<p>The highlight of Day 1 at the Bangalore Literature Festival was a packed session featuring author-politician Shashi Tharoor and his niece, Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan. </p>.<p>Titled ‘A Wonderland of Words’, the discussion revolved around Tharoor’s new book of the same name, which explores the quirks, histories and delights of the English language through essays, anecdotes and his signature wit. </p>.Banu Mushtaq talks about Ambedkar, Babri demolition at Bengaluru lit fest on December 6.<p>Tharoor also addressed the growing belief that the use of the em dash signals AI-generated writing. He dismissed the idea, noting that writers have long used the em dash to emphasise clauses and create rhythm in sentences.</p>.<p>“People used it well before AI,” he said, adding that its presence in a piece of writing cannot be taken as proof of AI authorship. </p>.<p>After the conversation, Tharoor took questions from the audience. When asked about the slang and dialect often called “Bangalore English,” he said it couldn’t be labelled wrong — only recognised as a dialect shaped by the city’s culture. </p>.<p>Responding to a question about the difficulties of learning a new language in adulthood, with Kannada as an example, Tharoor noted that language learning depends largely on interest.</p>.<p>His advice: immerse yourself — watch “nonsense shows on television,” listen to the city and let everyday conversations become your teacher. </p>
<p>The highlight of Day 1 at the Bangalore Literature Festival was a packed session featuring author-politician Shashi Tharoor and his niece, Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan. </p>.<p>Titled ‘A Wonderland of Words’, the discussion revolved around Tharoor’s new book of the same name, which explores the quirks, histories and delights of the English language through essays, anecdotes and his signature wit. </p>.Banu Mushtaq talks about Ambedkar, Babri demolition at Bengaluru lit fest on December 6.<p>Tharoor also addressed the growing belief that the use of the em dash signals AI-generated writing. He dismissed the idea, noting that writers have long used the em dash to emphasise clauses and create rhythm in sentences.</p>.<p>“People used it well before AI,” he said, adding that its presence in a piece of writing cannot be taken as proof of AI authorship. </p>.<p>After the conversation, Tharoor took questions from the audience. When asked about the slang and dialect often called “Bangalore English,” he said it couldn’t be labelled wrong — only recognised as a dialect shaped by the city’s culture. </p>.<p>Responding to a question about the difficulties of learning a new language in adulthood, with Kannada as an example, Tharoor noted that language learning depends largely on interest.</p>.<p>His advice: immerse yourself — watch “nonsense shows on television,” listen to the city and let everyday conversations become your teacher. </p>