What makes a person turn into a fanatic who only trusts his own kind? How can mutual hatred suddenly break out in a peaceful community? In her novel “Times of Siege”, Githa Hariharan critically examines the fatal atmospheric shift that can suddenly disrupt a person’s life. Taking the example of an individual fate, she succeeds in creating an uncompromising portrait of present-day India. Awarded the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book, she works in Delhi as a writer, critic and freelance editor.
Paul Zacharia is one of India’s most important contemporary writers. His ironic tone, his innovative writing techniques and his provocative, critical view of reactionary forces in society have made him into a controversial public figure in his homeland. He will read from his story “Some Recent Invention for the Benefit of Mankind” from the collection “Reflections of a Hen in her last Hour and other stories”.With nationalization and Hinduization on the rise in Indian society, room for criticism and the formulation of alternative social models is becoming increasingly restricted. This means that resistance to cultural censorship and the search for ways to react artistically to past and present will be central issues of the discussion following the reading.
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