UBUD WRITERS FEST

I have to, I have to start packing my bags, my books, my camera, my lenses, my rolls, my flash, my memory sticks. Yes, I know there is lots to be done. I must stop blogging. It should be the last thing on my mind. Yet, its your indecision that drives me. If you're still tinkering with the thought of that flight, that weekend that is again to full, let me leave you with some pictures. They are always supposed to be doing the talking. With that, I'm off, blogging shall be intermittent, if at all. Updates may take time, but they'll happen. You know me, have I ever broken a promise?

Get ready for Sekala Niskala - the Seen and the Unseen - the Festival's theme this year.

SHE'S DONE IT

I'm excited, elated, ecstatic. Jin Pyn, yes, of The Elephant and the Tree fame has done it. Was blog cruising when I came across this bit of news on Nury's blog.

For those of you who already know Jin Pyn's story, you will know what it means for her and her work to be published in the US by the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency no less.

Jin Pyn is a delightful author, who has not only written an endearing book but made a wonderful film as well. On 16th February this year, her work was featured on Off The Shelf and we've been in touch since.

What struck me then and what strikes me even now is that she never really talks about herself. Despite several firsts to her credit, she uses every platform to focus on the powerful message of conservation.

Who can ever forget the charming voice over:

"Wake up time to tell the story....
Baby Elephant: I'm an elephant and I can count to three...

No, no, not that...
Baby Elephant: Huh, I'm an elephant not a tree...

Not again...
I'm an elephant who loves trees...
Baby Elephant: Ok, I'm awake now...."

Through her book and her short film, she hopes to make us realise that life isn't about ourselves. Part of the proceeds from the book and the film are being channelled into an elephant welfare fund. Little surprise that she's winning over more than just hearts and minds.

Jin Pyn will be at the Ubud Writers Festival, make sure to catch her there.

And don't go anywhere without visiting her website. Making a difference is a mere click away.

FOR YOUR WEEKEND

I know I shouldn't have been distracted by this. There is my Ubud longlist. My segments to be filled. Research to be finished. Stuff to be settled. Bags to be packed.

Yet, who can resist Kunzru? And this in particular.....

Mike Frame has drawn me into his world from the word go. I'm half way through it and can't to find out what happens next.

If you want a riveting read this weekend, you know what to pick.

Richard Lea met the novelist and the review says this.

It's worked for me so far and I'm pretty certain it will, right till the end - wish it weren't so near.

THEY DID IT, AGAIN

The star was out nursing his elbow.

Could Team India do it? They'd got the 6-6's in an over boost, but they were up against the home team. Home turf always changes stuff. There is the adrenaline charged crowd backing you and hoping the visitors just don't get make it. You know your turf best. The odds favour the hosts.

That was the situation facing our young team, who didn't make the most promising of starts having won the toss and electing to bat in the final Twenty20 World Cup Super Eights group E match against South Africa.

It was a do-or head home situation for India. They had to win to stay afloat. They had to hit back to tame South Africa, they simply had no choice but to oust Graeme Smith's home team out of the tournament.

India struggled with the bat when they took to the crease. None of the first four batsmen could inch towards the 20 mark. In fact, three wickets fell for one run in four balls following a double strike by veteran Shaun Pollock in the fifth over. That was well before the newly crowned skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma arrived to add 49 for the fifth wicket. Dhoni hit 45 off 33 balls in style. Not quite lightening Yuvraj stuff, but four boundaries and a six were enough to keep the fans happy. 20-year-old Sharma was a sight to behold. Batting for the first time in the tournament, he made an unbeaten 50 off 40 balls, reaching his half-century off the final delivery with a six to mid-wicket. India posted 153 for five. Not the most challenging of totals. It looked like South Africa would take this away.

Fired by their skipper, one reckons, the bowlers arrived and started unleashing magic all round. Left-arm seamer Rudra Pratap Singh led India's charge with 4-13 from his four overs. Sreesanth and Harbhajan claimed two wickets each to send the Proteas packing by restricting them to just 116 for nine.

Up next, another edge of the seat clash. Tomorrow's semi-final sees India take on mighty Australia at Kingsmead while New Zealand meet group F leaders Pakistan at the Newlands in Cape Town.

