The
Toronto Festival of South Asian Literature and the Arts 2011 (FSALA-11) will
bring renowned Indian playwright Girish Karnad and other literary stalwarts to
Toronto
Toronto:
The second Toronto Festival of South Asian Literature and Arts (FSALA-11) will
be held between September 30 and October 2, 2011.
GirishKarnad – one of India’s foremost playwrights of the 20th century, renowned
for his plays such as Yayati, Tughlak
and Naga-Mandala among several others
– will be the main attraction at the festival where over 25 Canadian writers
will participate.
Several
writers from the subcontinent and the United States will also read and participate
in several discussions. These include Meena Alexander (US), Kamini Dandapani
(US), Mahesh Dattani (India), Asif Farrukhi (Pakistan), Neerav Patel (India),
and Harish Narang (India).
FSALA-11
is a Canadian arts festival, whose purpose is to present to the public the
works of writers, musicians, and other artists. The panels and lectures will
discuss vital topics on Canadian and South Asian arts. It is as well a forum
for the public to meet artists from across the country and for the artists to
meet each other.
Special
readings and recitals from the works of Rabindranath Tagore and Faiz Ahmed Faiz
will also be held at the inaugural session of the festival. 2011 is Tagore’s
sesquicentennial and Faiz’s centenary; former Governor General the Right
Honourable Adrienne Clarkson will give a short welcome address.
On
October 1, dance maestro Hari Krishnan’s dance troupe will perform Fallen Rain, following a reading by
Girish Karnad from his recent autobiography. This is the only ticketed event of
the festival and the tickets for the event are available on FSALA-11 website: www.fsala11.com
Readers and
participants include:
Canadian:
Navtej
Bharati (Windsor), Nandi Bhatia (London), Rana Bose (Montreal), Cheran
(Toronto), Cyril Dabydeen (Ottawa), Ramabai Espinet (Toronto), Andrea Gunraj
(Toronto), Sheniz Janmohamed (Toronto), Sally Jones (Toronto), Shaista Justin
(Toronto), Surjeet Kalsey (Vancouver), Chelva Kanaganayakam (Toronto), Kwai Li
(Toronto), Anand Mahadevan (Toronto), Rabindra Maharaj (Toronto), Ashok Mathur
(Vancouver), Julie Mehta (Toronto), Ameen Merchant (Vancouver), Ananya
Mukherjee (Toronto), Arun Mukherjee (Toronto), Uma Parameswaran (Winnipeg),
Sase Persaud (Toronto, Florida), Ajmer Rode (Vancouver), Nuzhat Siddiqui
(Toronto), Dalbir Singh (Toronto), Suwanda Sugunasiri (Toronto), Priscila Uppal
(Toronto), Rahul Varma (Montreal), Padma Viswanathan (Toronto/US), Nalini
Warriar (Quebec City), John van Burek (Toronto)
International:
Meena
Alexander (New York), Kamini Dandapani (New York), Mahesh Dattani (India), Asif
Farrukhi (Pakistan), Girish Karnad (India), Harish Narang (India), Neerav Patel
(India)
Scotiabank
is the main sponsor of the event. The Canada Council for the Arts and the
Writers’ Union of Canada have provided additional financial assistance to the
festival. Other sponsors include Munk School of Global Affairs, University of
Toronto, Random House of Canada, The Writers Forum, Sheridan College and the
Humber School for Creative and Performing Arts. FSALA also acknowledges the
following sponsors – Anil Balolia, Chandaria Family, Iqbal and Zinnat Dewji,
Azim Jeraj, Atul Tolia, and Anonymous Donors.
The
festival will be held at The Munk School of Global Affairs and Trinity College
are next to each other and centrally located in Toronto.
The three-day
festival’s program is:
Friday,
September 30:
Inaugural,
readings and recitals from Tagore & Faiz
|
Afternoon
|
|
|
Discussion: Whither South Asian
Drama in Canada?
