Adding that he can cycle 40-50 km a day, he adds that it is paramount that countries develop not just political relations but also cultural ones…Sukant Deepak
When the Turkish Ambassador to India, Firat Sunel, is not working or writing, he is busy cycling.
The first thing he did when posted to New Delhi was to buy a bicycle and discover the national capital.
“Getting to know the city on two wheels can be enigmatic. Discovering labyrinths, the happenings there, gives a peculiar view to the mechanics of how a city functions and how its character shapes,” he tells.
Adding that he can cycle 40-50 km a day, he adds that it is paramount that countries develop not just political relations but also cultural ones.
“And I can say Turkey and India are very close culturally. People-to-people contact and acquainting one another with each other’s culture can be instrumental in strong friendships. Both our countries have stood with each other in times of crisis. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Turkey supplied the required medical equipment. India on its part demonstrated its commitment to our relations by sending rescue teams and equipment during the devastating earthquake in Turkey.”
This diplomat-author, who was recently part of the recently concluded Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) and will be in conversation with Meru Gokhale on his novel ‘The Lighthouse Family’ (Penguin) during the upcoming Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) has written ‘Salkim Sogutlerin Golgesinde’ (‘In the Shade of the Weeping Willows’), which inspired a TV series called ‘Buyuk Surgun Kafkasya’,’The Great Exile Caucasia’, ‘Izmirli’, ‘Izmirli, My Last Love’, and ‘Sarpincik Feneri’ (‘The Lighthouse Family’). His novels have been translated into several languages, including Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada in India.
“While diplomats write a lot as it is part of their profession, they also get to meet and interact with a lot of people. Contact with diverse people provides me with much inspiration,” he says.
Talking about ‘The Lighthouse Family’, which has recently been published in Malayalam, and will be released in English at JLF, the author says Indian readers will easily relate to the book.
“It is about a family’s tragedy through World War 2, and how wars affect people and their families, even though they live in a faraway lighthouse. I do have a lot of feedback from Turkey and critics really liked it and it will be received well,” concludes Sunel, who likes writing historical fiction and makes it a point to devote at least three hours early morning to writing.
Here is the list of five books curated by British Council Digital Library to transport you to captivating settings during the perfect winter days…reports Asian Lite News
In the tranquil embrace of winter’s frosty breath, an inherent charm invites us to retreat to the comfort of an inviting home. Outside, a subtle winter chill lingers, while indoors, the ambiance exudes warmth and coziness. The air carries the aroma of freshly brewed tea or hot cocoa, complemented by the delightful scent of baking cookies or the rich flavours of a simmering soup on the stove. Wrapped in blankets or seated by a crackling fire, the allure of delving into a captivating book intensifies in this snug haven. With each turn of a page, the immersive worlds found within literature harmonise with the wintry setting, inviting a sensory and intellectual journey amidst the quietude of the season.
As the outside world grapples with wintry breezes, the expansive digital repository invites individuals to explore a diverse collection of books, offering an array of captivating narratives and insightful stories that complement the serene tranquillity of a cozy winter day. Here is the list of five books curated by British Council Digital Library to transport you to captivating settings during the perfect winter days.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
This historical novel follows Thomas Cromwell’s rise to power in the court of King Henry VIII. Mantel’s intricate storytelling vividly portrays the political intrigue, power struggles, and complexities of Tudor England, offering a compelling insight into Cromwell’s life and the tumultuous era in which he lived.
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak
After Tequila Leila’s death, her mind continues to function for ten minutes and thirty-eight seconds, recalling her life’s memories. Set in Istanbul, Shafak’s novel intricately weaves Leila’s past experiences and the vibrant characters she encounters, shedding light on societal taboos, friendship, and the marginalized voices of Turkey.
The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch
In this introspective novel, Charles Arrowby, a retired actor and director, retreats to a seaside cottage to reflect on his life. Amidst the backdrop of the sea, Murdoch delves into themes of love, obsession, and the complexities of human relationships, offering a contemplative exploration of the protagonist’s inner world.
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
Set in rural Poland, the story follows Janina Duszejko, an eccentric woman who becomes embroiled in a series of mysterious deaths in her village. Lloyd-Jones crafts a gripping narrative that delves into themes of justice, the human-animal connection, and the dark underbelly of a seemingly tranquil community.
