An angry fix

"Prof Ashis Nandy made a bad statement with good intentions, however as far as I know he was never against reservation. The controversy should end here," said acclaimed Dalit author Kancha Ilaiah. HT reports.

An angry fix
Winner of this year's DSC Prize, Jeet Thayil, had apparently in the session, A Rebel State, read a portion from his novel, Narcopolis, which features a drunken and drug-induced rant of a villainous character who repeats the word 'ch**t' to describe the state of affairs. Thirsty for fresh controversy, a section of the TV press ran towards the lunch area to get a sound bite, but Thayil was promptly whisked away. When asked Thayil what he made of the situation, he said: "I just can't wait to go home."

Benefit of doubt
"Prof Ashis Nandy made a bad statement with good intentions, however as far as I know he was never against reservation. The controversy should end here," said acclaimed Dalit author Kancha Ilaiah, who was in the audience when Nandy made the controversial remark about SC/ST corruption. Ilaiah was in Jaipur to launch his first work of fiction, the Untouchable God.

Who's competing?
Passions ran high at the session Stree ho kar sawal karti ho-Women's Voices session as panelists talked about the kinship between women, patriarchy and feminism. Rajasthani writer Lata Sharma said, "It's not a competition. Women should focus on their own progress. Those who want our company, will try and keep up."