Pune Litfest 2016

Quite enjoyed the litfest this time too. Was sad that I couldn't make it for the Neil Hollander workshop on writing though. Kulpreet Yadav's session which was a semi workshop was a surprise consolation.

Caught the fag end of the Astrology workshop and found it quite interesting, specially the slide on how to handle different Zodiac signs. Cancerians are insecure, Librans are indecisive...hmm. Saggi with let them be free and Leo- flatter them, were no surprise :-)

Enjoyed the exercises on writing like trying to connect 4 images. Might do that as more of a practice, it was helpful and new. Forces you to be more detailed.

Thoroughly enjoyed the Shakespeare quiz. Felt good to be quizzing after a year and got some cool Shakespeare coasters.

On Sunday, I liked the Roald Dahl quiz. It's great to see kids today love him too. Happy 100th birth year, Dahling! Hope you're scandalizing the angels up there.

Liked the Books for Bricks stall by CRY on the lawn and the Enid Blyton exhibition too.

Also surprisingly enjoyed the session on crime. Want to read Helen Smith- her woman detective sounds interesting. Mr. Kumar's real life insights in the CBI and crime fighting was the stuff thrillers are made of.

The poetry slam session was OKish. Liked one poet who performed about salsa and flirting. The exercise on 5 things you hate was revealing though.

The Brazilian music, dance, martial art medley on the lawn was also fun.

I like the intimacy of this festival, with the workshops. That's something JLF doesn't have.

Staycation

Have been having a whale of a staycation. The trick is to not stay so much at home :-)

Went to the mall on Saturday and spent 7 hours there...reminded me of Delhi days. Hubby had a great birthday with mango cake and a fireworks candle.

Sunday- finally went to the writers' meeting I'd always wanted to go to...soaked in Pagdandi's atmosphere...admired it's thatched ceiling and wooden bookshelves. Quite an action oriented group- we were supposed to write on one of four prompts- a poem emerged on hope which I was quite happy with.

Meet the same people at events of a similar nature- finally remebered had met one of them at the Pune lit fest.

Checked out the new mall and took a selfie with the Johnny Bravo lookalike mascot. Had a 7 layer burrito which seemed more Indian than Mexican.

Went for an art exhibition and saw one painting which stayed with me- a clock in an eye.

Legs gave way then... so headed home to a gabfest with a gal pal overseas.

Monday- Had an awesome foot massage which used acupressure...am still feeling fresh. Finally went to Funky Kona, which lived upto it's name, although the food was so-so.

Watched most of Now you see me 2, which I liked, surprisingly. Once you get over the fact that you need to unwillingly suspend disbelief, the magic stunts, by their sheer novelty and sleight of hand, endear themselves.

Trying to download it, but sadly the dear old gov has blocked all promising links.

Today- Caught up on some research, wrote here, enjoyed the rainy day and finished watching 21 grams. Sean Penn...mmm. Cooked.

Tomorrow's open.

Varying candy leisure time with work helps make it sweeter.

PS- My first gif in a blog post- woo hoo!

New year, new things

It has truly been kairos, going back to Cal. Meeting family and friends, watching plays, etc. Enjoyed seeing the Ashtavinayak temples when I came back to Pune. They were all so different and inspiring. Ganesh ji was sometimes in warrior mode, and sometimes genial. It was truly a road trip- we spent most of the 2 days on the road, the 8 temples each took about 15 minutes. Just the one in the Buddhist caves took an hour, as we had to climb 100 steps to reach it.

Enjoyed Hannah Silva's talk in Pune. British Council got her when she came for the Tata litfest in Mumbai. Deconstruction in action- she plays around with words as sounds, using them as echoes to create new meanings.

Just from this one statistic- 40% of those who are amputated in war go back to war, she created a chilling performance piece, with the refrain It's a positive thing, ringing in my ears still.

Sometimes leaving out vowels, sometimes consonants, her staccato speech pressured language to explode in new realms of what is possible to express thoughts.

Also did some local sightseeing- Vohuman Cafe was a serendipitous find. Also went to Fergie- reminded me of College. Did University today- scored some beautiful trees, in dramatic poses near the Performing Arts Department :-)