Politicians under 30 need representation in cabinets,: Shashi Tharoor

Chandra Prabhu | NT

Bengaluru: In a frank conversation on his literary work, with his sister Smita Tharoor at the Bangalore literature festival on Sunday, parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor had specifically pointed out the battle of belonging.

“The civic nationalism in the constitution is being challenged by ethnic nationalism in the current scenario,” Tharoor explained.

Responding to a 13 year old student’s question, Tharoor reiterated that the country has a lot of young people but their representation is minimal.

“There is a wide g ap between the average age of the population (28.2 years) and the average age in the parliament (58, as of 2021). The one which the audience were engrossed in, was Tharoor’s anecdotes of former secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan. An old Ghanaian proverb “When the shark bites, don’t bleed,” had a deep impact on his political career.

“When I got backlashed, I was determined, and continued what I did in standing up for issues,” he recalled.

This was with reference to the book “Aphorisms,” published during the pandemic. Later, the siblings reminisced on their memories from their childhood. Smita recalled how her brother was a vivid storyteller.

‘Shash’ as she likes to call him, took her to ‘another world’ by his imagination and his knack of narrating a story.

The audience, who thronged the lawn area, had received advice to write from an eminent writer like Tharoor.

“Writing can only be improved from writing,” he advised aspiring writers in the gathering. He also stressed on how he pictures the audience while writing a novel.

“I think of Indians like me who come from cities and are well versed in English. If you have a story worth telling, then that audience will broaden beyond borders,” he added.

The 12th edition of the Bangalore Literature Festival concluded here, on Sunday as more than 30,000 gathered at The Lalit Ashok to witness the likes of Ramachandra Guha, Sudha Murthy, Abraham Verghese, Sagarika Ghose, Perumal Murugan, Anand Neelakantan, Vivek Shanbag, SN Sridhar and Chandrashekara Kambara and 300 others offer their insights into their acclaimed works.

The festival's bookstore offered authors' signed copies and engaging fan interactions.

This year, sustainable collaboration with Personal2Public provided a free shuttle service from the venue to the metro station, enhancing convenience for attendees and promoting eco-friendly practices.