After three mammoth days of running the Mughal Tent, I am struggling a bit this morning but my mind feels sharp as a razor.
I have to be quick, as the BBC are are setting up from 7am to record for Radio 4. It's 6:30 and I've woken up disturbed by the image of an almost toothless old man who spat in my face at the end of a very, very long day yesterday. This Festival is such an overwhelming experience that these morning downloads have become a necessity to keep somewhat balanced.
Yesterday began with serenity amidst intense discussion. Three inspiring women talked about their their battle strewn paths to a life of meaning, amidst societies that wouldn't accept them or have tried to reject their choices. A Sri Lankan teacher (Ranjini Obeysekere), a Nepalese nun (Ani Choying) and the top notch moderator Swati Chopra presented a fabulous panel, but the ending of the day is still haunting me.
The next session delved into music in literature and connected, once again, on a deep level with the audience. Our talented panellists (Indian vocallist and novellist Vikram Sampath and Bhutanese composer and vocalist Sonam Dorji) sung, strummed and discussed what their music means to them. A peaceful, warmth filled the Mughal Tent as moderator Rupleena Bose (love a pair of patent, cherry Doc Martens!) guided this lively discussion. We had no idea what was to come.
The panel "Punjabi by Nature" hosted five big personalities of diverse ages - Nirupama Dutt moderated with Kishwar Dessai, Navtej Sarna, Ravinder Singh and Shauna Singh Baldwin. They drew a bulging crowd and serious debate about what it means to be Punjabi. The youngsters pushed against the elders, the women against the men, it was loud and proud but respectful.
Historian Tom Holland then presented a seminar about Persian history that again drew a very healthy and different crowd. The American novellist Madeline Miller introduced him and Tom, a wiry Brit, devoured his topic and the audience responded in kind.
We were then supposed to host a session on cricket with one of India's most famous cricketers, Rahul Dravid, but thankfully it was moved to the Front Lawns where there is more space. According to Sirish there were more people than the Dalai Lama! We were given the 'Out of Africa' panel where the super sharp moderator Kwasi Kwarteng deftly moved between BBC journalist Animatta Forna, journalist and Somalian expert Mary Harper and the young reporter Anjan Sundaram, who had just returned from the Congo. This was one of the best sessions of the day and when the first person who asked a question made a 5 minute statement, Kwasi handled it brilliantly and the QandA was rewarding as most people curbed their diatribes and actually asked questions.
The 6th session of that day, that runs 5-6pm, seems to be the trickiest session of the day and often is when my team of volunteers are exhausted and flagging. A very healthy crowd gathered to hear Rahul Pandita (who has written a memoir on Kashmir) and Siddiq Wahid (a political historian who is a Director of the University of Kahsmir) to discuss the issue of exile. The moderator Asiya Zahoor, (who is a professor of literature and a novellist), was very nervy and it seemed that she would have been better used as a panellist as her experiences were incredibly raw. This was again a Q and A session where so many hands went up it was almost impossible to choose people. The temperature had plummeted (as soon as the sun goes in, you're chilled to the bone) and so had the atmosphere, people were struggling with their own demons and it was a very tricky session to close.
Or so I thought, until we arrived at the final session of the day. I turned my back for two minutes to help set up the stage for our staggering 7 panellists - Reza Aslan, Selma Dabaggh, Mary Harper (back again) , Laleh Khadivi (Oscar winning documentarian), Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Declan Walsh, moderated by a fiery, fabulous Barkha Dutt. When I glanced again at the audience, it felt as though I had shrunk and was in the middle of an ant colony. The tent was seething with people and I had to put in a mayday call to security. One of my volunteers was celebrating her birthday and had disappeared with her family, and didn't come back, while another was not feeling well and had gone to the medical tent. The others were busy and out of sight and overwhelmed. I felt a slightly metallic taste of panic at the back of my throat. "Falling off the Map: The Question of Failed States" was a powder keg as it was dominated by discussion about Pakistan as well as Somalia and the Sudan.
