There is a desi literature festival going on downtown Chicago from November 10 through the 13. Overall,
there is a great lineup of panel discussions and
workshops scheuduled - see below. Also check out the
website at: www.desilit.org

Hope to see some of you there.
Sarah

Kriti 2005 Schedule
Unless otherwise specified, all events will take place
at Northwestern University's downtown Law School
campus, 357 E. Chicago Avenue.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

* Opening Reception

Eat, drink, and be welcomed! Including authors
Nilofer Ahsan, Sapna Gupta, Minal Hajratwala, Anil
Menon, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Shailja Patel, Bushra
Rehman, Sanjay Shah, Pireeni Sundaralingam, and Sachin
Waikar, among others.

Location: Roosevelt University, Auditorium
Building, 430 S. Michigan, Rm 244. Open only to those
holding an all-weekend pass and to Roosevelt
University students and staff; refreshments will be
served.

Friday, November 11, 2005

2:00 - 2:50

* Contemporary South Asian Literature in the World
How does South Asian writing shape the way in
which South Asians are regarded by the world? Does it
facilitate the stereotyping of individuals? Does it
open up new concepts to readers? Are local South Asian
and diaspora writers perceived differently by
international readers? Are they different in any
meaningful way?
Ranjan Adiga, Summi Kaipa, Anil Menon, Pireeni
Sundaralingam, Arin Reeves (mod.)

3:00 - 3:50

* Recommended Children's Literature
Writers and editors discuss what writers they
love to read, and what makes a story stand out as
exceptional children's literature.
Monika Jain, Rukhsana Khan, Uma Krishnaswami,
Pooja Makhijani

* Queer Issues in South Asian Literature
Authors and readers consider the role of GLBT
characters and queer issues in South Asian literature,
and discuss these stories' reception in the South
Asian community.
Abha Dawesar, Shailja Patel, Leah Lakshmi
Piepzna-Samarasinha, Ligy Pullappally

4:00 - 4:50

* Writing Culturally-Specific Stories
When you write about a culture, do you feel a
responsibility to accurately represent the community?
What are your concerns? What do you do to help you in
that process?
Ranjan Adiga, Minal Hajratwala, Rukhsana Khan,
Uma Krishnaswami

* Gender and South Asian Literature
Why aren't there more men writing creatively?
Are men's concerns different from women's? Do South
Asian men write about different sorts of topics
(large-scale political and historical stories) than
South Asian women (arranged marriage, family and
individual duty, personal freedom, cooking?) Do men
and women write differently? Do you prefer to read
literature by men or women, and if so, why?
Anil Menon, Sanjay Shah, Sachin Waikar, Mary
Anne Mohanraj, Venu Gupta (mod.)

4:30 - 7:00

* Mistress of Spices
Vermilion restaurant and DesiLit host acclaimed
author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni for an intimate
evening of unparalleled food, drink, and conversation.
Chitra is an award-winning author and poet and her
writing centers around the immigrant experience, an
important theme in today's world. Her novel The
Mistress of Spices centers around a magical spice shop
in Oakaland, CA, and is currently being turned into a
movie (by Gurinder Chadha, producer of Bend it Like
Beckham and Bride and Prejudice). Her book, Arranged
Marriage, a collection of short stories, won the
American Book Award and the Pen Award for fiction,
while her recent novel Sister of My Heart is a
national bestseller. Converse with Chitra over
cocktails and tapas and enjoy an exclusive four-course
dinner over a book reading and discussion.

4:30 - 5:30 p.m. cocktails / cash bar, 5:30 - 7
p.m. tapas and dinner $55, very limited seating,
tickets sold separately. Vermilion Restaurant, 10 W.
Hubbard St. Tickets for the event may be purchased
through the DesiLit website by PayPal or check, or
directly from Vermilion with your credit card
(312-527-4060)

5:00 - 5:50
* The Business of Writing: Children's Literature
Writers and editors review the paths to writing
children's lit., suggesting markets and ways to
improve your writing.
Monika Jain, Rukhsana Khan, Uma Krishnaswami,
Pooja Makhijani, Sangheeta Mehta

* Building a Better Future
Currently, Science fiction (and perhaps modern
fiction in general) treats the future in dystopic
terms. We don't react violently to the claim that the
past has an influence on our writing. But what about
the expected future? Are there obligations to building
a better future just as there are obligations to
accurate portrayals of the past?
Anil Menon, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha,
Bushra Rehman, Sanjay Shah, Venu Gupta (mod.)

