“The global military industrial complex is not only destroying environment and manufacturing wars but it is also supporting the unending rule of despots. Most modern writers and intellectuals across the world are engaged in speaking about the dangers this complex creates,” writer and literary journalist Satish Chapparike said in Belagavi on Sunday.
He was responding to a question at a meet-the-author event organised by Sapna Book House in association with Book Brahma, an online platform for discussion on Kannada books.
“Writers across the world have felt that the biggest money-spinning industries in the world are religion, politics, war, drugs and immoral trafficking. These are the ways in which the military industry complex stays alive and relevant,” he said.
“We may think that there is continued violence in some conflict zones in the world like Myanmar, Damascus or other countries with hate crimes and war. However, none of them exist by themselves. They are all engineered. They do not just happen. That is why wide-ranging statements that term one religion as violent and another as peaceful are not rooted in reality. To say that some group is involved in terrorism is to peddle lies. We should realise that all such efforts are engineered. If religion does not preach equality, love and non-violence and lead to behavioural changes among its followers, it is no religion at all. It is just a tool in the hands of the powerful who want their power to continue,” he said.
To a query from a reader, he said that the theme of his novel is a collage of various emotions. “That is because life is a collage of interwoven themes,” he said.
He said that the novel is being translated into five languages, including Malayalam, and that he is working with the translators. His future endeavours include a novel in English and a short story collection, he said.
Writer and critic Balasaheb Lokapur described is latest Kannada novel, Ghandruk, as multi-dimensional and modernistic. He pointed out that apart from eternally relevant themes such as love and longing, the writer has explored other issues such as infidelity, hiking and adventure sports, LGBTQ, geo-politics, corporate culture and urbanism and family values that Indians find it difficult to let go.
Prof. Lokapur, however, said that some characters in the novel seem overtly focused on sex and it could have done with less of it.
Playwright Dadasaheb S. Chougale said that he liked the monologue and dialogue-based narrative in the novel. Some of them are deeply philosophical and will be remembered for long, he said.
Prof. Chougale, however, said that he has some concerns about the language used in the novel that seem newsy and not literary. He also argued that the novel uses rich language to describe the ambience of a place but it ends up leaving the reader guessing about several plot lines. He also felt that the end remains inconclusive.
Writers Sarju Katkar, Veeranna Madiwalar, Nadeem Sanadi, Mala Akkishetti, M.V. Raghu, manager, Sapna Book House, and others were present.
