Bangalore Literature Festival: From lush landscapes to toxic heroes

Bengaluru: Author and physician Abraham Verghese’s latest book, ‘The Covenant of Water’, has been making headlines since its release in May this year. The novel, set in Kerala, follows a family over three generations. It combines religion, medicine, and history. 

In a session titled, ‘Arc of the Covenant’ on the second day of the Bangalore Literature Festival at The LaLiT Ashok on Sunday, the author discussed the work that went into the book and its reception. About 14 years in the making, the book, at 700-odd pages, is longer than most others. His editor encouraged him to keep it as long as it needed to be, he said. 

It was inspired by a 120-page book his mother had written and illustrated for his niece, he revealed. It was a peek into her own life growing up in Kerala in the early 1900s. 

The Indian-American author was born and raised in Ethiopia but spent his summers at his family home in Kerala. These yearly visits helped him construct the vivid descriptions in the novel — not just of the landscapes and natural beauty, but also of the customs, the mannerisms of the people and their quirks. 

Character sketch

Comedian and actor Kanan Gill drew a substantial crowd at the session, ‘Main character energy: Writing for the screen’. However, it was film critic Shubhra Gupta who made some strong points. She took apart the toxic, alpha male lead role in ‘Animal’ played by Ranbir Kapoor to much applause and cheers from the audience. 

“It’s okay to write or create a dark character. But it’s a problem when such characters are put on a pedestal,” she explained. The panel also comprised authors Anand Neelakantan and Manish Gaekwad and producer Sidharth Jain. 

Music as therapy

Noted flautist Pravin Godkhindi shared the journey he has had with writing his book, ‘The Singing Clock’. The narrative is built around a clock that plays ragas at regular intervals depending on the time of the day — a peppy morning raga to start the day or a soothing evening raga to bring it to a close and so on. 

In a conversation with DH associate editor S R Ramakrishna, Pravin shared that it is his vision to take classical music into every Indian household. The plot of the book was inspired by this aim, he shared. 

A part of the conversation focused on the healing potential of music.