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Writers' Festival
What is the most compelling source of inspiration for an author in Mussoorie? Does it lie in the vast panorama of snow peaks to the north, or in the delicate needles of a deodar tree? Instead of turning to nature, a writer could just as easily find inspiration in the steam that rises from a cup of tea at a sweet shop in Landour bazaar? Mullingar Hill, with its twisting line of storefronts and eccentric cast of resident personalities, is a novel waiting to be written. There's more than one sonnet hiding in the monsoon mist as it unfurls over Parri Tibba. And countless memoirs have been composed in the minds of those who have shared these hills.
The second Mussoorie International Writers' Festival will be held October 7-11, 2008. Woodstock School hosts this annual literary conclave, which is generously supported by the Winterline Foundation and other donors. Over twenty-five authors come together for five days of public readings, panel discussions and various book events. Students and faculty from Woodstock and neighboring schools in Mussoorie and Dehradun are invited to attend. Many of the programs are held at the Hanifl Centre and other places on the Woodstock campus like Parker Hall and the Vera Marley Library. Additional venues include the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration in Happy Valley, as well as educational institutions in Dehradun.
The first festival, held last April, was received with enthusiasm and this year's schedule of events is even more ambitious. One of the primary themes of Mussoorie Writers 2008 is "Writing About Nature." Prominent authors, who focus on subjects ranging from wildlife to climate change, are expected to attend. Gretel Ehrlich, one of America's finest nature writers has confirmed that she will participate. Her prizewinning books include The Solace of Open Spaces and The Future of Ice. Also taking part is conservationist and author, Ullas Karanth, who has written several bestselling accounts of India's tigers in the wild. Another confirmed participant, Gabrielle Walker, author of An Ocean of Air, is a highly respected member of a younger generation of science and nature writers from Great Britain. Gabrielle is coming to Mussoorie from Antarctica, where she is researching her next book. In addition to nature writers, there will also be novelists, poets, translators and scriptwriters, as well as publishers, editors and literary agents. Hindi, Garhwali and Kumaoni writers, representing the contemporary voices of Uttarakhand, will share the stage with English language authors. Padmashree Shekhar Pathak, who attended the first festival, is helping arrange the participation of noted Chipko poets, whose songs have provoked environmental awareness and activism in the Himalayas.
One of the most successful events last year was a reading: Three Poets Under the Lyre Tree. For anyone who attended this session, it was a memorable occasion, hearing the verses of Erica Funkhouser, Ruskin Bond and Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno, under the spreading branches of Woodstock's lyrical long needle pine. In 2008 a fresh slate of poets will read their work in the tea garden beneath the Lyre Tree. Last year's festival also featured an inaugural panel on "Writing Across Cultures," with distinguished Woodstock alumnus, Nayantara Sahgal, psychologist-turned-novelist Sudhir Kakar, and expatriate African-American writer Eddy Harris. Their experiences and insights sparked a lively discussion with the audience on issues of writing, identity and culture.
Mussoorie's reputation as a literary retreat is enhanced by coverage of the festival in India's print and television media. In this way, Woodstock reaches out to the larger community by helping to underscore one of the town's important traditions. Over the years, many important authors from Pearl S. Buck to Anita Desai, have found inspiration on the Landour hillside. This festival encourages the presence of writers in Mussoorie and creates a network of authors who become familiar with the school and town. For students and faculty, the festival provides an exceptional opportunity to hear and interact with published writers in many different genres. During the last festival, several of the authors made classroom visits and spoke with students in Woodstock's elementary, middle and high school. A group of authors also visited Kaplani village school, along the Tehri Road. Paro Anand, who writes primarily for children, held an inspiring storytelling session at Kaplani. This spring, from March 23-April 22, Paro will return to the hillside as a writer-in-residence to spend a month working on her next book. During her residency, she will give several presentations at Woodstock. As Mussoorie Writers grows it will include an expanding list of authors, who discover inspiration in these hills.
Woodstock alumni are welcome to attend the Mussoorie Interntional Writers' Festival. There is no entrance fee and most events are open to the public. For further information, please consult our website: www.woodstock.ac.in/mussooriewriters. If you are interested in attending please contact the Alumni Office at Woodstock, so that we can help make your next visit back to the school a literary experience.