Possession by A. S. Byatt
Blending elements of mystery and romance, Byatt’s novel intertwines the stories of two academics as they uncover a secret love affair between two Victorian poets. As they delve into the past, the book navigates themes of literary scholarship, passion, and the complexities of human relationships across time.
‘Kedaya Antharvahinikalude Yard’ transcends conventional boundaries by constituting a collection of post-modern poems that delve into the multifaceted conflicts experienced by individuals…reports Asian Lite News
Abin M. Devasia’s ‘Kedaya Anthatvahinikalude’ Yard stands as a pioneering work in Malayalam literature, marking the inception of a novel approach that integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) creatively into the realm of poetry. This innovative initiative not only breaks traditional barriers between literature and science but also reflects the omnipresence of AI in shaping various aspects of human life, from thought processes to daily routines. At the same time, this initiative gives us the realization that ultimately it is human beings themselves who are controlling the AI.
We are giving it instructions, and it is acting according to that. This work is an example of how AI can be used in the creative space. It is more like an experiment, after all, using AI-generated illustrations for each of his poem. The intersection of literature and science has historically been confined within distinct disciplinary boundaries. However, in contemporary times, AI has permeated every facet of our existence, influencing our cognition, decision-making, and even our aesthetic sensibilities. This makes us think about how we can use AI rather than it using us.
Devasia’s work, with its utilization of AI-generated illustrations for each poem, signifies a groundbreaking convergence of literature and science. The process involves providing prompts that encapsulate the implied meanings of the poems, thereby guiding the AI in generating illustrations that complement and enhance the literary experience. It is noteworthy that the iterative nature of this creative collaboration ensures that the final output undergoes multiple refinements, highlighting the dynamic interplay between human intent and machine-generated creativity. Today, Prompt Engineering also has many possibilities for people out there who have knowledge in both language and AI. To use AI for poetry, we need to have the ability to convey the meaning of each poem to a non-human entity. Every picture used in this book is the result of multiple attempts at giving prompts.
‘Kedaya Antharvahinikalude Yard’ transcends conventional boundaries by constituting a collection of post-modern poems that delve into the multifaceted conflicts experienced by individuals. Each poem in this work has life engraved in it. It talks about freedom, religion, caste, women, regionality, nationalism, childhood, art, and so on. His way of expression is more connected to his way of life. He takes poetry as a tool to voice against the nuances of society. Each of his poems makes the readers think about the changes happening in their life, society itself. It is more like a political act. This work is an experimental act of exploring how literature and technology can be intertwined without losing its aesthetic sensibility. We should understand the challenges and limitations of making a machine understand human emotions and giving an output according to it.
The illustrations used for each poem are an attempt for this. It paves the way for more people to explore this interdisciplinary approach, not only expanding the horizons of literary expression but also underscoring the transformative potential of integrating AI into the creative process. Devasia’s work can be viewed as a scholarly contribution that challenges established paradigms, offering a nuanced exploration of the symbiotic relationship between literature and AI. By intertwining human agency with technological innovation, ‘Kedaya Antharvahinikalude’ Yard not only expands the canvas of Malayalam poetry but also serves as a significant milestone in the ongoing dialogue between the humanities and emerging technologies.
Featuring interviews conducted by Mansi Zaveri, the founder of the award-winning parenting platform Kidsstoppress.com, The Parents I Met is an anthology of her authentic conversations with parents of successful individuals who made it big against all odds. What was it that they did right while raising their kids to create the person their child is today? A feature by columnist Riccha Grrover for Asian Lite International
Mansi wants parents find their voice through these stories. “It is important to read stories of people you don’t know as their journeys are inspiring and interesting too. As parents to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, it will take a lot for us to unlearn that education is no longer the game changer and our kids will choose paths that may not be built on the foundations of a formal education system. They will learn differently and they will embrace learning styles that are best suited for them. Their role models will also evolve and it may not be someone brilliant in one field like academics, sports, Bollywood or politics like it’s always been.
“This book gave me a new perspective on parenting, and on the way we should listen to our kids”, said author Mansi Zaveri. Through the collection of stories, “The Parents I Met” unveils invaluable insights, guidance, and validation for every parent navigating the complexities of raising children in today’s world.
“The Parents I Met,” published by Penguin Random House, is available on online portals and bookstores for readers to explore the captivating stories of successful individuals and the parenting journeys that shaped them.
