hat the British aimed at, but that is changing,” Tharoor said. f late ( ith) music dance and arts ndia has found its oice. There ere ust t o or three riters in nglish in the s ut they ere influenced y the ritish. n the s our literature came in to its o n same as cinema and T. nde endent ndia uilt on its o n strengths and s ills. et education needs to e sha en u a it and e need to a sor more from our ancient texts like Mahabharata and amayana. e also had onderful things to say to Vinaya Rai and me about NRIs like us, expressing admiration that diasporic Indians e ery here or hard and are successful ha y and ros erous. er the ordsmith he o ed that he used to call NRIs either Not Really Indian or e er elin uished ndia ut no he calls them the National Reserve of India!

The British caused no dent in Hinduism, though hich continues to thri e. The strength of Hinduism is its multi-theism,” Tharoor o ser ed. t says this is hat follo and you are elcome to follo hat you ant to hich or s so ell in this day and age.

JAMES CRABTREE (BillionaireRaj) egardless the current scenario it as concluded as one of ho e and ositi e i es. coming out the other side a stronger human eing. e ere glad to hear she is ac at or in films, and even aced Everest base camp recently. hine on anisha.

Moving on to contemporary times, and to a ra of a different ind ournalist ames ra tree s o e of ndia s nou eau riche. e compared the billionaires of India to the e or oston li eral elite in his ords corru t and unscru ulous in cahoots ith oliticians .

The Ambanis’ Shakespearean kind of family feud; Mukesh Ambani and his billiondollar home; Vijay Mallya’s six homes in the and a castle in cotland and the Tatas all got a mention.

THE MIGRANT E XPERIENCE (RoannaGonsalves,ShameemBlack, MridulaNathChakraborty)

It’s taken Roanna Gonsalves (The Permanent Resident) 21 years to shed the Australia story she ne efore migrating and to understand and accept the truth of cities built on the backs of dispossessed ndigenous eo le. he s o e ith conviction and from a deep personal truth, her eyes reflecting honesty.

smells of the patronising thought that one culture is etter than the other.

cce tance on the other hand is hat is re uired from oth arties. agree ith the sentiment holeheartedly.

RANJANA SRIVASTAVA (ABetterDeath)

Most people, Ranjana Srivastava said, think of t o things hen they thin of death dignity and hat legacy they are going to lea e ehind.

he should no after more than t o decades as an oncologist caring for people in their final stages of life.

She shared her observations and advice on leading a meaningful life and finding dignity and com osure hen it is time to go.

MANISHA

KOIRALA (TheHealing)

Interesting that many prominent members of the community, notably male, emerged just for this one e ent.

The spell the Ilu Ilu lass had first cast in Saudagar in 1991, aged 21, had people in its thrall e en no .

lthough e did get to see generous s lashes of that olly ood glamour oirala as here this time to tal a out her journey through a debilitating cancer, and o as the message to the ne home that the much thro n a out term assimilation n order to die ell e must e re ared to contemplate our mortality and to broach it ith our lo ed ones ho are often called upon to make important decisions on our ehalf. These are some of the most im ortant con ersations e can ha e ith each other to find eace indness and gratitude for hat has gone efore and acce tance of hat is to come. uanimity r ri asta a said is im ortant. The unsha ea le core has to stay active, making choices and decisions for oneself till ossi le.

Shameem Black of ANU spoke about her recent or on yoga in an increasingly glo al orld.

The migrant experience, the initial shakiness, the finding of one’s ground and one s o n o er in a ne land and cultural milieu and the su se uent unfurling of a com le ne life rich ith di ersity is hat came through. oud and clear as the message to the migrant - that one has to be true to one’s experience and stay strong at the core.

The empathy and subtle understanding of the human condition as heartening may her tri e increase.

ARUNDHATI SUBRAMANIAM (LoveWithoutaStory)

Writer Arundhati Subramaniam’s stolid earthy oice as she recited oetry ill stay ith me for a long time es ecially in her or on mitti (mud).

When a leading Indian daily asked her to rite a oem on mitti she thought they anted a iece on chest thum ing atriotism . hen she understood that asn t the case she rote this I figured that the moon was a likely mud-gazer, just as we are moon-gazers! and so I uncovered the old role of poets –to be messengers between moon and mud and the great longing of life to hold and be held.

oose um s.

Grow n s a o t self-discovery w th l eral dashes o hearta he

BY SHANIA O’BRIEN

Adulting by Neharika Gupta, is a oo a out lo e. out loving your friends, loving your family, loving your career, loving yourself and lo ing your life. t is a story about millennials Aisha, Ruhi and Tejas; am itious t enty somethings li ing in e elhi ho are eager to succeed in the cutthroat orld of u lishing.

The characters in Adulting are accurate re resentations of elhi s youth. They are less characters constructed for a plot and more real eo le ho ha e een mirrored ithin ages of fiction. Though they may play into stereotypical moulds sometimes, they’re frustrating and endearing, relatable ut yet sur rising.

The sim le diction and synta or ell to esta lish high oints of conflict one of them eing hen Te as ends his romantic relationshi ith uhi ecause he finds himself attracted y isha s charms.

The oo is ritten in first erson cha ters s itching oints of ie et een the three characters. This or s ell because the reader is able to get a look inside the mind of e ery character and no them on a ersonal le el.

The lot layed out in a some hat redicta le manner follo ing a clear and discerni le storyline. ll though there are no a arent sur rises this or ed ell because of the character consistency Gupta esta lished for her rotagonists. o e er a sour oint for me as the une lored lot lines that resulted in the core characters’ main traits. hat moti ates arah s antagonistic eha iour to ard her daughter uhi hat caused isha to ha e such negati e ideas of ody image and health