Arundhati Roy, the writer, the speaker, the supporter, the activist. She is the Tigress who would stand tall and support and speak for those who don’t have anyone to talk for them. The author of wonderful novels like The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, she talks about every aspect of the contemporary community, shining light into the shadiest of the corners.
A Media Meet was conducted on the venue of Kerala Literature Festival 2018, where Ms. Roy very happily announced that she had a wonderful experience at the festival and was delighted to see the enthusiasm shown towards literature as well as to know that this was not just a corporate game but people who seriously understand that writers have a very important part to play in the coming months and years in the country.
When she was asked that may be this was the first literary fest that she was attending in the country she declined saying that it was not the first time rather she has been to many smaller festivals which are not ‘corporate sponsored’ saying that basically that’s her problem where she doesn’t like going to places which are sponsored by ‘mining companies’ and ‘fashious T.V. channels’.
Furthermore she was asked what kind of a dialogue she was expecting from such Festivals, what kind of ideas should emerge from such programs, if these programs where turning out to be elitist where she said that she didn’t feel like it was elitist rather there were so many young people, there were so many young girls. She said that yes, sometimes these turned out to be elitist but the discussions that are going to happen at Kerala Literature Festival weren’t really elitist.
One of the questions put forth was the issue of Jantar Mantar shut down and similar happening all over the countryand how Ms. Arundhati would defend it as a writer where she said that we’d have to become dangerous people and show courage now, especially now and try and open up those places that are closed down or else more and more places will close down. Talking about the contemporary condition where capital is in the hands of fewer people, when water is in the hands of fewer people, when information is in the hands of fewer people she says that we’ll become a total surveillance state by the time Aadhar comes so we need to understand that it’s not only police and army that the authoritarian is tightening its grip on, it’s also by things like aadhar, it’s also by laws that are passed every day, dismantling different places where things can be said.
Ms. Arundhati Roy was a joy to talk to and moreover is a very inspirational figure inspiring many to protest against all the dirty politics and money play. Her ideas on today’s world makes one think on the contemporary conditions, so does when she concluded saying that today’s world is in a “dangerous” situation.