“I always believe that we are all products of our childhood and our self-portrait, as we present it to the world, is a polished and curated version of who we want to be, but our parents are the only people who ever get to see the real us. They understand us more intimately than we know ourselves. They have known us even before we knew ourselves. And as a mom of 2, my experience has taught me that parenting is different, yet the same for everyone. So, I set out on a journey to learn what it takes to raise an outlier from the parents who raised successful outliers. Every single story is different, just like yours and just like mine. This book is not going to give you rules or any tips but it will surely give you lessons, stories and experiences that will bring a small impact in the way you see parenting and the way you see your kids”, stated Mansi as she signed off.
About Mansi Zaveri:
Mansi Zaveri is the founder and CEO of India’s most trusted discovery platform for parenting and childcare, Kidsstoppress.com, which boasts a digital reach of 20 million people per month. She was also featured in Exchange4Media’s Content 40 Under 40 list in 2020. In June 2013, this mom of two decided to combine her passion for digital medium and her parenting journey to become an entrepreneur, leaving behind her corporate life to empower parents to make informed choices.
Mansi is a certified Conscious Parenting Coach and works with families, educators and stakeholders to build healthier and happier families. Her first book The Parents I Met, published by Penguin Random House continues to top the charts on Amazon for Families and Relationships & True Accounts. She has successfully filled a void in the Parenting section across bookstores with her latest book.
She hosts 2 podcasts one for kids and the other for families that continue to rank among the top 30 podcasts in the Kids & Family category on Apple and Spotify with over 20 million + listens. Mansi is the voice of the New Age Indian parents and has emerged as one of the most popular influencers in the parenting and baby care space. With a whole lot of passion and hard work, she has built Kidsstoppress.com into an enormously successful brand that today hosts online courses for parents, kids and women entrepreneurs. Her first book, 50 Indian Meal Plans, ranked no. 1 on Amazon in Food and Encyclopaedias in 2020. The Kids Stop Press (KSP) Awards, which celebrates excellence in parenting and baby care, is her brainchild.
A yoga student and sustainable living advocate, Mansi lives in Mumbai with her two daughters, husband and family.
The Fiction shortlist boasts of Salman Rushdie’s ‘Victory City’, Vauhini Vara’s ‘This is Salvaged: Stories’, and Devika Rege’s ‘Quarterlife: A Novel’…reports Asian Lite News
Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) has announced the shortlist (English) for the Annual KLF Book Awards for 2024.
This year’s shortlist includes works such as Manoj Mitta’s ‘Caste Pride: Battles for Equality in Hindu India’, Amitav Ghosh’s ‘Smoke and Ashes: A Writer’s Journey through Opium’s Hidden Histories’, Salman Rushdie’s ‘Victory City’, Devika Rege’s ‘Quarterlife: A Novel’, Ranjit Hoskote’s ‘Icelight’, Gurcharan Das’s ‘Another Sort of Freedom’ and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan’s ‘Breaking the Mould – Reimagining India’s Economic Future’.
Rashmi Ranjan Parida, founder and director of KLF, said, “Literature is the mirror and the lamp of society — it reflects our realities and illuminates our dreams. We strive to honour those literary works that challenge our perspectives, enrich our experiences, and elevate our understanding of the world and ourselves.”
In the Non-Fiction category, Amitav Ghosh’s ‘Smoke and Ashes: A Writer’s Journey through Opium’s Hidden Histories’, Neerja Chowdhry’s ‘How Prime Ministers Decide’, and Manoj Mitta’s ‘Caste Pride: Battles for Equality in Hindu India’ have been shortlisted.
The Fiction shortlist boasts of Salman Rushdie’s ‘Victory City’, Vauhini Vara’s ‘This is Salvaged: Stories’, and Devika Rege’s ‘Quarterlife: A Novel’.
Books in the Poetry shortlist include Ranjit Hoskote’s ‘Icelight’, Robin S. Ngangom’s ‘My Invented Land: New and Selected Poems’, and Varavara Rao’s ‘A Life in Poetry’.
The Debut shortlist includes Atharva Pandit’s ‘Hurda’, Sohini Chattopadhyay’s ‘The Day I Became a Runner: A Women’s History of India through the Lens of Sport’, and Radhika Iyengar’s ‘Fire on the Ganges: Life Among the Dead in Banaras’.
