Amitab Ghosh, a celebrated novelist, discusses his book The Hungry Tide, which portrays the beauty and significance of the rivers to the Bengal and its population, in one of the most eagerly anticipated sessions of the whole Dhaka Lit Fest.
Sadaf Saaz, the director and producer of Dhaka Lit Fest, conducted the discussion.
Being a Bengali, Amitab Gosh remarked about how his own family were compelled to leave Bikrumpur in the 1850s because of the mighty river's landsnacking tides.
As some members of the audience pointed out, via his lovely writings, his inner climate activist emerges. Along with the human-caused climate change, he listed some other issues that need to be addressed, such as the loss of biodiversity and species.
The Banda Islands' inhabitants, who the author claims were the first to endure the "resource curse" in the name of progress, are mentioned among the atrocities committed by people in various locations.
He said, "What's the sense of having gleaming iPhones if water levels rise," indirectly accusing consumers of being responsible for human rights violations and even climate change.
During his discussion of the book, he also noted that, after penning three non-fiction books in the previous five years, he would now prefer to focus more on other genres with which he is more connected.
According to him, unlike in the past when stories and novels concentrated more on the community as a whole, contemporary literature has since the 1990s mostly focused on urban life and the stories of the upper middle class.
He stressed the value and strength of nature and how little influence we have over it as a species.
A Q&A session followed the presentation.
