A Curtain Raiser to the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival 2015: Odysseus Abroad - Amit Chaudhuri in Conversation with C.P. Surendran

As you know, inspiration can strike at the oddest moments. Imagine how a fart and conversation about a Souza painting in the-80's with an eccentric Uncle led to Amit Chaudhuri's Odysseus Abroad, which is also influenced by the epics Ulysses and Odysseus.

Avid Learning, in collaboration with British Council and Penguin India, brings the infectious energy and unrivalled magic of the one of the biggest literary festival, ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival to Mumbai with a stimulating conversation and laughter as award-winning author, Amit Chaudhuri discusses his latest book Odysseus Abroad with, Poet, Novelist, Journalist and Editor-in Chief of DNA India, C.P. Surendran.

Date: Thursday, January 15th, 2015

Time: 6:00 PM Registration

          6:30-8:00 PM Discussion

Venue: Essar House, 11 K.K. Marg, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai 400034

About the Book

Odysseus Abroad is a book that tells the story about a day when “nothing happens and everything happens.” With strong influences from James Joyce’s Ulysses and Homer’s Odysseus, Chaudhuri regales a tale of Ananda, a young literature student in London in the mid-eighties and his impossible uncle Rangamma. Struggling with the shift from an upper middle class Indian lifestyle to one of a commoner, Ananda forms an unlikely bond with his uncle, who lacks basic hygiene and recklessly squanders away his very handsome pension. Chaudhuri has loosely based his characters on the relationship he shares with a maternal uncle, making the book almost autobiographical.

_{About the Speakers}

Amit Chaudhuri is an award-winning author, scholar, and musician. He has written five novels, one work of non-fiction and a number of books of literary criticism. He received the Commonwealth Literature Prize and Betty Trask Prize for A Strange and Sublime Address, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Freedom Song, and Infosys Prize for Humanities- Literary Studies for his literary criticism; he also was awarded India's highest literary honor, the Sahitya Akademi Award. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and Professor of Contemporary Literature at the University of East Anglia. Amit grew up in Bombay and divides his time in Kolkata and Norwich.

C. P. Surendran is a poet, novelist, and journalist. He is the author of four collections of poetry: Portraits of the Space We Occupy, Canaries on the Moon, Posthumous Poems and Gemini II. His novels include An Iron Harvest, Lost and Found, and Tears of the Crying Squad, which is to be released later this month. His debut screenplay, Gaur Hari Dastaan, was selected for five international film festivals last year. He is currently working on a collection of poems, Repeat Radio and currently serves as Editor-in Chief of DNA, dividing his time between Mumbai and Delhi.

_{About Zee Jaipur Literature Festival’ 2015}

The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival is the largest free literary festival in the world, commemorating national and intentional writers. The festival covers a wide range of literary practices from film, music, theater and literature. This year the list of attendees and speakers includes A.P.J Abdul Kalam, Jung Chang, Lucy-Hughes Hallett, Prasson Joshi, Paul Theroux, Elizabeth Gilbert and Naseeruddin Shah. In the past the festival has played host to internationally-acclaimed writers such as Orhan Pamuk, Ian McEwan, Kiran Desai, Vikram Seth and Shashi Tharoor.

Website : http://www.jaipurliteraturefestival.org

_{About Avid Learning:}

AVID Learning, a public programing platform of the Essar Group. At AVID, our constant endeavor is to bring the best of Indian and International programs, projects and events in the fields of culture, art and heritage to our discerning audience. Since our inception in 2009, AVID has conducted over 450 programs and connected with more than 40,000 individuals, a mix of students, homemakers, corporates and creative enthusiasts. Driven by the belief that Learning Never Stops, AVID’s multiple formats like Workshops, Panel Discussions, Gallery Walkthroughs, and Festival Platforms create a dynamic and interactive atmosphere that stimulates intellectual and creative growth. Another very important aspect is that the AVID Team is highly driven and thrives on collaboration. AVID has a supported and partnered with various arts and cultural events, such as Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, India Art Fair, Art Dubai, Jaipur Literature Festival, Tata Literature Liv e, TEDx Gateway, Social Media Week, FOCUS festival and many more. AVID also developed intellectual properties Multipolis Mumbai, AVID Spectrum and AVID Ideology which are a series of conversation on how arts and culture are changing in the city. Avid Learning aims to spread Inspired Learning as wide as its resources allow. To get more details on AVID, would request you to visit our website

www.avidlearning.in Facebook.com/ Avidlearning Twitter.com /AvidLearning

_{About British Council:}

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide. The British Council was established in India in 1948. The British Council is recognised across India for its network of 9 libraries and cultural centres. We offer a range of specialised projects in arts, education, exams, English language and society to audiences across India and more than 100,000 members. We also provide access to English language training and learning for both students and teachers, offer UK qualifications in India and enable opportunities to study in the UK. For more information, please visit www.britishcouncil.in