Taking a break

The Writers' Bar at Mussoorie was host to writers coming together to felicitate master story-teller Ruskin Bond. It was also time for some sincere soul-searching, says ANITA JOSHUA.

GOING by the writing on the wall of Writers' Bar, this watering hole of many at Savoy Hotel in the Queen of Hills, had, in all its 99 years, not had more than a dozen-odd writers come by. And, even if the number exceeded this guesstimate, seldom - probably never - had the Writers' Bar had so many writers and wannabes within its sprawling confines together at the same time as it did on the evening of April 27, 2001.

At that sundon hour came to this musty room of the Savoy the "honour" of playing host to arguably the first "Writer's Retreat". In the process, Nandu Johar, the owner of the hotel fast going to seed, got more names to nail on the wall of Writers' Bar; albeit none of the same league save the man already up there, Ruskin Bond.

And, it was a Bond show all the way. After all, Mussoorie is Bond countryside, Writers' Bar his favourite haunt, and the entire exercise - put together by Roli Books to prop up its new imprint, Namita Gokhale Editions - "A Festchrift for Ruskin Bond".

Challenging the academic claim to the word festschrift - a collection of articles brought out by colleagues and students at the time of retirement of a renowned academic - Gokhale justifies the borrowing of the term for this endeavour with a "Ruskin is a master storyteller, and he is our Master". So, the brief for all present at the retreat - journalists included - was to write a short story each on either childhood or adolescence for the collection in honour of Ruskin Bond.

But, that was the homework everyone returned from Mussoorie with after the three-day retreat. In the class of Gokhale, the time was apportioned for readings, "chatshows", interactive sessions, print-making, a walk through a Landour cemetery with Bond, story- telling, and a dream analysis round with the "interpreter of dreams" and author of Faith and Fire Madhu Tandon.

Leaving the interactive sessions for the two full days the writers had up in the hills, the retreat began with an introduction of the concept and was followed up with readings through which writers introduced themselves and their works. And, though neither Bond nor his writings needed introduction, some of his works were read out to give everyone a feel of the setting of the retreat; particularly, Landour, the cantonment area above Mussoorie which is where the 67-year-old Master has his "room on the roof".

After all, Landour was where the whole group would be transported to on the second day of the retreat. On the lawns of St. Asaph's Cottage - a stone's throw away from actor Victor Banerjee's "Parsonage" and the Landour cemetery where a number of characters of Bond's ghost stories reside - began an abortive search for an answer to the question: "Who Are We Writing For - Ourselves, Peers or Society?" Initiating the discussion, Pawan Verma of The Great Indian Middle Class fame questioned the "incestuous and insular world of Indian English writers".

Probably realising that the retreat itself was an example of this incestuous relationship, he asserted that "for writings in English to be in touch with wellsprings of creativity elsewhere, there is a need for breaches in our little world to allow greater interaction with authors in other languages". While most were in agreement, it remains to be seen whether the next retreat - the hosts plan to make this an annual event - will have a vernacular presence.

Another issue that was brought up during the course of the retreat pertained to "Media and the Writer" which saw the writers - many of whom have, of late, made it to the "Page Three People" clique - give vent to their angst against the Fourth Estate. Again, it was left to the resident authors - Bond and friend Ganesh Saili - to voice the sobering thought: "Good books will be read with or without good publicity".

Though the issues that were raised begged for answers even as the group bundled into cars for the journey downhill, the cool and clean air of Landour was a refreshing break for the Delhi-based bunch. So what if the retreat began with not many knowing what to expect and ended without any particular sense of direction? Everyone had a good word for Roli Books.

As poet Keki N. Daruwalla put it: "When do writers meet and interact in Delhi? Here, away from our worries, we have spent time with each other." And, done things they might not have considered doing back home like for instance dabble with paint at the bidding of Bulbul Sharma in her print-making workshop. Or, for that matter, share their dreams.

To what end, no one had an answer save for the fact that Madam Gokhale would definitely get them to write that short story for the festschrift. Why, she even got after Bond to write one and managed to get him to commit himself to doing a post-script!

And, it was in this avuncular figure on his first Writers' Retreat that Namita Gokhale Editions found the raison d'etre to go on with an endeavour that more often than not looked like an all-paid-for excursion. Certain that the breath of fresh air in Landour would make the writers do better work but unsure about the utility of such retreats, the ever-optimistic story-teller capped his doubts with the observation that "all glory comes from daring to begin".

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