Mysuru: The day-long Mysuru Literary Fest organised by the Mysore Literary Association had an eclectic mix of authors. This became evident after the brilliant exposition by two of the speakers in the morning — Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa and Dr. Ramachandra Guha, who set the tone for the Fest.

It was the turn of novelist Shashi Deshpande who refused to be bracketed as a feminist or a feminist writer.

English teacher June Gaur was in conversation with her and brought out the rebellious side of the gentle charming lady, that Shashi, as she is fondly referred to. “I am past 70 and it took such a long time to write a love story. I am purely a novelist who transcends every other commitment. Feminism and novels do not go together. My novels are multilayered.”

Prof. Harish Trivedi, the distinguished scholar and critic, who spoke on “Professing English, Practising Hypocrisy,” said: “If we ask, what the five most  burning problems that the country is facing today? The answer will be, one of them is usage of English. Talking about the importance of regional languages, he said that if one should have the love for one’s language there should be a feeling of ‘lump in the throat.’

English teacher Geetha Kariappa was in conversation with well-known novelist Kavery Nambisan and she shared her experience as a surgeon and a writer and spoke about the difference between the two. “Surgery is a team effort, while writing is a solitary job. But both are vulnerable to forces.”

The Fest concluded with a panel discussion on “Role of Media Today,” in which SOM Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy,

Adman R.V. Rajan from Chennai and writer from Kodagu C.P. Belliappa participated. Dr. H.S. Shivanna moderated the panel discussion.

The day-long Fest ended with an enchanting violin concert by Mysore Nagaraj and Dr. Mysore Manjunath that had the audience cheering after every raga. The violinists even played the ‘English Note,’ a Western  (Western C-Major Scale) raga with an Indian touch.

There were more than 600 participants. There was also a book sale. However, even as a few copies of authors Dr. Ramachandra Guha and Shashi Deshpande were sold out, the book by another author Kavery Nambisan was not available for sale, which was solely missed by the bibliophiles.