7:00 - 7:30

* Mango Tribe
An Asian/Pacific Islander American (APIA)
women's interdisciplinary performance group founded on
the belief that collective creation can be the most
powerful form of art.

7:30 - 9:00

* Divakaruni Reading and Q& A
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni reads from her newest
book, Queen of Dreams. Divakaruni is the award-winning
author of The Mistress of Spices (slated to be
released as a feature film in 2006, starring Aishwarya
Rai), Sister of My Heart, Vine of Desire, Queen of
Dreams, Neela: Victory Song, The Conch Bearer, and
others.

9:00 - 10:00

* Open Mic
Hosted by Lakshmi Rengarajan and Bushra Rehman.

9:00 - 9:30

* Bhangra Dance Lessons
Taught by Sadaf Ahmad.

9:30 - Midnight

* Open bhangra dance!

Saturday, November 12, 2005

9:00 - 12:00

* Writing Workshop

10:00 - 11:20

* Who Is Your Community? Who Are You Writing For?
"South Asians aren't your target audience." If
nine out of ten people reading your novel will be
white, do you care? Editors and agents review
marketing and demographic concerns when publishing
South Asian and diaspora literature, while writers
consider the questions: What voice are you trying to
portray? Who is your desired audience? Who do you feel
your community of writers is? Do you worry about
questions of identity and authenticity? Do you write
about white people? Black people? What generation are
you writing for?
Mary Anne Mohanraj, Meera Nair, Rashena Wilson,
Summi Kaipa

* Is Poetry Accessible Today?
Poets discuss the different modes of poetry, and
their audiences. Spoken word vs. poetry on the page --
is the former less academic, less intellectual? More
exciting because of the performative aspect? Is it all
the same? Why do we turn to poetry?
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Shailja Patel,
Ravi Shankar, Pireeni Sundaralingam

* Picture Books
What are the specific challenges to writing a
picture book? How do you tackle child-sized themes for
the youngest readers? How do you effectively convey a
story in brief text? How can your words invite and not
stifle potential illustration? Whether you're a writer
or an artist or both, find out more about this
evolving art form in which the story is mediated by
its physical container.
Monika Jain, Rukhsana Khan, Uma Krishnaswami,
Pooja Makhijani, Sangeeta Mehta

11:30 - 12:00

* Reading: Summi Kaipa

* Reading: Neela Banerjee

12:00 - 1:00

* Keynote Speech
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni speaks on the current
state of South Asian diaspora literature, of which she
has been a forerunner and major figure. As the South
Asian diaspora becomes more visible across the
American landscape, who are the established and
emerging figures in its literary scene, and what place
does their work hold in the broader literary world?

1:00 - 2:00

* Chitra Divakaruni Signing

* Reading: Meera Nair and Ravi Shankar

* Reading: Bushra Rehman and Sapna Gupta

* Filmmaker Q& A
Filmmaker Ligy J. Pullappally, writer and
director of the multiple award-winning feature film,
The Journey, leads a discussion on independent
feature-filmmaking. Using The Journey as a case study,
this discussion forum will take you through the
creative process, to securing film distribution.
Excerpts of The Journey will be shown.

2:00 - 2:30

* Reading: Shauna Singh Baldwin

* Q& A with Literary Agent Anna Ghosh
Ghosh answers every question you've ever had
about literary agents -- or as many as she can fit in
half an hour. An informal discussion.

2:30 - 3:50

* How Do I Become a Writer?
Panelists offer their own experiences and
discuss the path they took to calling themselves
writers.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Anna Ghosh, Pooja
Makhijani, Meera Nair, Pireeni Sundaralingam

* Politics and Writing: The Panel
Writers discuss their goals in writing about
politics. Are they
attempting to create change in the world? What changes
would they like to see? What have been the visible
effects of their work, if any? Should writers be
political on a large-scale? What are the inherent
dangers of that work?
Nilofer Ahsan, Shauna Singh Baldwin, Sapna
Gupta, Shailja Patel

* The Business of Writing: Poetry
Poets discuss how/if one can make a living as a
poet.
Summi Kaipa, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha,
Ravi Shankar, Marian Yalini Thambynayagam

