Bibliofile

At first glance, it seems an odd assortment of faces to represent Indian literature at France’s ambitious litfest, Belles Etrangeres. The theme this year is Faces of Indian Literature and so great is French interest in Indian writing that there has been much coverage of our writers and writing in the weeks leading up to the event, from November 18 to December 1. But why, one wondered, are the Mahashweta Devis and Nirmal Vermas clubbed alongside a one-gushbook wonder like Anoushka Ravi Shankar? The answer’s simple. The invitees all have one thing in common: they’ve all been translated into French. And judging by the guest list, regional writers have had better luck in France than at home. While many prominent Indian English writers are missing, young regional writers like Alka Sarayogi, Mukundan and Bama are there.

The Belgian thriller-writer, creator of Maigret, would have made it to the Guinness Book were he still around. As per a researcher who’s unearthed startling details of the prolific writer, who died at 86 in 1989, Simenon was able to dash off a novel in 11 days. But more mind-boggling is Simenon’s confession of having had sex with 10,000 women in his lifetime. That’s roughly one new lover every other day during 60 years of activity.