In the Children category, the shortlisted books include Bijal Vachharajani, Rajiv Eipe’s ‘When Fairyland Lost Its Magic’, Nikhil Gulati, Jonathan Mark Kenoyer’s ‘The People Of The Indus: And the Birth of Civilisation in South Asia’, Ravi Kapoor, and Nicholas Hoffland’s ‘Golden Tiger Mountain’.
The Business shortlist comprises Gurcharan Das’s ‘Another Sort of Freedom’, Akshat Rathi’s ‘Climate Capitalism: Winning the Global Race to Zero Emissions’, and Raghuram Rajan, Rohit Lamba’s ‘Breaking the Mould: Reimagining India’s Economic Future’.
The Translation shortlist includes Vivek Shanbhag’s ‘Sakina’s Kiss’, translated by Srinath Perur, Imayam’s ‘A Woman Burnt’, translated by GJV Prasad, and Manoj Rupda’s ‘I Named My Sister Silence’ translated by Hansda Sowvendra Shekha.
KLF will be held from February 9 to 11 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
However, in 2015, the Madras High Court dismissed the case against him. In an epilogue, the bench called on the author to start writing again: “Let the author be resurrected to what he is best at. Write.”…writes Sukant Deepak
It is an unusual interaction. You ask the questions, and two kind people who know Tamil translate them for him. He answers in his native tongue, and his replies come back in English. While this delicate ballet takes place, Perumal Murugan never takes his eyes off you. Is he even blinking? It is unnerving. He is perhaps looking inside you.
Long back, he had once asked you, “Isn’t life, but memories?” Maybe he will say something today too that will refuse to leave.
Murugan, who has to his credit twelve novels, six collections of short stories, six anthologies of poetry, and several non-fiction books, with ten of his novels translated into English and is a recipient of the JCB Prize for Literature among several others, starts the conversation with loneliness. He says it is not a bad thing. For him, it has always been extremely important. “How will writing happen if there are too many sounds? Internal isolation magnetizes words. They start coming easy. The mind willingly travels lands far and wide and looks for stories. Melancholy has a strange charm. It is only when alone that you are truly yourself,” he tells IANS on the sidelines of the ongoing Kerala Literature Festival (KLF), Asia’s largest literature festival being held at Kozhikode Beach.
Currently working on a new set of short stories to be published soon, the author is working on the theme of how pets affect human lives and their affairs. Exploring their connection with men, he adds, “I come from an agricultural family which had lots of goats, cows, and bullocks. In those times, they helped us in their work. Now, with youngsters going abroad for work, pets serve a different purpose for their parents. They depend on them for company now… a one-way dialogue. It is tragic but see, they (animals) are in so many ways more relevant to our lives in present times”
A staunch Marxist, Murugan, despite all the failings of Indian communists politically, continues to stay true to the essence of communism. “Politics is only one aspect of Marxism. It does not matter how relevant they are in terms of vote share. Look at the contribution of the ideology to literature and the arts, how it has been instrumental in making so many of us sensitive towards everything around us.”
The author who hit international headlines post the book ‘One Part Woman’, published in 2010 and translated into English in 2013 faced a lawsuit filed against him by caste-based groups accusing him of hurting their religious sentiments, and he declared on his Facebook page: “Perumal Murugan the writer is dead. As he is no God, he is not going to resurrect himself. He also has no faith in rebirth. An ordinary teacher, he will live as P. Murugan. Leave him alone.”
However, in 2015, the Madras High Court dismissed the case against him. In an epilogue, the bench called on the author to start writing again: “Let the author be resurrected to what he is best at. Write.”
Remembering that time, Murugan says that the judge was not just supporting him but also freedom of expression. “But there is still an invisible fear… of books being banned, of freedom of expression curtailed. Democracy must prevail, under all circumstances.”
For someone who has been translated widely, and published in English by Penguin and HarperCollins India, it is not just about the fact that the translator is proficient in both languages. “He/she needs to understand the intricacies of the village dialects too. The metaphors of the country life can be tough to put in words in another language,” he concludes.