The truly astounding thing about this festival is that despite the huge growth, they have insisted on keeping entry free and are suffering financially because of it. This means that the intellectuals and academics who are populating the 6 stages, are in fact talking directly to the people they are writing, thinking and talking about. These sessions are electric because they are not elitist, I have never witnessed audiences this diverse. East, west, male, female, school children, professors and everything in between. It is thrilling but when the Q and A session for this panel kicked off, it was almost impossible to handle. Barka was insistent on some people she knew getting the microphone and that image that's been haunting me, was an old man with few teeth who shouted in my face so passionately about democracy and demanding the microphone, right at the moment while a young girl was speaking mind you and directly in front of the panel under the lights. Meanwhile, my incredible volunteer Kriti was being abused by the audience for trying to get the microphone away from a BBC journalist and to new people. It was awful having the wrangle this old man, dodging spittle and trying to calm him down. Barka was insistent that I didn't give him the microphone, so I avoided his gaze and tried to manoeuvre between the bodies for the final questions.
It was a very stressful end to a long, wonderful day. We then had to meet with the BBC crew that I must race off to now. They wanted to discuss the running of their session with Michael Sandel today. Immediately after, Kriti dissolved into tears at how the audience turned on her. She is the shining star of my volunteers, so I gave her lots of hugs and related my experience with the toothless man (who is slightly haunting me). After the session, I had young people telling me off for not respecting him and older people congratulating me for not letting him bully me.
Kriti's father dropped us off at Clarks Amer for the Coke Studio/MTV night that all the kids have been desperately excited about. I didn't connect with the music, but had dinner with a fabulous bunch of people who had all met at SOAS in London. I had an Israeli on one side, a Norwegian on the other, two Indians and a Brit. They debated the festival's highlights with such insight and passion, I managed to let go of the stresses of the day. Seems a huge controversy has erupted, but I'll turn to that in my next post as I must get moving.
Clarks was packed to the hilt and kids were squealing with delight at the music as I made my way home. I found myself in a car with a fascinating Canadian speaker called Sheniz Janmohamed. The older men in the car were strangely quiet (everyone pretty done in) as we nattered away the entire trip home. The hug that she gave me, as I leapt out at my hotel was pure and soothed me beyond words.
One thing is for sure, this Festival is challenging me in ways I never predicted and I am LOVING it.
Day 4 here I come.
Lx
I have to be quick, as the BBC are are setting up from 7am to record for Radio 4. It's 6:30 and I've woken up disturbed by the image of an almost toothless old man who spat in my face at the end of a very, very long day yesterday. This Festival is such an overwhelming experience that these morning downloads have become a necessity to keep somewhat balanced.
Yesterday began with serenity amidst intense discussion. Three inspiring women talked about their their battle strewn paths to a life of meaning, amidst societies that wouldn't accept them or have tried to reject their choices. A Sri Lankan teacher (Ranjini Obeysekere), a Nepalese nun (Ani Choying) and the top notch moderator Swati Chopra presented a fabulous panel, but the ending of the day is still haunting me.
The next session delved into music in literature and connected, once again, on a deep level with the audience. Our talented panellists (Indian vocallist and novellist Vikram Sampath and Bhutanese composer and vocalist Sonam Dorji) sung, strummed and discussed what their music means to them. A peaceful, warmth filled the Mughal Tent as moderator Rupleena Bose (love a pair of patent, cherry Doc Martens!) guided this lively discussion. We had no idea what was to come.
The panel "Punjabi by Nature" hosted five big personalities of diverse ages - Nirupama Dutt moderated with Kishwar Dessai, Navtej Sarna, Ravinder Singh and Shauna Singh Baldwin. They drew a bulging crowd and serious debate about what it means to be Punjabi. The youngsters pushed against the elders, the women against the men, it was loud and proud but respectful.
Historian Tom Holland then presented a seminar about Persian history that again drew a very healthy and different crowd. The American novellist Madeline Miller introduced him and Tom, a wiry Brit, devoured his topic and the audience responded in kind.
We were then supposed to host a session on cricket with one of India's most famous cricketers, Rahul Dravid, but thankfully it was moved to the Front Lawns where there is more space. According to Sirish there were more people than the Dalai Lama! We were given the 'Out of Africa' panel where the super sharp moderator Kwasi Kwarteng deftly moved between BBC journalist Animatta Forna, journalist and Somalian expert Mary Harper and the young reporter Anjan Sundaram, who had just returned from the Congo. This was one of the best sessions of the day and when the first person who asked a question made a 5 minute statement, Kwasi handled it brilliantly and the QandA was rewarding as most people curbed their diatribes and actually asked questions.
