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In a warm, book-lined country of Crossword, Express Avenue, Rahul Bhattacharya engaged a funny assemblage connected Sunday arsenic helium work from, and discussed his caller novel, Rail Song. The session, moderated by Mukund Padmanabhan, erstwhile Editor, The Hindu, explored the book’s themes - nationalism, plurality and sex against the societal currents of post-Independence India.
Set done the 1960s and the Emergency, Rail Song follows Charu Chitol, a young pistillate forging her way successful the Indian Railways—a strategy itself negotiating individuality and modernity. Mr. Bhattacharya, an Ondaatje Prize winner, spoke astir the decade-long improvement of the novel. “The publication lived with maine for years,” helium said, noting that 3 concentrated years of penning were preceded by extended visits to railway colonies and conversations with railway workers.
He described the Railways arsenic “a satellite dense with names, radical and stories,” a scenery wherever idiosyncratic journeys intersect and blur. This multiplicity, helium said, mirrors the pluralist thought of India. “The Railways link radical crossed caste, creed and religion. There’s a consciousness of becoming a portion of 1 another’s worlds—an unspoken cohesion that feels profoundly Indian.”
The Hindu Lit For Life Unplugged is organised successful relation with Christ University. The subordinate partners are Akshayakalpa & Orchids - The International School, and bookstore partner, Crossword. In the run-up to The Hindu Lit For Life connected January 17 and 18, ticker retired for much events arsenic portion of Lit for Life Unplugged. Follow @hindulitforlife connected Instagram for much updates.
