Oct 11, 2007

THE PEN ALL-INDIA CENTRE
invites you, with your friends,

to the Bombay launch of

50 POETS 50 POEMS

An anthology edited by Priya Sarukkai Chabria

Adil Jussawalla, Deepankar Khiwani, Marilyn Noronha,

Peter Griffin, Anju Makhija, Anand Thakore,

Sampurna Chattarji, Gieve Patel and Priya Sarukkai Chabria

will read from the anthology

Date: 11 October, 2007 (Thursday)

Time: 6.15 pm

Place: Theosophy Hall, 3rd floor, 40 New Marine Lines, Churchgate,
Bombay 400 020.

50 Poets 50 Poems published by Open Space draws from the contents of the website Talking Poetry edited by Priya Sarukkai Chabria. Open Space, a civil society outreach program encourages discussion, debate and action on social justice, sustainable development and human rights issues. It is an initiative of the Centre for Communication and Development Studies.

Open Spaces; 50 Poems 50 Poets has been made possible as the contributing poets have each ‘donated-a poem’ to the anthology. It is an effort that reflects faith in poetry and its readership to keep alive this art that adds to our larger cultural life and our sense of multiple identities. This anthology hopes to focus on the diverse voices speaking from different cultures that enrich our lives. 

The editor, Priya Sarukkai Chabria, is a poet and novelist. Her publications include the novel The Other Garden (Rupa&Co, India, 1995, ISBN 81 7167 3228) and Dialogue and Other Poems (Indian Academy of Literature Golden Jubilee Imprint, 2005, reprint 2006, ISBN 81 260 1991 3) and as editor, the anthologies All Poetry is Protest (2006)and Open Spaces: 50 Poets 50Poems.(2007). She edits Talking Poetry India at http://www.openspaceindia.org.  Her next novel, Generation 14 is in press with Zubaan, An Imprint of Kali for Women, India. 
 
Oct 13, 2007

The PEN All-India Centre

invites you, with your friends,

to the eighteenth session of

PEN@Prithvi

FIVE GRAINS OF SUGAR
A reading of Manav Kaul’s play

SHAKKER KE PAANCH DAANE, a longish one-act play by Manav Kaul, has been acknowledged an important play in the Hindi theatre scene in Mumbai. Translated by Arshia Sattar into English, this one-person piece will be read by Ramu Ramanathan.

The playwright, Manav Kaul, and translator, Arshia Sattar will be present for a short discussion after the reading.

Date: 13 October, 2007 (Saturday)
Time: 6.30 pm

Place: Prithvi House, 1st Floor (Opp. Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu)

 
ENTRY IS FREE

SHAKKER KE PAANCH DAANE is about an ordinary simpleton (Rajkumar) who embarks (unwittingly) on a journey he is not equipped to handle. Rajkumar is the quintessential underdog. He begins to draw inspiration from the five important people in his life. The action-movie-loving, influenza-prone mother (Ma); the struggling writer who writes halfway-decent poetry (Pundalik); the red-shirted-and-booted school hero (Raghu); the man influenced by Gandhi (Radhe) and the anonymous “Truckwala dost”. Will Rajkumar comprehend that life is not a destination that we arrive at, but rather an emotion that we need to get in touch with? The play explores just that. 

MANAV KAUL is a playwright, actor and director. Born in December, 1974 at Khojabag, Baramullah, Kashmir, he schooled in Hoshangabad, started doing theatre in Bhopal and moved to Bombay in 1998-99 where he worked with Satyadev Dubey. He formed his own theatre group Aranya in 2004 which was also the year he opened his first play Shakker Ke Paanch Daane. His other plays include Peele Scooterwala Aadmi (2004), Bali aur Shambhu (2006), Ilhaam (2007). His fifth and most recent play, a musical titled Aisa Kehte Hain will play at the Prithvi Festival on 7th Nov 2007. 

ARSHIA SATTAR is a translator and scholar, with a Ph.D. in South Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago, U.S.A. Her areas of interest and specialisation range from theatre and classical Indian literature to notions of nationalism in Bollywood cinema and story traditions in Kashmir. She has translated Valmiki’s Ramayana and Tales from the Kathasaritsagara from the original Sanskrit for Penguin India. She has lectured widely in India and abroad. She curated the 2005 Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival in Bangalore and designed and moderated the Ranga Shankara workshop on ‘Translating for the Stage’ at Adishakti, Pondicheri, in March 2007. 

RAMU RAMANATHAN is a playwright-director and editor of PT Notes, a monthly theatre newsletter produced by Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai. His most recent plays include Medha and Zoombish II and Cotton 56 Polyester 84.