Just a reminder about the book reading this Sunday...
2009/12/8 Nitin Karani <nitin.kar...@gmail.com> > > You are cordially invited to > > * * > *Sunday High, 13 December 2009* > > > Book reading and Q&A > > > with > > > Minal Hajratwala, author of *'Leaving India'* > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ** > > > > *Event brief:* *Bombay Dost* magazine hosts Minal Hajratwala, the author > of *Leaving India: My Family’s Journey From Five Villages to Five > Continents*. Minal will read from the *queer sections* from her book, > which leads us to reflect on the universally resonant story of what it means > to leave one home and choose another. She will also read from her *earlier > writing*, and this will followed by a *discussion* with Minal. > > > > *Copies of the book will be available at a discount.* > > > > *About Leaving India:* The book has been called “incomparable” by Alice > Walker and “searingly honest” by the Washington Post. Minal spent seven > years researching and writing the book, traveling the world to interview > more than 75 members of her extended family. *As the daughter of > immigrants and the granddaughter of weavers, Minal Hajratwala grew up > accustomed to crossing lines. In this groundbreaking work, she weaves > together history, memoir, and reportage to explore questions facing not only > her own family but that of every migrant: Where did we come from? Why did we > leave? What did we lose and gain? Traveling the world, she learns how her > family, originally from India, came to be spread across five continents > and nine countries over more than a century of migration — a movement > that parallels the phenomenal growth of India’s diaspora. Through the > lives of her kin in Fiji, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada, > Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand, and through the story of Minal’s > own parents’ accidental immigration to the United States, Leaving > India delves into the relationship between personal choice and the > sweeping historical forces that have led Indians to migrate, often again > and again. This page-turning and lyrical book of narrative nonfiction leads > us to reflect on the universally resonant story of what it means to leave > one home and choose another — both for those who do the leaving, and for > their descendants.* > > > > *About Minal Hajratwala:* Besides being a writer, Minal is also a poet, > performer, and queer activist based in San Francisco, where she was born > before being whisked off to be raised in New Zealand and suburban Michigan. > Her creative work has appeared in numerous journals, anthologies, and > theater spaces, and has received recognition and support from the Sundance > Institute, the Jon Sims Center for the Arts, the SerpentSource Foundation, > and the Hedgebrook writing retreat for women, where she currently serves > on the Alumnae Leadership Council. Her one-woman show, “Avatars: Gods for a > New Millennium,” was commissioned by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco > for World AIDS Day in 1999. As a journalist, she worked at the San Jose > Mercury News for eight years, was a board member of the National Lesbian & > Gay Journalists Association, and was a National Arts Journalism Program > fellow at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in 2000-01. > She is a graduate of Stanford University. > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > *Time:* 5.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. > > > *Venue & directions:* Centre for Excellence (CEFE), Humsafar Trust, > Riviera building, Flat no. 2, Ground floor, 15th Road, Near RBI Colony, > Santacruz (W), Mumbai - 54. On Linking Road, take the lane next to Tommy > Hilfiger and Standard Chartered Bank (opposite Benetton), then take the > third right. View location at http://tinyurl.com/CefeMap. > > > *Space courtesy:* The Humsafar Trust. > > > > Note: Programme subject to change without notice in unavoidable > circumstances. > > *Keep in touch with Bombay Dost via:* > > The Bombay Dost Wiki (http://bombay-dost.pbworks.com/) > > OR The Facebook Fan Page > (http://www.facebook.com/Bombay-Dost<http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Bombay-Dost/52817999936> > ) > > OR follow Bombaydost on Twitter (http://twitter.com/bombaydost > > OR subscribe to our Google SMS Channel ( > http://labs.google.co.in/smschannels/subscribe/BombayDost) > > OR E-mail us: bombaydost2...@gmail.com > > >