Abhivyakti 4.0 Literature Fest: Don’t distort history in garb of creativity, says ex-ambassador Navtej S Sarna
Sarna, in conversation with journalist Vipin Pubby, shared his thoughts on different dimensions of creative writings in reference to his works “The Exile” and “Crimson Spring”
“Creative writing should not distort history,” emphasised India’s former ambassador to the US, Navtej S Sarna, while reflecting on various aspects of literature at the closing of Abhivyakti 4.0, a literary fest organised by the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA). The event took place at the Western Command headquarters, Chandimandir Military Station, on Sunday.
Sarna, in conversation with journalist Vipin Pubby, shared his thoughts on different dimensions of creative writings in reference to his works “The Exile” and “Crimson Spring”.
Admitting the dilemma of writing historical fiction, Sarna said, “Distorting or not distorting facts is a challenging proposition. I have been very careful about details and have used fiction only to fill in the gaps.”
While answering a question on the revolutionary Udham Singh, he said, “Many things are not known about Udham Singh…Don’t distort history, be true to it. The dates have to be true.”
The former diplomat also gave reference of a Bollywood movie where Udham Singh was shown helping people during Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Sarna pointed out that there was no proof available whether Udham Singh was there. So he made a choice that he was not there. Instead, he was in east Africa, because that it is what Singh said during his trial.
While unravelling several myths about Udham Singh, Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Brigadier General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, and Sir Michael O’ Dwyer- who was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab when the said massacre took place in 1919, Sarna was of the firm view that “a writer has to keep a clinical distance from his personal emotions. Only then can one write dispassionately.”
When asked about if he got traumatised while writing describing the gory incident of Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Sarna said, “When you are writing, you should not be traumatised. I was not traumatised while describing Jallianwala Bagh.”
Talking about Maharaja Duleep Singh, the youngest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Maharani Zinda, the central theme of his novel- “The Exile”, Sarna said, “Maharaja Duleep Singh’s life was quite tragic. He was never in control of his destiny. He became a Christian and later reconverted to his original faith. He was separated from his mother. They met in London.”
“His life was full of tragedy. Unfortunately, he died in a very poor condition,” he added.
He also spoke about Mangla and her role in Duleep Singh’s life. “Through the character of Mangla, I wanted to bring out multiple identities of Punjab,” he said.
The festival concludes
The three-day long literary extravaganza concluded on Sunday.
The day’s proceedings started with a key note address by author Radhakrishnan Pillai. This was followed by Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar, GOC-in-C, Western Command, releasing “General’s Jottings”, a book by Lt Gen Kamaljit Singh, PVSM, AVSM (retd).
A panel discussion on ‘Rekindling the Habit of Reading’, saw panelists Ajay Jain, Vandana Palli and Saguna Jain dwelling upon challenges and opportunities of inculcating the habit of reading among today’s youngsters.