In a rather bizarre turn of events, South Africa not only lost a match they appeared to be winning but failed to make 126 that would have helped them beat New Zealand on run-rate.

It's unfair, it's unjust, it's sad, but such is the nature of sport. We haven't forgotten the World Cup, have we? So, what's gonna happen next? Well, your guess is as good as mine. Though I can tell you that keeping those toes and fingers crossed does bust that stress.

HIT IT LIKE YUVI

Moments like these come once in a lifetime.

Ask any batsman timing his shot against a fast bowler. One shot hits the boundary, followed by yet another. Can there be a third? A fourth? A fifth? A sixth?

You see the first two, then start praying for the third. It's edge of the seat stuff. It's what fans wait for. It's what gives a team more than just hope. It's what a nation prays for.

This morning we saw all of that thanks to the spectacular knock by Yuvraj Singh.

First there seemed to be a bit of an altercation, the next thing you knew Yuvraj was on fire.

He smashed a record six sixes in an over against England in their Twenty20 World Cup match at Kingsmead, Durban. Fast bowler Stuart Broad took the brunt. 36 runs it was in the 19th over, making Yuvraj the first player to achieve the mark in the shortest form of cricket.

Broad saw his deliveries disappear over the mid-wicket boundary twice, over backward square leg, extra cover, backward point and wide mid-on. No place was safe as the fireworks continued both on and off the field.

He boosted India's total to total 218 for four in 20 overs, England went on to lose the match by 18 runs.

At the elite level Yuvraj became the fourth man to complete the feat.

Ravi Shastri and West Indian Garfield Sobers had achieved the record in first class cricket, while South African Herschelle Gibbs reached the landmark at the 50-over World Cup earlier this year.

And one could not have asked for a more appropriate commentator than Shastri on this day. "Ballay, Ballay," yes Shastri set things on fire too.

Expectedly, all rights have been violated and the sixy knock has made it to You Tube. I'll do the right thing and tell you to go watch it there.

But don't go anywhere before reading what the man of the match had to say:
"Actually, you know, I got hit for five sixes by Dimitri (Mascarenhas) in the sixth ODI (One Day International against England) and the amount of 'phone calls I had after that, if I get a hundred, I don't get so many 'phone calls. So, after that I thought, 'God, this isn't fair. You've got to give me a chance.' So I guess I got the chance."

What's not to love about such chances? Here's hoping for several more, Yuvi.

UBUD ON MY MIND

You might have missed this and this, unless its another compelling reason, I wouldn't recommend missing this, rather another year of the Ubud Readers and Writers Festival.

If you've been a regular, you already know what to expect. If you're still toying with the idea of getting there, these are the writers you could meet or the events you could attend. If your kids are on your mind (mine are), there's enough to keep them busy every day of the fest.

Writers in waiting look out for the launch of The New Writing Partnership (Asia Pacific) - a huge project that has the literary and creative might of people you definitely want to know. There's Christopher Merrill, Director of the famous writing programme at the University of Iowa, US, Jon Cook of East Anglia U in the UK, Robert Dixon, Chair of Australian Literature at the University of Sydney, Nury Vittachi, writer, humorist, columnist and Editor of Asia Literary Review. Jane Camens, a former journalist, who co-founded Hong Kong’s international literary festival with writer Shirley Geok-Lin and Nury has worked very hard at this and I'm sure will be delighted to see you at the official launch of the Partnership on Thursday, 27th September at Indus Restaurant.

The spectacular Indus, is the setting of several festival sessions. It's stunning backdrop, magnificent arches and the seats are inspiration enough. The Balinese paella is to die for as is the absolutely sinful brownie with ice-cream.

It's also the place where you are most likely to sit Festival Director Janet de Neefe, Finley and Karen for a chat or ask your favourite writers out for a cup of coffee or something stronger if you wish.

If you still haven't made up your mind, let me tell you tickets out of Singapore are a bit hard to get. After weeks of waiting, I opted for JetStar and if you think any longer, you might not even be that lucky. Time to stop thinking and get going. Sekala-Niskala it shall be - the seen and the unseen.

AAJA NACHLE

She's back and she's sizzling.
Look out for her in November.

LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG

And when it comes to Bollywood, who can beat Konkana Sen Sharma and Rani? With slick trailers like these, looks like this one is headed straight for the awards list. Hits a screen near you in October.

HAIRSPRAY

Flying an airplane, riding a bike, acting in a fat suit. Is there anything John Travolta can't do? See for yourself and for Nikki Blonsky. Makes me want to air my dancing shoes.

GET WILD WITH....

Yes, I'm nore than a little late. Caught a bit of the 'Wild Hogs' on a plane and have been meaning to see it ever since. It's been worth the wait. A perfect stress-buster.

FILED AWAY

- Publisher Knopf rejected the likes of Jorge Luis Borges ("utterly untranslatable"), Anaïs Nin ("There is no commercial advantage in acquiring her, and, in my opinion, no artistic"), Sylvia Plath ("There certainly isn't enough genuine talent for us to take notice") and Jack Kerouac ("His frenetic and scrambling prose perfectly express the feverish travels of the Beat Generation. But is that enough?"). Others who made it to the list, Jean-Paul Sartre and Vladimir Nabokov's 'Lolita' ("too racy").

- Anne Frank's 'The Diary of a Young Girl,'was rejected by Knopf and 15 others before Doubleday published it in 1952. More than 30 million copies are currently in print, making it one of the best-selling books of our time.

If your manuscript has been rejected before, take heart, read this.

REMEMBERING ANITA RODDICK

"There are only 3 billion women who don't look like supermodels and only 8 who do. Know your mind, love your body."
For years this has been my Anita Roddick mantra. She believed in it, she stood by it, she even gave us T-shirts to flash the statement.

Among several other Roddick quotes, these are some I've had pinned on my desk for years:
"My mantra was: make the past into a prologue for the future."

"You've got to be hungry - for ideas, to make things happen and to see your vision made into reality."

"If a woman can decide who gets the last toffee, a four-year-old or a six-year-old, she can negotiate any contract in the world."

"The only thing that matters is how you touch people."

"Stay human and measure success differently."

"When you aim for perfection, you discover it is a moving target."

Anita Roddick never promised us eternal beauty in a bottled jar of cream. Instead, she taught us to be comfortable in our skin.

The Body Shop, under her watch emerged as the politics of consciousness - consciousness about bodies, minds, communities they trade with and consciousness about products. It's been about the redefinition of the very nature of business: 'Business As Unusual' - as she called it.

Way before I got hooked on to their Vitamin E cream, I'd been addicted to The Body Shop, its philosophy and a doll named Ruby.

Let's begin with Ruby. The generously endowed doll was supposed to remind women and men worldwide that real beauty is about confidence, inner radiance, character, curiosity, imagination, humour, charm - not the circumference of the thighs, the perfection of the waist or the beauty of the eyes. How I loved her then, how I love her now. It was supposed to take on the tyranny of the beauty business, which for years had been peddling the beauty myth. The generously, proportioned doll made its debut in 'Full Voice' in 1998. When I first saw her on the covers I was taken in by her smile, her message and well, her girth.

What happened next was inevitable, many would say. A doll took on a doll, there was Barbie vs Ruby and Mattel in between.

For those who watched the Ruby drama unfold, you will recall the debate about being a whole person, about the all important harmony between the body, soul, spirit and character.

And all this happened thanks to Anita Roddick's vision. One of the world's most outspoken, controversial and successful business women, she had many guises. These ranged from outspoken political activist, worldwide traveller to grandmother who created a company with attitude which came to be known around the world for both its products as well its principles.

The founder and chairman of The Body Shop skin-care and cosmetics chain was used to talking and doing big. Her global business empire may have sold concoctions of tea tree oil cleansers, strawberry soaps, peppermint foot lotions, henna creams and a whole lot more. But, mixed into every plastic bottle was a liberal dose of attitude which many thought bordered on revolution. Under her watch, they didn't give you a plastic bag unless you really need one. And, remember bringing that plastic bottle back for recycling.

Her first shop opened in 1976 and grew to over 2,000 stores before being bought over by cosmetics giant L'Oreal last year. Part of that growth story was traced in her semi-management, semi-autobiographical book 'Business As Unusual' which stressed among other things, the need for greater corporate responsibility and accountability.