Rama accompanies me, I was reading the farewell, his final departure from the city of Ayodhya. Rama with Sita and Lakshmana marching into the forest – who would not like to be Rama, Sita or Lakshmana…writes Dilip Roy
Like most intellectuals of 19th century Germany, who were influenced and inspired by India’s ancient VEDIC philosophy and epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana among them was composer Richard Wagner the Doyen of German opera and the greatest icon of 19th century Europe was deeply inspired by India’s classical literature and Ramayana was one of them.
Following are the extracts from his diary published in 1865 called the BROWN BOOK: Wagner is constantly reading the Indian epic Ramayana.
Oh, how grand the Rama poem becomes, and ever finer! – Really, merely to secure for oneself the right mood for such a thing must be too able to withdraw from all the vulgarity of the present. That costs total effort, and at the beginning one thinks it won’t work at all: the incomprehensible excesses of the introduction, for example, one feels like yawning and jeering at. But just go on: at last, it dawns on you! What sort of world that is, and how it is built up and executed! ” A work of art to marvel at – against which a modern novel seems like a newspaper article.” I am into the second volume. It is alive, sounding and moving around me. Oh, Rama is divine! How grand, how vast everything becomes for me at having to deal with such people! ” A glorious drama stands there before me, different from all others.”
Rama accompanies me, I was reading the farewell, his final departure from the city of Ayodhya. Rama with Sita and Lakshmana marching into the forest – who would not like to be Rama, Sita or Lakshmana. ” It is almost the finest thing I know Divine land of the Ganges.” At this point everyone gives way to tears, sighs, sobs, weeping howling and wailing – it beats one how the houses stay standing – and I sought the authoress of this misery wondering how she begins to endure such success for her not ardently malicious but merely ambitious undertaking. Then I saw hunch-backed Manthara who had given the counsel, and imagined her gazing down on all the monstrous misery and saying to it will herself coldly: ” Well, it will all pass, and soon at that, then it will be as if it never was, and we shall be the Lords.”
(Translated from the original German) The concept of Ramayana has been used by Wagner in his grand opera The Ring Cycle.
PS: This article is my homage to the upcoming Ram Temple in Ayodhya and to the Indian PM Narendra MODI who made it all happen. Jai Hind ((Dilip Roy is a Fellow of Royal Asiatic Society UK and one of the greatest admirer of Richard Wagner )
The World Competitiveness Yearbook of the International Institute for Management Development for 2023, revealed the Kingdom reaching the 17th position globally out of 64 countries as the most competitive in the world, and the third among the G20 countries…writes Mohammed Abdul Mannan
Saudi Arabia, where the Indians arrived as migrant workers during the British times after the discovery of oil and currently accounts for 2.2 million – the largest expatriate community – and contributing in US$13.052 billion in 2021, is in the midst of a massive socio-economic and infrastructural transformation. The Arabian Peninsula’s largest country has achieved a significant economic milestone by surpassing a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of SR4.155 trillion (US$1 trillion) for the first time, ahead of its 2025 target. The economy experienced an impressive growth rate of 8.7 per cent, outperforming all other G20 member-states. The private sector contributed SR1.634 trillion to the GDP, constituting 41 per cent of its total. Non-governmental investments experienced remarkable growth, reaching SR907.5 billion. The private sector workforce witnessed substantial expansion, growing to 9.422 million in 2022, reflecting an impressive growth rate of 16.6 per cent.
In May 2023, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) revealed that the Kingdom was the world’s second-fastest-growing tourism destination. It had been ranked 13th globally, advancing by 12 places since 2019 on its index, as one of the top countries receiving international tourists in 2022. According to its barometer, the Kingdom also advanced 16 places in the international tourism revenue index, achieving 11th place in 2022, compared to 27th place in 2019 globally. The country received about 7.8 million international tourists for all purposes during the Q1 of 2023, representing its highest quarterly performance, up 64 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.
In 2023, there had been 20 per cent more international capacity than in 2018 and it now exceeds domestic capacity. In 2023, SAUDIA represented 41 per cent of capacity, with private budget carrier Flyadeal and hybrid short-haul operator Flynas representing a further 25 per cent of the market. Reflecting robust economic growth, its financial markets reported a remarkable performance by the end of 2022, with the Capital Market Authority witnessing 49 new listings, marking a completion rate of 204 per cent. The stock market’s capitalization as a proportion of the GDP also increased by 91 per cent, exceeding the initial Vision 2030 strategic objective of 77 per cent. The World Competitiveness Yearbook of the International Institute for Management Development for 2023, revealed the Kingdom reaching the 17th position globally out of 64 countries as the most competitive in the world, and the third among the G20 countries.