* Storytelling: Rukhsana Khan

4:00 - 5:20

* Memoir Writing
To what extent are we willing to expose
ourselves? Do we have the right to expose the lives of
our family and friends? Is the need to tell a true
story, to be honest, more important than the need to
consider the feelings of others? And what happens when
you're not sure you're remembering the story right to
begin with? Writers discuss the challenges of memoir
writing and offer advice to those interested in
writing their own memoirs.
Minal Hajratwala, Pooja Makhijani, Mary Anne
Mohanraj

* Politics and Writing: A Discussion
A facilitated open discussion of the ways in
which writers can engage political issues in their
work, and the ways in which readers can respond to
those issues.
Facilitated by representatives from SAPAC (South
Asian Progressive Action Collective)

* Page to Stage
Is the distinction between 'spoken' and
'written' word relevant any longer, given the growing
numbers of writers on the performance circuit? How do
we take work from the page to live performance? What
are the pitfalls and richnesses of staging our work?
Are there different audiences for books vs.
performance? Why perform rather than publish, or vice
versa?
Shailja Patel, Ligy Pullappally, Ravi Shankar,
Pireeni Sundaralingam, Marian Yalini Thambynayagam

* Storytelling: Uma Krishnaswami

4:00 - 6:00

Screening of The Journey, followed by brief Q& A
with the director, Ligy Pullappally. In The Journey,
Kiran is mortified by her growing lesbian desire for
Delilah, in an idyllic South Indian community where
arranged marriage is the only acceptable form of
coupling. Screening made possible courtesy of Wolfe
Releasing. Malayalam with English subtitles.

5:30 - 6:00

* The Sri Lankan Women's Project
Marian Yalini Thambyanyagam, Varuni Tiruchelvam,
and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha collaborate in
poetry, dance, and music, to tell the untold stories
of Sri Lankan women.

5:30 - 6:20

* Historical Writing
What are the pitfalls of writing about history?
What happens when a writer gets it wrong? What
responsibilities does a writer have or not have, when
they fictionalize historical events?
Shauna Singh Baldwin, Minal Hajratwala, Meera
Nair

6:00 - 6:30

* Shailja Patel
Kenyan Indian performance poet.

6:00 - 8:00

* Meet the Authors Reception and Group Signing
Eat, drink and schmooze with your favorite
authors, editors, and agents. An informal opportunity
to ask all those questions you've been dying to ask,
and a formal opportunity to buy books and get them
signed, making authors very happy.

6:30 - 7:30

* Rasaka Theater
Rasaka Theatre Company, the Midwest's first and
only South Asian Ensemble will present an exerpt from
their critically acclaimed and Jeff Recommended
production of "The Masrayana", written by William
Kovacsik and directed by Anish Jethmalani.

Set in contemporary India, this based-on-fact
story tells of a gentle farmer legally declared dead
in a scam to grab his land, and how the "dead man"
fights to regain his life and identity. As he crosses
India in search of justice, Gopal Masra meets not only
his soul mate, but thousands more who share his
plight. "The Masrayana" combines story theatre
narrative with South Asian classical dance and music
to create a warm, richly humane and universal modern
saga.

The performance will feature Anita Chandwaney,
Sapna Kumar, Fawzia Mirza, Alka Nayyar, Vishal Patel,
Marc Rita, Anita Thawani, Nikhil Trivedi and Bobby
Zaman.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

9:00 - 12:00

* Writing Workshop

10:00 - 10:50

* Exotic Literature
What's wrong (if anything) with exoticising our
dramatic, colorful, heritage? When you go to the
bookstore, do you look for the books with beautiful
women in colorful saris on the cover? Authors and
readers discuss the politics of reading and writing
'exotic literature.'
Nilofer Ahsan, Summi Kaipa, Sangeeta Mehta,
Bushra Rehman, Rashena Wilson, Linda Groetzinger
(mod.)

