Syjuco’s novel won the Man Asian Literary Prize and covers a large and tumultuous historical period of the Philippines. It is ceaselessly entertaining, frequently raunchy, and effervescent with humour.
The author of The Number Mysteries shows us how everyday problems can be solved by maths – from smartphones and transatlantic flight to bending a ball like Beckham and predicting population growth. Marcus was mathematical consultant for Complicite’s A Disappearing Number, a theatre production that toured India in August with the British Council. Introduced by Nawaid Anjum.
Charu Nivedita’s novel Zero Degree, written in Tamil in 1998 and later translated into Malayalam and English, is chock-full of foul language, graphic sex, and extreme violence. He talks with Blaft Publications’ co-founder Rakesh Khanna about Zero Degree, his other novels, translations of experimental literature to and from Tamil, censorship, and the burgeoning Tamil blogosphere.
Take a world tour of ideas and stories with the pre-eminent historian, art critic and broadcaster, whose award-winning work includes Citizens, Landscape and Memory, A History of Britain and Rembrandt’s Eyes. He talks to Peter Florence about 26 subjects from A to Z.
K Satchidanandan’s poetry is seen as the microcosm of larger trends in modern Malyalam literature. ‘Stammer’ is a hallmark poem which declares that ‘Stammer is the language of the world’.
A film of Nicholas Stern, the climate change authority, in conversation with Rosie Boycott about Haiti, Darfur, Bangladesh and How We Can Save the World and Create Prosperity. This event was recorded at Hay Festival in Wales, 2010.
This 20-minute specially choreographed performance includes Mohiniyattam, Theyyam, Kathakali and Thiruvathira styles of traditional and classical dance from Kerala. The Mohiniyattam piece is is based on a poem by the legendary Malayalam poet Vallathol Narayana Menon. The different dance forms are woven together to offer a cross section of traditional performances of Kerala.
Asima
Asima means "...beyond boundaries". A vocal and percussion ensemble based in Trivandrum, they explore music across several genres, and draw inspiration from many sources, east and west, classical, folk and popular. There are five male vocalists (Anil Ram, Gokul, Sreekumar, Khalid and Anoop), all trained in Carnatic vocal music; one percussionist (Sajith Pappan) playing a range of South Indian drums; one drum player (Tao Issaro) and one pianist (Yakzan). Asima music is composed by Devissaro.
The Mexican novelist and essayist, recently awarded the Debate-Casa de América Prize for his essay ‘El insomnio de Bolívar’, talks to Sameer Rahim about his writing, his television work, and the future of one of the world’s most volatile and booming nations.
How do you capture the life of a sex worker on the page? Sonia Faleiro and William Dalrymple have both written about very different types of prostitution – Faleiro about the bar girls of Bombay and Dalrymple about the sacred devadasis or temple prostitutes of Karnataka. The writers will read from their work and discuss the differences between the two worlds.