Investment funds soared to a historic peak of 1,130, marking a 34.68 per cent surge from the 839 funds in the same period last year. An official document projected the government would post a budget deficit of 1.9 per cent of the GDP in 2024, 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2025, and 2.3 per cent of GDP in 2026, with “limited budget deficits” continuing in the medium term. The total expenditure is seen rising to SR1.262 billion in 2023, before slowing down marginally to SR1.251 billion in 2024. For 2024, the government expects total revenues at SR1.172 trillion and total spending of SR1.251 trillion. According to a September 2023 report by American newswire Bloomberg, the Kingdom awarded construction contracts worth US$250 billion since 2016, when it embarked on an ambitious plan to transform the economy. Property and infrastructure projects of US$1.25 trillion value have been announced across the country, according to property consultant Knight Frank.
Assets under the management of the Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) – the sovereign wealth fund- have swelled to US$603 billion in 2022, and it hopes to boost its total assets to a whopping SAR4 trillion by 2025, of which 24 per cent will be international. As it rides a new wave of socio-economic growth, the oil-rich Kingdom has become a head-turner. As it pursues an ambitious aviation and tourism agenda, it has launched two new state-owned airlines which are scheduled to start flying from 2024/2025. One of the three airlines in operation, national carrier SAUDIA is weighing options including a debut bond sale to fund new aircraft orders, as it prepares to almost double its fleet by 2030. The Kingdom plans to boost international arrivals to 70 million. A whopping US$100 billion has been dedicated to airports and the air transport sector to handle 330 million passengers and 4.5 million tons of air cargo by 2030. It is working towards 250-plus destinations connectivity from across its 29 airports. The Kingdom’s three carriers are set to face stiff competition from the two new state-owned carriers scheduled to start flying in 2024/2025. NEOM Bay Airport is the first of four airports to be developed under Vision 2030, the massive economic development program launched in 2016 with US$100 billion dedicated to airports and the air transport sector.
The world’s largest producer and exporter of oil and the fastest-growing tourism market in the G20 is targeting to handle 330 million passengers and 4.5 million tons of air cargo by 2030. It is working to have 250-plus destinations connectivity from across its 29 airports. By that time, the country will house the world’s largest airport by size, spreading across 776 square kilometres in Jeddah. After being shuttered for the 41st time in history due to the 21st century’s second pandemic, the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah are recording the world’s largest human gatherings. The Kingdom wants to raise the tourism sector’s contribution to the GDP to more than 10 per cent to over US$100 billion to become one of the world’s top five tourism destinations by attracting 100 million annual visitors by 2030. It has pledged to invest up to US$64 billion by 2028 to develop its domestic entertainment sector. Saudi Arabia will see its first underground and driverless Metro of 176 kilometres taking off in 2023/24 to carry 400,000 passengers. The capital city is also developing an integrated 1,900-kilometre bus network with around 3,000 stops and three Bus Rapid transit (BRT) lines as it suffers from chronic traffic jams caused by over nine million road trips a year.
The country is constructing the world’s largest airport by size – spread across 776 square kilometres. Construction is on in Jeddah for a skyscraper expected to become the world’s tallest building, reaching a height of 1,000 metres, taller than the current record-holder, the 828-metre-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Jeddah Tower will hold a Four Seasons hotel, residences, offices as well as the world’s highest observation deck on a constructed building. The fastest-growing tourism market in the G20 wants to be one of the world’s top five tourism destinations by attracting 100 million annual visits by 2030. It wants to host the World Expo in Riyadh in 2030, and the T20 cricket league. It will host the Asian Cup in 2027. It wants to host the 2034 Asian Games and also the Olympics. Saudi Arabia has started planning to bid to host the football World Cup in 2034 after, abandoning its plans to co-host in 2030 with Egypt and Greece.
