A Talk on ‘The Pestering of History’?: Fiction and History by Visiting Faculty Ruchir Joshi and Professor Mukund Padmanabhan

About THE TALK

Krea Lit Talks invites you to a discussion on the relationship between fiction and history. In anticipation of Ruchir Joshi’s forthcoming novel Great Eastern Hotel, he and Mukund Padmanabhan will talk about the process of writing fiction and non-fiction books about the same period. Which histories “pester” us to be fictionalized? What work is fiction doing in the contemporary moment? How do Ruchir and Mukund think about history and the need for narrative?

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Mukund Padmanabhan teaches philosophy and related disciplines at Krea University. He was editor of The Hindu BusinessLine and The Hindu. Earlier this year, he published The Great Flap of 1942, a narrative history about the huge scare Japan created in India during World War II.

Ruchir Joshi is the author of The Last Jet-Engine Laugh, a novel, and Poriborton!, a book about the 2011 state elections in West Bengal. He has also directed documentaries and essay films, including the award-winning Eleven Miles. His forthcoming novel is titled Great Eastern Hotel.