Jakarta - Drawing on the Balinese Hindu philosophy of Tri Hita Karana (Three Sources of Happiness) as this year`s theme, the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival is addressing the issues of spiritualism, humanity and environment.
Festival director Janet DeNeefe was in Jakarta on Tuesday to talk to the press about the fifth festival, which will take place in the hilly region of Ubud, Bali, from Oct. 14 to Oct. 19.
Accompanying her were internationally acclaimed writer Vikram Seth, up-and-coming Indonesian novelist Andrea Hirata and short story writer Reda Gaudiamo, who will all take part in the festival.
"We chose Tri Hita Karana in honor of our host, Bali. We chose it because of the environmental emphasis as well as the humanitarian side and the relationships between them," DeNeefe said.
"I remember my husband told me many years ago that the most important relationships we have in life are between god, humanity and nature. I think now is the right time to use that."
In Balinese wisdom, the sources of happiness are harmonious relationships with the gods, other human beings and the environment and other creatures.
Seth, who won the prestigious WH Smith Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize for his 1993 epic 1,400-page novel A Suitable Boy, said writers should take the environment into consideration before writing a novel.
"Always ask yourself when you`re writing `Is it worth killing trees?`. If it`s not, don`t write it," he said.
At the festival, Seth will be talking about his book A Suitable Boy, which tells the story of four families in post-independence India as a mother searches for a suitable boy to marry her daughter. The novel examines Indian national politics and intersectarian animosity.
He will also talk about his 1983 travel book From Heaven Lake: Travels through Sinkiang and Tibet, which won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award.
More than 100 international writers and 25 Indonesian writers will be in Ubud for the festival, which is expected to attract hundreds of literati from all over the world.
DeNeefe said that in addition to local visitors from Indonesia, about 300 to 500 Australians were expected to join the event along with visitors from Malaysia, Hong Kong and China.
The schedule for the six-day festival will be packed with workshops, panel discussions, performance poetry, book launches and readings in the day and parties at night. The festival also provides workshops for children.
A forum called "Sacred Forests: Conservation Challenges in 21st Century Indonesia" will look at environmental conservation issues in Indonesia. A debate on the controversial anti-pornography bill is also scheduled as part of the festival.
Andrea Hirata, whose book on rural children`s dream of education Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Warriors) received rave reviews and has been adapted into a movie of the same title, will be sharing the stage with East Timorese author Naldo Rei, author of Resistance: A Childhood Fighting for East Timor, in a session called "The Resilience of Children".
In the "Inside the Sex Trade" session, author of the controversial book The Wisdom of Whores, Elizabeth Pisani, and Invisible Trade: High-Class Sex for sale in Singapore author Gerrie Lim will discuss the sex trade in Asia and its human costs.
A session called "New South East Asian Writing" will shed light on literature from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
DeNeefe said one of the festival`s goals was to introduce Indonesian literature to the world.
"The rest of the world doesn`t know much about Indonesian writers," she said. "We hope to make a change." Prodita Sabarini
Source: http://old.thejakartapost.com (October 17, 2008)