Shimla literature fest concludes

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 24

The actions of human beings nowadays are similar to those of “rakshasa” (demons), who pursue their passion ruthlessly with resolute determination, says Radha Vishwanath, author of anti-heroism books like “Ravanleela” and “Ashtamahishi”.

Interacting with the audience during the last day of the two-day Shimla International Literature Festival, Radha says, “The Ramayana would not have been what we read today without great demon king Ravana.”

She feels that born out of the union of a rishi and rakshasi, a devout Shiv-bhakt and a mighty king Ravana was much more than a mere abductor as projected.

Extolling the virtues of Ravana, the “villain of villains” as a legend, Radha, who also wrote a series on 15 devils on her website Gaatha, said, “Ravana was worthy of greater attention. There is little mention of rakshasa in the mythology and, therefore, I have made an attempt to research and write about them.”

Ashtamahishi, the eight wives of Krishna, depicts the human side of Krishna as a son, father, brother, husband, lover). Radha Vishwanath was born in Andhra Pradesh, but she spent most of her life in Delhi. Trained as a teacher, Radha entered journalism and after a distinguished career as a political correspondent, spanning three decades, she retired from active journalism.

A few of notable speakers who participated in the festival included Anand L Rai, Irshad Kamil, Vivek Agnihotri, Pallavi Joshi, Ronit Roy, Tehseen Poonawalla, Yaseer Usman, Gautam Chintamani, Shehzad Poonawalla, Chitra Desai, Bhaavna Arora, Shuchi Singh Kalra, Rashmi Joshi, Neha Joshi, Nikhil Naz, WV Raman, RJ Stutee, Pankaj Dubey, Manoj Muntashir and Yatindra Mishra.