South Asian Voices: Diwali celebration at Newtown Library

To celebrate Diwali, Wellington City Libraries and The Cuba Press have brought together some of Aotearoa’s finest award-winning writers to talk about their work.

The first of two events will be held at Newtown Library, Wednesday 26 October from 5.30–7pm. The event is free but capacity is limited, you can save your spot by registering through Eventbrite here. The second event in this series will happen at Johnsonville Library with a slightly different line-up, you can find information about that event here.

This unmissable event features the following stellar panel, who will be talking about their experiences of language, home and belonging:

Brannavan Gnanalingam – (Winner Best Novel prize at the Ngaio Marsh Awards and shortlisted for the 2021 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.) Brannavan Gnanalingam is also a lawyer and the author of seven novels, three of which have been listed for the Ockham NZ Book Awards. His latest novel is Slow Down, You’re Here.

Rijula Das – Rijula Das is an author and translator and the programmer for Verb Readers and Writers Festival. She received a PhD in Creative Writing in Singapore and her debut novel A Death in Shonagachhi was published in India where it won the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award. It is being published this year in USA and elsewhere as Small Deaths.

Rajorshi Chakraborti – Rajorshi Chakraborti was born in Kolkata and grew up there and in Mumbai, and now lives in Wellington with his family. He has published six novels and a collection of short fiction – The Man Who Would Not See was longlisted for the Ockham NZ Book Awards and his latest novel is Shakti.

Sudha Rao – Sudha Rao was originally from South India before migrating to New Zealand. She trained in classical South Indian dance and established Dance Aotearoa New Zealand. Sudha participated in the International Bengaluru Poetry Festival in 2019 and her first collection of poems On Elephant’s Shoulders was published this year.

romesh dissanayake – romesh dissanayake is a chef, poet, writer and artist from Korea, Kazakhstan, and Sri Lanka. He is currently working on his first novel as part of an MA at the International Institute of Modern Letters.

Rupa Maitra – Rupa Maitra is a fiction writer born in New Zealand to Bengali parents. Her book of short stories, Prophecies, was published in 2019.

All these authors have very different voices, with very different things to say about language, home and belonging. All are of the highest calibre, many of whom are already multi-award winning authors, and so this event this bound to be entertaining, stimulating and a fabulous way to celebrate Diwali.

This event is being run in conjunction with Cuba Press for further details please click HERE.

 

 

Slow down, you’re here / Gnanalingam, Brannavan
“Kavita is stuck in a dead-end marriage, and is juggling parenting two small kids while also being the family’s main breadwinner. When an old flame offers a week away in Waiheke, she agonises but decides to accept. When she steps onto the ferry she knows she has left her family behind – but she’s not sure for how long.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

Sprigs / Gnanalingam, Brannavan
“It is Saturday afternoon and two boys’ schools are locked in battle for college rugby supremacy. Priya – a fifteen year old who barely belongs – watches from the sidelines. Then it is Saturday night and the team is partying. Priya’s friends have evaporated and she isn’t sure what to do. In the weeks after ‘the incident’ life seems to go on. But when whispers turn to confrontation, the institutions of wealth and privilege circle the wagons.”(Adapted from Catalogue)

 

Small Deaths / Das, Rijula
“In Calcutta’s notorious red-light district, Lalee aspires to a better life. Her unfailingly loyal client Tilu Shau has dreams too. A heady romantic and marginal novelist, Tilu is in love with the indifferent Lalee and wants to liberate her from her street life with marriage. But when a fellow sex worker and young mother is brutally murdered, the solicitous madam of the Blue Lotus invites Lalee to take the woman’s place “upstairs” as a high-end escort. The offer comes with the promise of a more lucrative life but quickly spirals into violence, corruption, and unfathomable secrets that threaten to upset the fragile stability of Lalee’s very existence. ” (Adapted from Catalogue)

“This book bridges two anniversaries. Ulysses by James Joyce was published in 1922. Venice was founded in 421. The title Breach of All Size is Joyce’s pun on Venice landmark Bridge of Sighs but could as easily describe his sprawling modernist classic, which clocks in at 265,222 words. To celebrate both anniversaries, 36 Aotearoa writers were asked to write love stories set in Venice and inspired by words from Ulysses, but to steer the opposite course and keep them short. How short? 421 words, of course.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Shakti / Chakraborti, Rajorshi
“Amid a climate of right-wing, nationalist politics, three Indian women find themselves wielding powers that match their wildest dreams. There is one catch: they come with a Faustian price.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Also available as an eBook. 

 

The man who would not see / Chakraborti, Rajorshi
“As children in Calcutta, Ashim and Abhay made a small mistake that split their family forever. Thirty years later, Ashim has re-entered his brother’s life, with blame and retribution on his mind. It seems nothing short of smashing Abhay’s happy home will make good the damage from the past. At least, this is what Abhay and his wife Lena are certain is happening. A brother has travelled all the way from small-town India to New Zealand bearing ancient – and false – grudges, and with the implacable objective of blowing up every part of his younger brother’s life. ” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook.

On elephant’s shoulders / Rao, Sudha
“With themes of longing, transition and memory, ‘On elephant’s shoulders’ explores the poet’s South Indian heritage relocated to New Zealand and tries to unlayer the complexity of the migrant experience. For Sudha this has meant experiencing the riches of a new culture and a new landscape while managing the realities of marginalisation. And ultimately a transformation into a person of the Pacific, still grounded in her family and her Hindu beliefs.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

A vase and a vast sea
” This Poetry and prose collection includes contents collected from 15 years of 4th Floor journals : An island by  Rata Gordon, Blocks by  romesh dissanayake, Beloved: a timeline by  Tina Regtien , Ten years by  Kathy McVey,   That summer by Maggie Rainey-Smith,  Tuesdays by  Tim Jones , Hot cross lovers by Kristina Jensen ,  The latitude of fat by Cushla Managh,  Dear Grandmother by Renée,  Swimming by Rachel Kleinsman ,  Eclipse of the moon at Hotel St. Marie by Miriam Sagan,  Pearls by  Lynn Davidson,  Two women by Marion Jones and many others. ” ( Adapted from Catalogue) 

Prophecies / Maitra, Rupa
“Rupa Maitra’s debut collection of short stories lures us into diverse worlds. Some of her stories spring from her background in music and medicine, some from her Bengali heritage – and all from a vivid imagination.” (Adapted from Catalogue)