Abhinav Bindra & Kolkata Lit Meet 2016

In January 1901, on the death of Queen Victoria, the then Viceroy of India, suggested the creation of a fitting memorial. He proposed the construction of a grand building with a museum and gardens. The result was the magnificent Victoria Memorial. This gorgeous piece of architecture has become the symbol of Kolkata’s skyline quite like the Howrah Bridge. As a child I always used to look at the fairy on top of Victoria’s dome and wondered if she flew away at night when the city slept. Later on when someone told me that the bronze fairy actually weighed 13 tons and was sixteen feet tall, I was convinced that it would be hard for her to leave her perch.Victoria Memorial was the venue of the Kolkata Literary Meet 2016 from 21-26 Jan. Those were also the dates of the JLF (Jaipur Lit Fest). But that served as an advantage for many authors who straddled both the lit fests with ease.JLF feels like the Kumbh Mela for book lovers, authors and celeb spotters alike. Kolkata Lit Meet is much smaller in comparison. But because of the smaller scale of the meet, at Kolkata Lit Fest the book lovers got to listen to their favorite authors up close and personal without having to wade through miles of humanity. The winter sun in Kolkata made the setting just right for an adda about books and beyond with the authors. I was thrilled to meet Ruskin Bond <read this>I caught the last few minutes of Amish Tripathi sharing his views about Duryodhana patting his left thigh and inviting Draupadi to sit there. The norm those days, he explained, was that the wife would be depicted sitting on the left thigh of the male (to depict closeness to the heart) while a daughter would sit on the right thigh of the god. So when Duryodhana was patting the thigh he was inviting Draupadi to marry him and be his wife. The gesture had to be interpreted in the right context Amish said.Another session that I enjoyed listening to was a debate on whether the minor characters made for richer and more nuanced depictions when they were retold. Vikas Singh talked about Bhima and his extraordinary courage, his obsessive love for Draupadi and his deeply conflicted emotions about his brother, Arjun. Bhima single handedly killed the Kauravas and yet is rarely seen as the central protagonist of the epic. Kavita Kane, the author of Karna’s Wife, spoke about Urmila, Sita’s sister and the neglected wife of Lakshman, as one of the most overlooked characters in the Ramayana.The one who left the strongest impression on me was Abhinav Bindra who was there to talk about autobiography A Shot at History. Abhinav comes through as “unflappable” almost to the point of being cold and unemotional, but in a very positive way. He seemed to go through this adulation with a somewhat detached view. Look at it like this, he won the gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games. It has been eight years since then. Could it be that we don’t win enough medals because we celebrate our victories for too long. It is true that the 6 ounces of gold that Abhinav’s medal had lifted the entire nation’s self-worth. Maybe we should celebrate the moment of victory without lingering on it and then shift our focus towards the next Olympics.On being asked if he thought he would win the Olympic medal, he said candidly, “On days I felt yes. On some days no.” He mentioned how his winning the Olympic medal has attracted more people to the sport. That spikes up the competition. “The 1st national had 300 participants. The last national had 4000 participants. So it is getting tougher.” He said.Did he think that things have got better in last three four years? Abhinav said that while the sport gets more funding yet if one has to look at competing in a global arena it needs to be managed by professionals. There is no point having the funds released a week before the Olympics. Elite athletes have no time (to follow up with the government for funds).Abhinav said that he “had no particular talent” and was a rather “fat kid” while he was at Doon School. His father used to keep pushing him to take up some sport and Abhinav settled for shooting since it did not involve any running or physical activity.When someone asked Abhinav why he said that he “had no particular talent” when he had to his credit an Olympic gold?Abhinav Bindra said, “I have only one talent. I can work harder than anyone else.” That statement will always stay with me. I can still hear those words.--------Do you think we celebrate our victories for too long? Leave your comments below.