* Character and Emotion
How do you approach capturing emotional truth
(believable character emotions and motivations) in
fiction?
Ranjan Adiga, Abha Dawesar, Monika Jain, Sachin
Waikar

* Reading: Pireeni Sundaralingam and Mary Anne
Mohanraj

11:00 - 11:50

* Dirty Laundry
There is a clear market in the West for a
certain kind of expose/pathos story from South Asia:
child prostitutes, wife beating, widows in Brindhavan,
untouchables, street kids, etc. When does exposing an
evil move over into exploitation? What
responsibilities does the writer have (if any)?
Minal Hajratwala, Anil Menon, Bushra Rehman,
Sanjay Shah, Rashena Wilson, Vinita Bhojwani and Tanya
Jogee of Apna Ghar (mod.)

* The Business of Writing: Short Stories
Writers and editors review the paths to writing
short fiction, suggesting markets and ways to improve
your writing.
Ranjan Adiga, Sapna Gupta, Sachin Waikar

* Reading: Abha Dawesar

1:00 - 1:50

* Sex and the Word
In recent years, more and more South Asians have
started writing explicitly around sexuality. Mary Anne
Mohanraj, Ginu Kamani, the authors in _Desilicious_,
the participants in _Yoni ki Baat_, and many
performance poets all explore the sexual arena. What
are the challenges of working with this material? What
are the rewards? Are you willing to read an erotic
story? How about in public, on a bus or train? Do you
take the books off the shelves when your parents
visit? Authors and readers discuss the pleasures and
problems of writing and reading sex.
Neela Banerjee, Abha Dawesar, Mary Anne
Mohanraj, Shailja Patel

* Writing and Language
What languages do you choose to write in? Do you
consider diction, dialect, formality? Do you worry
about what your audience will be able to understand?
Bushra Rehman, Sanjay Shah, Ravi Shankar

* Reading: Ranjan Adiga and Sachin Waikar

1:00 - 3:00

Screening of The Journey, followed by brief Q& A
with the director, Ligy Pullappally. In The Journey,
Kiran is mortified by her growing lesbian desire for
Delilah, in an idyllic South Indian community where
arranged marriage is the only acceptable form of
coupling. Screening made possible courtesy of Wolfe
Releasing. Malayalam with English subtitles.

2:00 - 2:50

* The Business of Writing: Novels
Writers, editors and agents review the paths to
writing novels, discussing the process of writing your
novel, the process of finding an agent and submitting
your novel, and what happens after.
Abha Dawesar, Sangeeta Mehta, Mary Anne
Mohanraj, Rashena Wilson

* Beyond the Arranged Marriage Novel
Can we move beyond these themes? Should
we? Where would we go?
Nilofer Ahsan, Uma Krishnaswami, Bushra Rehman

3:00 - 3:15

* Closing Ceremonies

SPECIAL NOTE: The weekend of the festival we are also
co-sponsoring talks by Salman Rushdie and Vikram Seth,
hosted by the Chicago Humanities Festival. To purchase
tickets for these lectures, call the Chicago
Humanities Festival ticket office at (312) 494-9509,
or visit their website. Tickets may sell out, so
please don't count on buying them at the door. Kriti
all-weekend passes do not offer entrance to these two
talks.

VIKRAM SETH: Two Lives
The author of A Suitable Boy discusses his latest work
about a childless couple living in England -- he from
the Raj's India, she a German-Jew who fled Hitler's
Germany -- who take in their grand-nephew, Vikram
Seth. This masterful fusion of memoir, biography, and
history creates an extraordinary tapestry of India,
the Third Reich and the Second World War, Auschwitz
and the Holocaust, Israel and Palestine, post-war
Germany, and 1970's Britain.

Sunday, November 13; 10:30 - 11:30 am
Northwestern University (Chicago Campus), Thorne
Auditorium

CLOSING LECTURE: SALMAN RUSHDIE: The Scattered Concept
of Home
For 30 years the Indian-born author of Satanic Verses
and the recent Shalimar the Clown, among others, has
explored the consequences of living in the "Age of
Migration." In his work and in his life, he has
pondered the implications and public effects of the
uprooted, de-familiarized human self. In one of the
Festival's final programs, he explores how all of our
stories intersect-the story of India is now also an
American tale; the story of al-Qaida is the story of
New York.

Due to popular demand, a new block of balcony tickets
will go on sale on first-come, first-serve at the door
prior of Salman Rushdie's program. Please inquire
about tickets at the DePaul Merle Reskin Theater
ticket window on November 13, 2005 no earlier than
3:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 13; 5:00 - 6:00 pm
DePaul University (Downtown), Merle Reskin Theater