For all the lovers of literature who ensured that Mumbais Tata Theatre on Friday was a packed house,author Vikram Seth saved the best for the last. A day after the London launch of his latest book,The Rivered Earth,the ongoing Literature Live festival in Mumbai hosted its preview. The book,which consists of four libretti written to accompany the music by Alec Roth,will be released in India next month. As Seth reached the last segment of the book,he talked about how Roth rejected his poem on fire as he couldnt set it to music. With the deadline nearing,Seth sought Roths advice on how to come up with another poem on the same subject. Roth advised: Get drunk. Seth followed it. The outcome was a crazy poem,different from the rest of the work in the book. The Mumbai audience got a taste of it as the 56-year-old author got up from his seat to give a boisterous and energetic rendition of the poem. This completely altered the mood in the auditorium leaving the audience on a high. Till that point,the interaction with Seth conducted by writer Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi was peppered with Seths gentle yet mildly wicked sense of humour,and a lot of information about the process of putting together this book. Both authors walked on to the stage holding wine-filled glasses. Seth insisted that it was coke. The Rivered Earth is a very slim book,compared to his voluminous works like A Suitable Boy,An Equal Music and Two Lives. Yet,it contains what Seth values poetry,calligraphy and music. This book was developed over four years,between several other projects. What makes this book special is that it contains several remarkable works of music. It brings together a range of personal experiences and literary influences Chinese,European and Indian. The book also mixes translation and original creation. Titled Songs in Time of War,Shared Ground,The Traveller and Seven Elements,the libretti takes the readers all over the world from Chinese and Indian poetry to the beauty and quietness of the Salisbury house where the English poet George Herbert had lived and died. Since the book was too thin,the publishers asked him to write an essay to introduce each libretto. Each section of the book also has a piece of calligraphy. The audience at Literature Live got more than a sneak peak into this calligraphic work as Seth took the trouble of explaining each slide that accompanied his talk. He also included Roths musical notes and played one of his compositions. At the end of the wholesome literary evening,he raised the glass in his hand acknowledging the uproarious applause.