It has already won the right to host the 2029 Winter Games. The country is speeding towards becoming a global player in international sports by spending billions of dollars on high-profile deals. Saudi Arabia wants to host 2035 Women’s World Cup for women, and could go head-to-head with an English bid for the tournament. To rejuvenate its domestic football, it has picked up the most sought-after football stars like Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, doling out million-dollar salaries and opulent mansions. According to a report in a British daily, the Kingdom has started planning a bid to host the football World Cup in 2034 after abandoning its plans to co-host it in 2030 with Egypt and Greece. The country had already won the right to host the 2029 Winter Games. The Kingdom got an impressive tourism revenue surplus of US$6.1 billion during the Q1 of 2023, an astounding 225 per cent rise compared with the same quarter of 2022.
If the Kingdom gets the rights to host the Expo 2030, the five-month exhibition will welcome over 120 million visitors to Riyadh and 40 million to the massive site. The mega event will be a “unique opportunity for international visitors to experience its impressive transformation, rich cultural heritage and extraordinary hospitality.” Its US$7 trillion investment is turbocharging its drive to be a prime destination in the 21st century, with six UNESCO World Heritage Sites adoring its landscape as it rains on average six times a year.
Saudi Arabia has remained focused on developing cutting-edge Air Traffic Management facilities. Its Jeddah FIR covers all of the Saudi airspace, with only 56 per cent of the airspace fully utilized and used freely and the rest remaining with the military. Saudi Air Navigation Services (SANS) manages air traffic over two million square kilometres across a wide variety of terrains and environments. The sole Air Navigation Services Provider (ANSP) has the world’s tallest air traffic control tower at King Abdul-Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, since 2017, measuring 446 feet – taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza. Work is underway to deploy the Middle East’s first virtual air traffic control tower at Al Ula International Airport.
The Kingdom has seen 13 commercial airlines take off in its history. The Kingdom recorded the highest-ever passenger numbers – 103 million – in 2019. That year, total international flights number reached 159,795 and domestic flights stood at 225,721. The country also got its first aircraft leasing company. Two new airlines are due to start flying in 2024/2025. It is working towards enabling its airports to handle 330 million passengers by 2030, a decade before the Middle East airports, with Saudi Arabia in the lead, handling 1.1 billion passengers. From having its first airport in Dhahran in the 1940s, Saudi Arabia now boasts 29 airports. Jeddah’s King Abdul-Aziz International Airport tops in connectivity and destinations served – 55 airlines and 109 cities. Next comes Riyadh (38 airlines, 80 cities), Dammam (32 airlines and 48 cities) and Madinah (15 airlines and 28 cities).
Red Sea International Airport will start international operations in 2023/24, with five mini terminals. A new airport in Jeddah, billed to emerge as the world’s biggest facility, will handle up to 185 million passengers by 2050. After being called a ‘Forbidden Kingdom’ for being one of the 10 toughest countries to obtain visit visas, Saudi Arabia is going all out to warmly welcome the world, including Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) visitors. The Kingdom has introduced one-year, fee-based e-visas for tourism, events, visiting relatives or Umrah, and a free four-day stop-over visa for passengers booked on its flag carrier, Saudia, and budget airline, Flynas. Its goal is to attract 100 million tourists a year by 2030. The government has plans to spend US$1 trillion over the decade to turn the Kingdom into a mass-market tourist destination. The hotel segment alone has been projected to generate US$2.5 billion in revenues in 2023 as life comes back to normal following the years run of the 21st century’s second pandemic. Saudi Arabia’s growth and prosperity in the coming time will for sure make the world astonished. It is right now like a camel on wings.
Again, the book is a journal allowing all the multiple possibilities in its reading. From the attack on Rushdie to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the writer, with his words and artwork, continues making notes, stressing the need to mark memories and to keep believing…reports Asian Lite News
He calls it a happy accident. Author Amitava Kumar had already finished work on ‘The Blue Book: A Writer’s Journal’, but had not stopped drawing or keeping a journal.
One day, his colleague at Vassar College in the US asked him to visit his class on creativity. The colleague had given his students two journals joined together with a thick rubber band: one was blue and it was meant for writing down one’s thoughts, while the other, which was yellow, was for writing other people’s words.
“He gave me the same bound journals as a gift too. I immediately told the class that I had found the title I would give to the sequel,” says Kumar, whose latest ‘The Yellow Book: A Traveller’s Diary’, published by HarperCollins India recently hit the stands.
In his latest, the author allows the reader to see how a writer observes the world.
There are entries — the death of the legendary writer and journalist Joan Didion, the rituals he wants his students on a study tour to follow in London, like taking a picture of the first coffee, going for a run…artist Krishen Khanna’s painting on Gandhi’s death…notes from his visit to his hometown (Motihari) in India.