Time:
3:00 to 4:00 PM
Venue:
Combination Room, Trinity College
Participants:
Nandi Bhatia, Sally Jones, John van Burek, Rahul Varma
Chair:
Julie Mehta
|
Lecture: Mahesh Dattani
Time:
4:15 – 5:30 PM
Venue:
Combination Room, Trinity College
Lecture:
Mahesh Dattani
|
|
Evening
|
|
|
Formal Welcome
Time:
7:00 to 9:00 PM
Venue:
Seeley Hall, Trinity College
Reading
1. Rabindra Maharaj
Reading
2. Kwai Li
Break
Faiz
Ahmad Faiz Centennial: Recital
Tariq
Hameed, accompanied by Nadeem Shah at Tabla
Rabindranath
Tagore Sesquicentennial: Poetry Reading: Ananya Mukherjee
|
|
Saturday, October 1
Literary
Sessions, Readings & Discussions, Art Exhibit
|
Morning
|
|
|
Readings
Time:
10:00 – 11:30 AM
Venue:
Combination Room, Trinity College
Participants:
Priscila Uppal, Sheniz Janmohamed, Uma Parameswaran, Ashok Mathur, Nalini
Warriar
Chair:
Suwanda Sugunasiri
|
Panel: The Problems of Translation
and Audience
Time:
10:00 – 11:30 AM
Venue:
Campbell Room, Munk School of Global Affairs
Participants:
Ajmer Rode, Baidar Bakht, Neerav Patel, Harish Narang, Asif Farrukhi
Chair:
Chelva Kanaganayakam
|
|
Discussion: Is there a case for a
Canadian South Asian literary identity? Or does one think of a national or
secular literary identity. Whither Multiculturalism?
Time: 11.30 AM – 1:00 PM
Participants:
Priscila Uppal, Sheniz Janmohamed, Uma Parameswaran, Ashok Mathur, Nalini
Warriar
Chair:
Suwanda Sugunasiri
Chair:
Rana Bose
|
Readings in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi,
and Tamil
Time:
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Participants:
Nuzhat
Siddiqui, Navtej Bharati, Cheran, Arun Mukherjee
Chair:
Harish Narang
|
|
Afternoon
|
|
|
Readings
Time:
2:00 – 3:15 PM
Venue:
Campbell Room Munk School of Global Affairs
Participants:
Meena Alexander, Asif Farrukhi, Neerav Patel
|
|
|
Readings & Discussion: South
Asian Canadian Literature: Concerns of a New Generation
Time:
4:00 – 5:30 PM
Venue:
Combination Room, Trinity College
Participants:
Padma Viswanathan, Anand Mahadevan, Ameen Merchant
Chair:
Shaista Justin
|
Readings & Discussion: The
Indo-Caribbean Phenomenon
Time:
4:00 – 5:30 PM
Venue:
Campbell Room, Munk School of Global Affairs
Ramabai
Espinet, Cyril Dabydeen, Andrea Gunraj, Sase Persaud
Chair:
Rabindra Maharaj
|
|
Evening
(ticketed) event
|
|
|
Lecture & Presentation: Girish
Karnad
Dance recital: Fallen Rain, inDANCE
under maestro Hari Krishnan
Time:
7:00 – 9:15 PM
Venue:
Robert Gill Theatre, University of Toronto
|
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Sunday, October 2
Readings,
interviews, music, book launch
|
Afternoon
Venue
for all events: Campbell Room, Munk School of Global Affairs
|
|
On-stage interview & classical
vocal concert
Time:
12:00 – 1:00 PM
Participants:
Girish Karnad, Mahesh Dattani, interviewed by Dalbir Singh
Refreshments
Classical
vocal concert: Kamini Dandapani
|
|
On-stage interview
Time:
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Participants:
Meena Alexander, Neerav Patel
|
|
Book launch
Time: 3:00 PM
Cheran:
You Cannot Turn Away
(bilingual
Tamil/English poetry);
Sasenarine
Persaud: Lantana Strangling Ixora (poetry);
Surjeet
Kalsey: Colours of My Heart
(poetry in English);
Suwanda
Sugunasiri: Untouchable Woman's Odyssey
(novel)
|
For more information:
