Identity Crisis by Facebook, Twitter etc.???

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The eternal question that thinkers have been trying to answer since ages is: who am I? No matter how much we have tried to answer it for ourselves, we have not been able to satisfy ourselves. Our life, what all we do and how we carry ourselves is an act towards establishing our identity. Struggle was still going on to carve out a niche for our identity when another threat emerged. And if the scientists' latest warnings are to be heeded to, the threat comes from something that after having crept in slowly has now come to dominate our lives. My dear friends, the threat is from nothing else than the repeated exposure to the social networking sites.

According to a report published from London in Times of India (dated 31 AUGUST, 2011), Baroness Greenfield, a Professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, said Facebook and Twitter have created a generation obsessed with themselves, who have short attention spans and a childlike desire for constant feedback on their lives.

Where are we heading to? Let’s think about it for a minute. I am not deadly against usage of such social networking sites as I myself am a user of these websites.

The point is that we should not be too much dependent on such sites. This dependence might lead to an ‘identity crisis’. Moreover, there’s much more to life than being always present online. The charm of being with your near and dear ones can never be replaced by any ‘dead’ website, no matter how popular it is! Why I say ‘dead’ is that the human touch is missing. But a large majority are still enjoying it…we have arrived in a new age!!!

The Hindu’s - Lit for Life

Hirco presents the first edition of The Hindu’s - Lit for Life, a three-day, two-city festival centred on the celebration of the second year of The Hindu Literary Prize. The festival takes off in New Delhi on September 25, 2011, at the India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road and continues on in Chennai on October 29 and 30, 2011, at the Hyatt Regency, 365 Anna Salai, Teynampet.

The Hindu's The Literary Review remains the only supplement in India devoted to books and literature brought out by a daily newspaper. The Hindu Literary Prize is a platform that stands proud and equal to the many other coveted literary awards of the world. Manu Joseph won the first Hindu Best Fiction Award 2010 for his book 'Serious Men'.

The Lit for Life conclave begins on September 25, 9 a.m. with a cheerful Sunday breakfast at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The first session talk’s food – Are You Really Going to Eat All That? – with Nikhil Chib, Manu Chandra, Jigyasa Giri and Esther David followed by Mukul Deva, Anuja Chauhan, Angela Saini speaking of the Popularity Factor. While Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra with Jai Arjun Singh share their opinion on New Wave Cinema, Rajeev Balasubramanyam, Indrajit Hazra, Rana Dasgupta and Aman Sethi discuss Realities: Fictional or Otherwise. Siddharth Varadharajan chairs a talk on Political Dynasties with Vasundhara Raje. Revolutions and New Beginnings with Mansoura ez Eldin and Ali al Muqri throws light on writings from the Middle East. A full-day workshop on children’s writing, Children of the Lamp, is being conducted by Anushka Ravishankar and Atanu Roy. A Life in Theatre, a discussion between Sanjna Kapoor and Mahesh Dattani, will be followed by a beautiful performance by Alarmel Valli. The Short List will be announced by Manu Joseph, the winner of The Hindu Literary Prize 2010, in New Delhi on September 25 at the end of the day long festival.

Some of the sessions for Chennai programme are, Just in the Neighbourhood with Mohammad Hanif, Tahmima Anam and Ziya Salam, Playing Fields - Shashi Tharoor, Mukul Kesavan and Rahul Bhattacharya in conversation, Tragedy Workshop: The Hardships of Writing with Zac O Yeah, Comic Timing - a performance by Vir Das. Is Writing a Healing is a panel discussion with Bama Faustina, P Sivakami, Susie Tharu and Siddharth Varadarajan, Translations Workshop with Arunava Sinha and Mini Krishnan, Zooming In with Shabana Azmi and Urvashi Butalia, Destination Detectives - a session on travel writing with Rahul Bhattacharya and Latha Anantraman, Vikram Seth in conversation with Nisha Susan and Nirmala Lakshman, announcement of The Hindu Literary Prize Award.

Siyahi, the creative consultant for Lit for Life, has been instrumental in infusing the conclave with the right ingredients for a rich and wide-ranging literary experience. As a literary agency, it represents over sixty authors. The organisation also develops book proposals, creative content/solutions, designing projects for book publicity, translations, programming and planning of literary festivals, events and workshops. They are the pioneers of literary consulting in India.

Entry is free for all sessions. Please register for workshops at info@siyahi.in

The event is presented by HIRCO and our Associate Sponsors are Shriram City, Sessions Sponsors - Mahindra Holidays, Scholastic, Penguin India, HarperCollins Publishers India, Om Book International, Travel Partner - Le Passage to India, Venue Partner - India Habitat Centre, Books Partner - Full Circle, Creative Consultant - Siyahi.

Chetan Bhagat's latest novel

All those who loved to read 'Five Point Someone', 'One Night at a Call Centre', 'The Three Mistakes of my Life', and '2 States', now get ready for Chetan Bhagat's latest one 'Revolution 2020' that will be released on 8 October, 2011.

'Revolution 2020' is a book about threesome Gopal, Raghav and Aarti, who had been friends since childhood. The novel discusses their conquest for love, fame and success. The author Chetan Bhagat has created a contrast of sorts in two of them, Gopal and Raghav. Both of them are caught in the web of corrupt society but there is a difference in their approach. While Gopal is the one who gives in but Raghav decides to fight it to the last. Then there is Aarti, who waits for the person of her dreams to come into her life. She hopes of a blissful life once her dreams are fulfilled.

So you can look forward to witnessing a tale of three friends, who are trying and planning to convert their lives into success stories.