Beyond Ruby, Roddick fervently believed that companies should be more than simply profitable. Roddick led by example making The Body Shop one of the first companies to integrate recycling into its daily operations, and committing time and money to various environmental causes.

Not one to speak in half-measures, Roddick remained a powerful communicator. A walking repository of wit, she was a former English and history teacher. The smartest thing she had done in her career, she mused, was never to have diminished her sense of self. "I've never been cajoled into being someone I'm not. I've always spoken up. If I wanted to be quiet, I would have opened up a library."

Born to Italian immigrants in the English seaside town of Littlehampton, she was seen handing out tea to tramps on the streets at the age of 11. She was only 12, when she attended her first protest march.

In 1976, she set up the first Body Shop in Brighton selling 25 hand-mixed products simply as a means to support her family. There has been no looking back since. Though one of her ambitions remains unfulfilled. She wanted to star in a Pedro Almodovar movie, opposite Spanish heartthrob Antonio Banderas.

September 11, 2007:
Roddick's family announced that she died at the age of 64 after suffering a major brain haemorrhage.

Earlier this year, Roddick revealed that she was suffering from liver damage after contracting the Hepatitis C virus more than 35 years ago and soon began campaigning for support for sufferers of the potentially deadly disease. She developed Hepatitis C from infected blood given to her during the birth of her youngest daughter, Sam, in 1971.

Visit her website to do your bit for the world. As she would have told us, it's important to take it personally and it's always the little things that matter.

BOOKED UNDER

I need more books, like I need another set of braces!

Despite being snowed under with all the reads thanks to all the authors who have made stop-overs back from the Melbourne Writers Fest or en route to the Brisbane Writers Fest, my days and non-existent nights have been one big sleepless blur. It's either research, scripts or edits. No, I'm not complaining. Have had the most amazing conversations in the past one week, its another story that my still life came alive with what was happening in the Three Pines or what misery Deaver's Daniel Pell would inflict next. Those stories have since paved way for some lush gardens and the rise of India and China. An eclectic fortnight, as they say. My best efforts to complete 'The Road' have come to naught and now I need to get past the Ubud Long list. Which is why, the last thing I needed was being in the vicinity of a book sale.

It was supposed to be a concert for the kids, we were supposed to have our cup of coffee and head right back. So much for best laid plans. There was that enticing 'Sale' sign. This time it was Times The Bookshop. Who could resist? We tried, you know. We told ourselves, we won't be tempted this time. There are no more bookshelves, soon we'll be sleeping on the books. Yes, we told ourselves that. Ok, we'll just take a look and not buy anything.

Then we spotted this and melted:


Oooo, before there was 'The Life of Pi', there was this:

There was Ruth Praver Jhabvala too. And some great books on healing the soul. Soon the basket was filling up.

Yes, as always we were buying more than we needed. But they are books we reminded ourselves. Some day, our kids will discover these, we wished deep inside. And as we weighed ourselves down yet again, I gingerly mentioned that red Ikea bookshelf. It might look good next to our beige wall. You know that thing about thoughts....

SAYING AS IT SHOULD BE

A much-hyped movie deservedly dissed, as are some books.

Yes, it deserves to survive and it will. Here's why:
"Like everything else in the world, the newsmagazine has its limitations, but we’ll work hard to push its possibilities just the way we have endeavoured with our other avatars. Despite the obit writers, the magazine deserves to survive — it is the crucial pause between the impressionism of the daily paper and news channel, and the long vista of the book. It is the first major sieving of the trash of the world and, if done with imagination and courage, can have immense value."
- Tarun Tejpal, Editor-in-Chief, Tehelka

Convinced? Head here to subscribe to your view.

TWISTS, TURNS, WRITING

- I pulled out the contact list, sent the manuscript to 5 of them, one of them picked it up.
- I sat in a hotel room for a week. It was me and my PC and the book was done.
- Rejection, there was no problem with it. No pink slips. They loved my book soon as I sent it out.
- Even before the book was out, the film rights had been bought.

Yes, it happens. Only to a lucky few. There are those million dollar advances, there is a J K Rowling. Behind each of that success is the story of those who have to try infinitely hard to get their book/books out. At a time when more and more authors are making it sound like its so easy to get your story out there, its refreshing to meet writers like Louise Penny and Jeffery Deaver.

