30 January - 3 February 2025 | Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur

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Sarah Joseph

Sarah Joseph

Sarah Joseph is a highly acclaimed Malayalam novelist, short-story writer, political commentator and activist. She is the author of eight novels, nine collections of short fiction, five novelettes, several plays, children’s literature and several non- fiction books. Her many awards include the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, the Vayalur Award, the Crossword Award, the Padmaprabha Literary Award and the O Chanthu Menon Award. Her name is inextricably linked with the feminist movement in Kerala and her radical writings have inspired and paved the way for future generations of Malayali working women and activists.

Session

Budhini

Sara Joseph and Sangeetha Sreenivasan in conversation with Anita Nair
Writer, political commentator and activist Sara Joseph's acclaimed book, Budhini, traces the uprooted life of the Santali girl who was famously ostracised by her community for greeting Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru with a garland and tikka, seen as a symbolic matrimonial ritual, during the inauguration of a dam in 1959. Translated from the original Malayalam to English by her daughter Sangeetha Sreenivasan, the book is an enduring tribute to the female voice and to lives and stories that should not disappear within the folds of time. In conversation with writer Anita Nair, she delves into the process of translating this evocative tale and the wider bio-politics it uncovers.