War and politics at Zee Jaipur Literature Festival

Jaipur: Consequences of war and politics on humanity was the topic of discussion by internationally acclaimed authors who shared personal experiences ranging from battleground stories to sitting down to write a novel.

At a session at Zee Jaipur Literature Festival here, they also underlined the importance of novels which give accounts of war in raising awareness about its destructive consequences.

Pakistani novelist Kamila Shamshie, who has authored the multi-layered novel "A God in Every Stone," told the gathering how deeply she was affected by the fate of unnamed soldiers from Indian villages serving in British Army during the World War-I.

Iraq war veteran Kevin Powers, who served in the US Army in 2004 and 2005 in Iraq, said he felt an urge after returning home to write a novel about his experiences in the war.

Describing the lingering scars that war leaves, he said it is not just physically but on the human psyche.

"The danger does not end simply because you have returned to physical safety," he said.

He also talked about the motivations of writing his novel "The Yellow Birds" during the crowded session.

Adam Johnson, who won a Pulitzer prize for his book "The Orphan Master's Son", recounted his venture into North Korea to research his story during which he explored the lives of ordinary people there.

The second day of the festival today saw rain playing spoilsport with organisers rescheduling various sessions.

In one such rescheduled session "Of Mysteries and Spreadsheets," Ashwin Sanghi, considered a bestselling English fiction author, narrated his journey of becoming an author from a business person in ten years despite not having a traditional publisher.

Sanghi said that as an author, he does not see his competition in other authors but with movie theaters or game zones where youngsters spend time instead of giving some time for reading books.
Despite the bad weather, large number of people, mostly youth and school children turned up for the literature festival.