Again, the book is a journal.. allowing all the multiple possibilities in its reading. From the attack on Rushdie to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the writer, with his words and artwork, continues making notes, stressing the need to mark memories and to keep believing.
He says the practice of keeping a journal has been hugely important for his work and that he uses his old ones as material all the time.
“I always like to quote a friend who has written that if journalism is the first rough draft of history, then perhaps a journal is the first rough draft of literature,” Kumar says.
Like many writers, Kumar has always stressed the need to write every day. He however stresses the need to walk meditatively for ten minutes each day, imagining that with every step they take they are planting lotuses with their feet.
“I learned this from a lecture given by the Buddhist teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. It is a way of cultivating mindfulness. It is also a way of exercising and freeing the mind to come up with new ideas,” he says.
The author feels that to travel is to leave behind what is familiar or comforting or stale, taking one out of himself and forcing him to encounter the world.
“It doesn’t mean that you abandon your interiority or your private thoughts: it’s just that you see yourself against a new background,” he adds.
But for a writer like him, who undertook the journey from Bihar to the US and has also written on the immigrant experience — does the immigrant ever stop travelling, even after he has lived in his new country for a long time? The author feels that everything, even what is new, can often quickly become a habit or a part of a routine.
“Let’s say you have gone to a new city, you step out of your hotel room each day to go to the same cafe, and after a while, you recognise the waiter and he recognises you, and maybe you start thinking of yourself as a regular. In a narrow sense, you stop being a traveller. It is the same with an immigrant, the sense of having a home and a bed that is yours even though you have left the home where you grew up. I should add that I draw to pay attention. To break out of routine, pay attention, and see with new eyes.”
For someone who wrote ‘A Time Outside This Time’, a novel about fake news, memory, and how truth gives over to fiction, news should never be consumed passively.
“It was never right to do it and it is especially dangerous to do so now,” concludes Kumar, currently working on the last of the trilogy of drawing books: ‘The Green Book: A Citizen’s Report’.
The set of drawings in his next paper is primarily focused on the environment and climate change and will be published by HarperCollins India at the end of this year.
Wagner’s colossal creations such as The Ring Cycle, Tristan and Isolde, Lohengrin and Parsifal were models of formal daring, mythmaking, erotic freedom and mysticism…writes Dilip Roy
Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and now Wagnerism a 19th-century icon has gone on to achieve a phenomenal cult status in the 21st century.
WAGNERISM: “Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music” is written by an American music scholar Alex Ross and was published in 2021. Ross sudied music at Harvard and writes regularly for The New Yorker magazine, is also a Pulitzer Prize Nominee. This 769 page book reads like an encyclopedia although an encyclopedia on Wagner was published in the bicentenary year 2013 with contributions by various Wagnerian pundits but this book written on an epic scale, superceeds all the previous books written on Wagner.
Ross cleverly disects everry aspects of Wagner’s work his involvment in Art, Politics, Music and Philosophy and clarifies some of the myths associated with Wagner that he was the most antisemite person but according to Ross he was most liberal of all the artists of the time as a matter of fact Bayreuth’s first conductor was Jewish. Today Wagner is recognized as the most widely influential figure in the history of music today he is the most popular icon the world over including Southeast Asia except India where Western classical music did not make a great deal of impact except the works of Beethoven and Mozart but that too in a Parsee comunity who took European classical music seriously and the product was Mehli Mehta and his now world famous son Zubin Mehta is also a Wagerian. However, Satyajit Ray in his adult life became serious admirer of Western classical music thanks to his Parsee doctor friend who had a wide collection of Western classical music and Ray would be invited regularly at his residence.
Wagner’s colossal creations such as The Ring Cycle, Tristan and Isolde, Lohengrin and Parsifal were models of formal daring, mythmaking, erotic freedom and mysticism. In Wagnerism Ross restores the the magnificent confusion of what it means to be a Wagnerian and his amirers included artists, intellectuals, philosophers and Nobel Laureates. Wagner’s many sided legacy will remain for a long time to come in my parsonal opinion forever. Wagner will be remembered as the Shakespear of music.
(A Fellow of Royal Asiatic Society Dilip Roy is a Wagner Aficionado)
