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Words on Water, part of the 2009 Joburg Arts Alive programme, sees South African and Indian writers sharing ideas.
PROMINENT South African and Indian writers will share ideas on writing various forms of literature at a two-day literary festival over the weekend.
Indian writer Ramachandra Guha will be at Wits University on the weekend
The event is part of the Shared History festival, a celebration of Indian dance, music, film, performance, craft and fashion. Shared History is also part of the 2009 Joburg Arts Alive festival.
Words on Water will feature readings, book signings, talks and discussions - and the audience will get the opportunity to interact with the participating writers.
“In the context of intensifying relations between South Africa and India, this festival aims to bring a kaleidoscope of contemporary Indian culture to mainstream South African audiences,” says the consul-general of India, Navdeep Suri, of the event.
“In recent years, India has produced a number of award-winning writers in English. The literature component of the festival showcases leading Indian writers for South African readers,” Suri adds.
Professor Isabel Hofmeyr, the acting director at the Centre for Indian Studies in Africa at the University of the Witwatersrand, says the future is looking "increasingly Indian”.
“Many South Africans know little about the cultures of India. This literary festival will open a window on to the rich world of Indian writing in English,” she says.
Programme
The first day of the event, Saturday, 12 September, will include a marathon discussion involving various speakers, with topics ranging from talks on popular fiction and narratives of the postcolonial era, to “writing and talking cricket”.
This event, from 10.30am to 8pm, will be held at Wits University’s Origins Centre. It is on East Campus, on the corner of Yale Road and Jorissen Street, in Braamfontein.
Some of the writers taking part are South African authors Jacob Dlamini and Mandla Langa, artist William Kentridge and renowned poet Keorapetse Kgositsile. Sharing the podium are Indian writers Ramachandra Guha, Amit Chaudhuri and Shobhaa De. The talks will be facilitated by Leon de Kock.
Kentridge and leading academic Sarah Nuttall will talk to Chaudhuri
about depictions of Johannesburg and Calcutta. For those into politics, a discussion by novelist Langa and Guha
will focus on post-colonial politics and how best to write about the
topic. Journalist and academic, Dlamini, will lead the discussion.
Not to be missed is Words and Music on Water, a poetry session with Kgositsile, Ingrid de Kok and Chaudhuri,
at which Chaudhuri’s music recordings will be under the spotlight. It is the last session of the day, beginning at 6pm.
On the Sunday, the Wanderers Club, an apt venue for the day’s discussion, called Writing and Talking Cricket, will host Guha and prominent South African author and University of Western Cape professor Andre Odendaal. The discussions to be facilitated by Stephen Gelb. It is from 2.30pm to 4pm. Wanderers Club is on North Street in Illovo.
Entrance to all the events is free. For further information about Words on Water, contact Isabel Hofmeyr on 011 717 4140/2, or email
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. For the programme, visit the Words on Water
website.
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