Louise made her literary debut with 'Still Life' and has since gone on to win several awards and write more compelling books - the latest being 'The Cruellest Month'. She has been called a poetic and gifted writer who "writes like a modern day Agatha Christie." While her writing has won critical acclaim, things weren't always smooth sailing. After several years with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, specialising in hard news and current affairs, she trained her pen on fiction. And here's how it all began for her:

"This is how I got a leading London literary agent and three-book deals with Hodder/Headline in the UK and St. Martin's Minotaur in the US. Ready?
I entered a contest.
I was surfing the web and came across the Crime Writers Association in Great Britain and noticed their Debut Dagger contest.
If you're an unpublished crime novelist, I beg you - go to this site: www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/debut/ go to their 'welcome' section and from there read down to the 'debut dagger' part.

Click on that.

There were 800 entries worldwide in my year (2004). They shortlisted 14, and I was one. I knew then my life had changed."

Louise shares several stories like these with her readers on her website. In person, she is even more forthright, she talks about rejection, how books aren't born in a day, the fact that her first book was possibly in her head for nearly 40 years and why it's important to keep writing.

Jeffery Deaver, the multi-award winning writer, with 23 crime novels and sales topping 25 million to his credit, has similar tales to tell.

"There's something wrong, if a writer says they are happy with their first draft."

He outlines extensively, spending close to 6-8 months on the plot and character building, then begins the process of re-writing. "Somedays I go back to what I wrote the day earlier and wonder did I really write that drivel?"

When you hear this from one of the most skilled thriller writers of our time, you've got to spring to attention.

Deaver admits to days when writers block takes over, days when writing is difficult and why his readers matter. Which is why after charming his readers with Lincoln Rhyme, the master of twists and turns has unveiled a brand new heroine Kathryn Dance in his latest book 'The Sleeping Doll'.

He's a literary star, he's a busy man and he's happy to give one shot for the blog, before rushing off for the next interview. How can I not love it all?

That's Jeffery Deaver with Farokh of Pansing.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, CUE

When it comes to buying a house or getting a cab, timing is everything. More so in Singapore.

The minute you are past 12 noon or past 12 midnight, you can kiss goodbye to your hopes of hopping into a cab. Try calling for one on a rainy day, you could be glued to your cell for minutes on end, with messages reminding you not to hang up.

Yesterday, was a sunny day, still my attempts of calling for a cab came to a head. With much reluctance, I decided to get on to a bus. Don't get me wrong, the bus service here is more than perfect. But after having spent a good 10 hours at work, having stumbled out of bed at 2am, walking to a bus stop, changing two buses and doing the uphill walk to get to my apartment that lives up to its billing 'The Hillside' - is always the last thing on my mind.

Oh well, it was one of those days. I would have been unhappy, had it not been for the copy of Muhammad Cohen's Hong Kong on Air that came my way thanks to Pete Spurrier of Blacksmith Books.


My 15 minute bus ride was soon transformed. Autocue, studio crew, harassed producer, prima donna anchor, under-dressed starlet, gosh, the life I imagined I'd barely stepped out of was leaping out of these pages. Autocue, panel, charts, crosses, everything was so alive that I barely noticed I was past my bus stop. The next time I looked up Bus No 157 had come to a halt at the interchange.

Gosh! this couldn't be happening!

It was cab time again with the American-born Chinese egomaniac Deng Jiang Mao. Having spent close to 10 years in both print and TV, I know I should count my blessings, I haven't had the misfortune of dealing with a real life avataar of Deng Jiang Mao, though I know that halo that only excessive airtime lends to mortal folks. Rest assured, I won't be getting on a bus to see how the rest of the tale unfolds.

Once again, full marks to Sharon Bakar for having spotted another literary talent. Take a bow, Sharon.

THE BOOKER SHORTLIST

Yes, it's out!

And I'm half-way there. Was rooting for Mohsin Hamid and Tan Twan Eng. Hamid's made it, Twan hasn't. Not that this in any way diminishes the power of the book. 'The Gift of Rain' is Twan's debut and its encouraging to see it come so far. I am certain this is only the beginning for a promising young writer you should be keeping your eyes on.

