Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 9

Majha House hosted a web discussion with award-winning author and documentary filmmaker Annie Zaidi.

The talk was centred around Annie’s book ‘Prelude to a Riot'. Introducing the speakers and the session, Preeti Gill, founder, Majha House, said Annie Zaidi has many documentaries to her credit and they are all vivid pictures of society.

“She does not shy away from the grim realities and her films are both nuanced and layered. One gets to see a realistic picture of society through her eyes,” said Preeti.

Talking about the title of the book, Annie said: “Everyone gets to know what happens during a riot; we are made aware of the aftermath of the riot. But why does a riot take place? What causes people to take to streets? What causes riots? These were the questions that haunted me. I wanted to investigate why riots happen. Who instigates who? Hence the title, because the book is about the cause of riots rather than the effect,” she said.

She shared with the audience that the book is a fictional account of two families — one Hindu, the other Muslim — living in harmony in a small town in south India.

But their peace is threatened by looming religious intolerance, which finally bursts out in riots that destroys the delicate balance of respect and cooperation. “I am deeply influenced by theatre and could not resist bringing in the elements of theatre. That is why, in these pages you will find monologues and soliloquies, which bring to the fore what exactly is going on in the minds of the characters, what they are truly feeling,” Annie said.

According to her, politics — be it sexual or caste based, seeps into the framework of any book, “No society exists without politics but what is important to me is that there should be a realistic depiction of both society and politics that one is part of. And if there is fear prevalent in a society, it speaks volumes about the kind of government one has, the kind of politics that is being engineered to keep people divided and fighting on the basis of caste and religion,” she concluded.