Report about an evening with Arundhati Roy / told by Rob Kall

[Mira]

I missed the fireworks shooting into the sky this year, but instead, listened to some pyrotechnic ideas from Arundhati Roy, at a talk she gave tonight, to the 2015 Socialism conference.
Starting off talking about Independence day, she remarked, "I mourn the birth of all nations," then talked a bit about nationalism.

Asked about what she's writing now, she replied, "I'm writing fiction now because I don't know how else to say what I want to say... I've gathered a lot of ambiguity in me that can only be expressed in fiction."

I wouldn't call what I'm writing here an article, or even a narrative. I'm just stringing together some of the more choice lines I was able to write down as she spoke.

"In many ways we live in boundaries and borders and there are so many boundaries and borders which go through us."

&quot There are times when) to keep quiet is as political as speaking out."

Discussing India getting the Atomic bomb: "The way the press was writing about it you couldn't tell if it was nuclear or Viagra."

She talked about how the Indian government used creation of giant dams to control water and people, about how tribal people were transplanted from farms to Bombay slums, how giving them money for their farms was like paying a judge in manure fertilizer. "The struggle needed a writer to tell the story... having a weapon of words to give to fighting people." The dams have displaced over 30 million people.

"Throughout civilization, throughout history, rulers have wanted to control the water."

"Power is fortified not just by what it destroys but also by what it creates, not just by what it takes, but also by what it gives.

Referring to nuclear weapons:
"When human intelligence has outstripped its own instinct for survival"

for more go to:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/An-Evening-With-Arundhati-by-Rob-Kall-Arundhati-Roy_Caste_Dams_Gandhi-150705-965.html

[burrowowl]

1. I love Roy

thanks for post!