Food & wine attract visitors more than literature

Shillong, Nov 23: Like in the past, the three-day Shillong Literary Festival ended on Saturday (Nov 22) on a ‘high’ note with more food and wine than literature.

Soon after the Cherry Blossom Festival on November 14 and 15, which also had hiccups, the three-day Shillong  Literary Festival from November 20 to 22 drew a lukewarm response to the sessions at the main venue, but the visitors found more joy in food and wine.

Book stall owners admitted that the concentration of the youths was not on books but elsewhere.

There were not many book releases this year.

No tribute to late artistic figures 

No one paid tribute to late photographer Ahmed Husain & filmmaker Tarun Bhartiya during the literary sessions for their contributions to the state.

Husain, who captured life in the North East from the days of the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) through his lens, passed away on April 2 this year. He was 93.

Tarun, a voracious reader, loved books and was a liberal thinker besides being a famed photographer and film editor. He passed away in January this year at the age of 54.

The NE Archive of St Anthony’s College was restoring Husain’s photographs, but there were no exclusive stalls during the literary festival this year, either for Husain or Tarun. They were associated with the NE Archive.

However, NE Archive clarified that “our work as an archive is centred on preservation, documentation, and research, which does not automatically translate into mounting a stall or public exhibition”.

NE Archive is already doing yeoman service to preserve the works, and the state government, or the organisers, should have collaborated to pay tribute to the local personalities.

Concerns were raised why the organisers of the festival could not remember those who contributed to the state’s artistic landscape.

Another photographer who was not featured in literary festivals of 2023, 2024, and this year was Ashok Elwin, the son of  Anthropologist Verrier Elwin, who passed away in March 2023.

Ashok tried to popularise the works of his father by holding exhibitions and releasing his unpublished works.

Double rates & VIP toilets 

According to the visitors, while the entry fee for the festival was Rs 100, basic amenities like toilets were not covered.

“We had to shell out an additional Rs 10 for using the toilet at the festival. This is unacceptable,” they said.

The young and the old found it difficult to use the paid facility. Another toilet was reserved for the VIPs under the constant vigil of the guards.

“There were hardly any VIPs using it,  and nobody was allowed to use it, even after paying Rs 100 for the ticket,” an affected visitor said.

Official statement 

An official statement of the government said that the fifth edition of the Shillong Literary Festival concluded on November 22 at the iconic Ward’s Lake, bringing to a close three vibrant days of literary conversations, performances, and creative exchange from November 21.

Those who attended the sessions include booker prize winners Shehan Karunatilaka and Banu Mushtaq,  Francesc Miralles, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Anita Agnihotri, Sanjoy Hazarika, Madeline Y. Tham, Daniel Ebor Challam, David R. Syiemlieh, Patricia Mukhim, Merlvin Jude Mukhim, Ailynti Nongbri, and Lucetta J. Syiem,  Paul Lyngdoh, Lalnunsanga Ralte and Dorothy Marak, William Richmond Basaiawmoit, Jessica S. Lyngdoh, Rishila M. Jamir, and Riewbankit Lyndem, Brian Wallang, Mmhonlumo Kikon, Sanjeeb Kakoty, Glenn C. Kharkongor, Jerry Pinto,  Kanishka Gupta, Seema Sharma, Keshav Guha, Prayaag Akbar, Narayani Basu, Rahul Bhattacharya, Preeti Gill, Jamling Norgay and Priyambada Jayakumar, Ankush Saikia, Karishma Upadhyay, Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Dominic Sangma, Janice Pariat, Dorothy Marak, and Prince S.R. Marak and Anurag Banerjee.

A discussion on the UPSC journey was attended by  Sajjan Yadav, Davis N. R. Marak,  Cyril Diengdoh and Ankur Das, who cleared UPSC in 2021.