Getting back to the Booker, I'm not one for the odds. But if that's the kind of thing that drives your reading, here it is.

I'm all for 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' though those who have read Indra Sinha's 'Animal's People' - a fictionalised story of one of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster victims, point to the tough race ahead.

Then there is New Zealander Lloyd Jones 'Mister Pip'which has already won the
Commonwealth Writers' Prize Overall Best Book Award 2007.

Nicola Barker's 'Darkmans', Ian McEwan's 'On Chesil Beach' and Anne Enright's 'The Gathering' complete the shortlist.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, October 16th at the Guildhall in London. You have no excuses for not catching up on your reading and telling me all about your Booker picks.

WHERE WOULD YOU RATHER BE?

India? Thailand? Italy?

30,000 globe trotting readers of luxury travel bible Conde Nast Traveller have made their pick!

India, Italy and Thailand are the top three "all-time" favourite destinations. Maldives takes the top spot as 'favourite island', while Bali ranks number 7. And for that all important arrival - Hong Kong International and Changi Airport of Singapore took the top two spots.

If you're looking to pack your bags, don't go anywhere without taking a look at this:

Favourite Countries
1. India (last year's ranking - 4)
2. Italy (1)
3. Thailand (7)
4. Australia (3)
5. New Zealand (2)
6. South Africa (5)
7. Spain (8)
8. France (6)
9. Brazil (9)
10. Mexico (11)

Favourite Cities
1. Sydney (3)
2. New York (4)
3. Paris (5)
4. Rome (1)
5. Barcelona (2)
6. Venice (6)
7. San Francisco (new entry)
8. Cape Town (17)
9. Singapore (5)
10. Hong Kong (18)

I JUST....

Write. I have to write. I like to say that I didn't choose writing, writing chose me. This may sound slightly mythical, but I sometimes feel as if my writing is something bigger than I am.

More from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in the Washington Post, 13 November 2006:
I realized that I was African when I came to the United States. Whenever Africa came up in my college classes, everyone turned to me. It didn't matter whether the subject was Namibia or Egypt; I was expected to know, to explain.

At the Emerging Writers Forum, 6 April 2004
Have you wondered why reviewers and blurb-writers are quick to reassure readers that a book about Africa (usually one written by a Black African about Black Africans) is NOT JUST AN AFRICAN BOOK BUT IS UNIVERSAL, as well? As if 'African' and 'Universal' are mutually exclusive. Nobody ever informs the reader that a great English or American novel is universal because the assumption, of course, is that it is.

SHARE ON.....

Love Random House Canada for its Facebook feature. Look below the cover picture and you'll find the 'share on my Facebook.' No copyright issues, no downloading or formatting problems, no clicking, pasting, posting. It really couldn't get any easier. Go ahead and share your favourite books. Here are some of my mine.

ON MY LIST

Nikita Lalwani's 'Gifted' left me disappointed, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the winner of this year's Orange Prize for fiction for 'Half of a Yellow Sun' has had me gripped. It's going to take me some time to finish this one - I love it so much. Then there is all the splendid stuff to read before heading off for the Ubud Writers Festival.

There is lots to read, yet one book that's been playing in my head is M G Vassanji's 'The Assasin's Song' which got a glowing review on Anjali's Lotus Reads - a book blog, I track closely. I haven't read Vassanji's work before and didn't quite realise what I was missing, till I read this post on another great blog, Jai Arjun's - Jabberwock.

Anjali and I exchanged a couple of emails last week on why Vassanji, who is so big in Canada instead quite as well read outside. It's something that the author addressed in this chat with Jai Arjun:

Well, I've always fallen between places – first as an Indian growing up in a colonised Africa, later as an Indian in Canada. And I write about real people in ordinary situations, which is not necessarily the most fashionable sort of writing. Some high-profile writers of Indian origin cater to the idea of an exotic India – I’m not saying that the use of stylistic devices is bad in itself, but it can lead to a certain type of posturing, which detracts from what you’re trying to say. I’ve observed that this is true of some African writers also: sometimes there is a pressure to play games because we don't automatically have a market in the West.

Such honesty. It's enough to put Vassanji right on top of my to read list.