A homage to late writer, poet and filmmaker Dilip Chitre is scheduled at Prithvi Theatre, this Sunday

A homage to late writer, poet and filmmaker Dilip Chitre is scheduled at Prithvi Theatre, this Sunday

"If you crave for a discussion of your life's work by your contemporaries, try dying." Bilingual writer, poet, filmmaker and painter Dilip Chitre might not have known how prophetic his words (written as an editorial on Arun Kolatkar in New Quest) would turn out to be. He went on to say, "When an author dies, the eulogies and the paeans that pour seemingly out of nowhere make one wonder why even a small fraction of all that recognition was not forthcoming when he/she was precariously and mortally present among those posthumous admirers."

And the eulogies are bound to pour out at Remembering Dilip Chitre, a day-long event scheduled at Prithvi Theatre, but the admirers won't be posthumous.

Organised by Prithvi Theatre and Max Mueller Bhavan in collaboration with Sahitya Akademi and Forbes Gujarati Sabha, the event will feature an exhibition of Dilip's drawings, watercolours and paintings at the Prithvi Art Gallery, while a sale of his books will be on at the Prithvi Foyer from 10.30 am onwards. Between 11 am and 1.30 pm, Prithvi Theatre will see an inauguration of his Marathi essay, Kavi Kaay Kam Karto in Gujarati and English.

A special issue of Khel magazine,u00a0 which tracks the life and work of Dilip Chitre, will be released. "It's our way of remembering a friend and poet. Which is why we have invited a lot of his writer friends but they aren't speaking about him and will let his poetry speak," says Prabodh Parikh, event co-ordinator.

This will be followed by a reading session of his English and Marathi poems and translations. The English readings will feature Adil Jussawalla, Ranjit Hoskote, Jerry Pinto, Arundhati Subramaniam and Abhay Sardesai, while Sanjeev Khandekar, Hemant Divate, Mangesh Narayan Rao Kale, Meenakshi Patil and Atul Dodia will read the Marathi poems.

A year after Kolatkar's death, Dilip wondered aloud in his editorial: "Is there something very Indian about this mournful celebration?" Indian or not, Parikh insists "it is a celebration of poetry". Almost as if to affirm that he may have left "like a word dropped from a long sentence," but not without altering its meaning.

Why they miss him
Sampurna Chattarji, writer, poet and translator
I could rarely separate Dilip's poetry from Dilip himself. In both, I sensed humaneness, humour, an encompassing energy and intelligence. His robust bilingualism was an asset. Not just in his own poetry, which he wrote in both languages, but even his translations from Marathi to English of Namdeo Dhasal's work made the raw power of Dhasal's poetry available to the English-speaking world.

Jerry Pinto, Writer, poet and journalist
He pursued his vocation with ferocious intensity. This also shows up in his poems. I did
not know him well, but I remember him at the Sahitya Akademi reading in Pune, two years ago, lashing out at Right Wing organisations that limit freedom of speech.

Abhay Sardesai, Editor of ART India, translator and writer
At times egoistic and high-handed, and at times approachable and honest, he was almost always, critical and fearless. Dilip Chitre was a complex role model. As a bilingual poet, he showed how crucial it was to translate, and as a translator he showed how classical voices could be successfully contemporised. He put Sant Tukaram in trousers, and made Dnyaneshwar available to a new urban audience.

Ranjit Hoskote, poet and art critic
Dilip had an immense appetite for cultural experiences and expressions. As a poet he was truly experimental. He had true respect for the sacred, which is what made him such a secular voice. Someone who is truly committed to religion would reject religious fanaticism.