By Archana Sharma
Jaipur, April 12 (IANS): There is a French book corner in Jaipur which brings interesting stories from other parts of the world to the desert state.
Telling stories of the India-France connection, this quiet corner has attracted book lovers, praising the bond between two nations and connecting them through stories of arts, crafts, culture and heritage. historical.
While the connection between Pondicherry and France is well known, this connection between Jaipur and France is not yet fully known.
IANS spoke to the Secretary of the IAS Literary Society, Rajasthan (the Literary Society of the IAS Association in Rajasthan), Mugdha Sinha, who works as the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology in the Government of Rajasthan, as she strives to bridge the gap between nations, currently India and France, by hosting dialogues on various books, topics, etc.
According to Mugdha, “We organize events online and offline, inviting French authors to talk about contemporary issues, their books and interesting topics.”
“Recently, the IAS Literary Society collaborated with the French Embassy in the framework of the Bonjour India Festival event and invited Philippe Claudel to discuss “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Questioning Human Vices in Literature” Claudel, French writer and director, has won the Renaudot Prize in France.He spoke on “Brodeck’s Report” which is a historical novel about a concentration camp survivor and the effect of Nazism.
“It is contemporary to hold this dialogue at the present time when Ukraine and Russia are at war,” Mugdha said.
Speaking on this French Book Corner, she said, “We are delighted to help create this important section of French books at JKK, translated into several Indian languages. Book lovers can discover French authors in this “French Book Corner” at Jawahar Kala Kendra – JKK Library which was created with the help of the French Embassy.
“In fact, the French Embassy has been so welcoming that they have donated more than 100 translated books in Hindi or other languages to Jawahar Kala Kendra, which is the center of cultural events in Jaipur. Now, this place is called a French corner in JKK,” she said, thanking the French Embassy and the French Institute of India for the donation.
Moreover, the French Institute of India, which presents itself as a facilitator of exchanges between French and Indian higher education institutions, posted the video on its social media wall where Sinha and Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, Counselor for Education, Science and Culture, Embassy of France in India shared how the two nations share and establish a connection through the common expression of the Indo-French linguistic, literary and cultural confluence in the greater eastern region from India.
Speaking about the IAS Literary Society which has played a major role in organizing such events, Mugdha said, “The IAS Literary Society works hard to connect civil servants and civil society.”
“We have worked with many hospitals i.e. Kokilaben-Mumbai Hospital, AIIMS and many more during the lockdown, invited Wg Cdr Rakesh Sharma (AC) to share his experience on ‘Mission Space’. Padma Vibhushan Dr R. Chidambaram, a former scientific adviser to the Indian government and a scientist involved in the Pokhran tests in India, was invited to one of our online sessions.”
Additionally, Ashish Kaul was invited to discuss his book “The Warrior Queen of Kashmir”, which focuses on India’s lesser-known women.
“We hosted sessions with Haitian poet and French author Louis Phillipe Dalembert on Home and the World- Migration, Identity and Exile.”
Mugdha being the secretary of this society took the lead in organizing such events.
She says “Our ancient civilization is based on ‘Vad’, i.e. dialogue. In ancient times, ‘Shastraarth’, i.e. an Indian tradition of sharing multiple perspectives through discussions and debates, was a common affair. Now we try to follow the same trend and our goal is to connect, communicate and build understanding by holding meaningful dialogues and bringing together officials and civil society in conversation.”