The 6th session of that day, that runs 5-6pm, seems to be the trickiest session of the day and often is when my team of volunteers are exhausted and flagging. A very healthy crowd gathered to hear Rahul Pandita (who has written a memoir on Kashmir) and Siddiq Wahid (a political historian who is a Director of the University of Kahsmir) to discuss the issue of exile. The moderator Asiya Zahoor, (who is a professor of literature and a novellist), was very nervy and it seemed that she would have been better used as a panellist as her experiences were incredibly raw. This was again a Q and A session where so many hands went up it was almost impossible to choose people. The temperature had plummeted (as soon as the sun goes in, you're chilled to the bone) and so had the atmosphere, people were struggling with their own demons and it was a very tricky session to close.
Or so I thought, until we arrived at the final session of the day. I turned my back for two minutes to help set up the stage for our staggering 7 panellists - Reza Aslan, Selma Dabaggh, Mary Harper (back again) , Laleh Khadivi (Oscar winning documentarian), Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Declan Walsh, moderated by a fiery, fabulous Barkha Dutt. When I glanced again at the audience, it felt as though I had shrunk and was in the middle of an ant colony. The tent was seething with people and I had to put in a mayday call to security. One of my volunteers was celebrating her birthday and had disappeared with her family, and didn't come back, while another was not feeling well and had gone to the medical tent. The others were busy and out of sight and overwhelmed. I felt a slightly metallic taste of panic at the back of my throat. "Falling off the Map: The Question of Failed States" was a powder keg as it was dominated by discussion about Pakistan as well as Somalia and the Sudan.
The truly astounding thing about this festival is that despite the huge growth, they have insisted on keeping entry free and are suffering financially because of it. This means that the intellectuals and academics who are populating the 6 stages, are in fact talking directly to the people they are writing, thinking and talking about. These sessions are electric because they are not elitist, I have never witnessed audiences this diverse. East, west, male, female, school children, professors and everything in between. It is thrilling but when the Q and A session for this panel kicked off, it was almost impossible to handle. Barka was insistent on some people she knew getting the microphone and that image that's been haunting me, was an old man with few teeth who shouted in my face so passionately about democracy and demanding the microphone, right at the moment while a young girl was speaking mind you and directly in front of the panel under the lights. Meanwhile, my incredible volunteer Kriti was being abused by the audience for trying to get the microphone away from a BBC journalist and to new people. It was awful having the wrangle this old man, dodging spittle and trying to calm him down. Barka was insistent that I didn't give him the microphone, so I avoided his gaze and tried to manoeuvre between the bodies for the final questions.
It was a very stressful end to a long, wonderful day. We then had to meet with the BBC crew that I must race off to now. They wanted to discuss the running of their session with Michael Sandel today. Immediately after, Kriti dissolved into tears at how the audience turned on her. She is the shining star of my volunteers, so I gave her lots of hugs and related my experience with the toothless man (who is slightly haunting me). After the session, I had young people telling me off for not respecting him and older people congratulating me for not letting him bully me.
Kriti's father dropped us off at Clarks Amer for the Coke Studio/MTV night that all the kids have been desperately excited about. I didn't connect with the music, but had dinner with a fabulous bunch of people who had all met at SOAS in London. I had an Israeli on one side, a Norwegian on the other, two Indians and a Brit. They debated the festival's highlights with such insight and passion, I managed to let go of the stresses of the day. Seems a huge controversy has erupted, but I'll turn to that in my next post as I must get moving.
Clarks was packed to the hilt and kids were squealing with delight at the music as I made my way home. I found myself in a car with a fascinating Canadian speaker called Sheniz Janmohamed. The older men in the car were strangely quiet (everyone pretty done in) as we nattered away the entire trip home. The hug that she gave me, as I leapt out at my hotel was pure and soothed me beyond words.
One thing is for sure, this Festival is challenging me in ways I never predicted and I am LOVING it.
Day 4 here I come.
Lx
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