Monday, 2 February 2009

Some Sharaab, Much Bawaal

Some of my friends are at the Jaipur Literature Festival, and one of them, Sonia Faleiro, interviewed Vikram Seth on the opening day of the festival. Much fun was had by all, eyewitnesses and participants tell me. There was even some wine on stage—and why not?
Well, according to this report in Dainik Bhaskar, local writers are up in arms because they feel that drinking wine on stage was a “Kalank” on “Sahitya, kala [and] sanskruti”, and are demanding that the state government take action. (If I was the state government, I would confiscate the bottle.)
It’s hilarious stuff—if you can read Hindi, go through the piece, it reads like an India TV script.

And if you can’t read Hindi, even better—this Google translation of the page is much more hilarious. I especially loved what Google made of Nandlal Burner’s quote:
Public exemplary conduct of the writer should be. Tire or Kabir, Rskhan or basil, or Muktibod offerings, those who write them live too.
That surely has to be the last word on the subject.

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Attalia Trophy

Attalia Trophy
Open University MK

Attalia Trophy ~ OUSA

Ref: IP/MJ 21 March 1984

Kuldip Attalia,
Sherwood House,
Sherwood Drive,
Bletchley,
Milton Keynes.


Dear Kuldip,

On behalf of the Open University Students’ Association, I would like to thank you and your family for the very generous gift of the “Attalia Trophy”.
We are delighted that you have presented us with this and it will used to encourage our students to raise funds to help their less advantaged, disabled and housebound fellow students.

Each year the “Attalia Trophy” will be presented to “The Branch coming up with the best idea for fundraising”.

We will thus be able to encourage the smaller branches to compete to raise funds.

My thanks once again to you and your family for this most generous and thoughtful donation.

Yours sincerely,


Iris Price
VP Welfare
OUSA ~ The Open University Students Association
OUSA Office Sherwood House, Sherwood Drive, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK3 6RN
Phone: 0908 71131

Attalia Residence in Mombasa, Kenya

Attalia Residence in Nairobi, Kenya