Narratives Under the Weight of Power

Gopilal Acharya, Uzma Falak, and Nayan Raj Pandey, moderated by Alaka Chudal

This reading and discussion features three authors whose works explore how political and social forces shape everyday life, particularly in contexts where certain communities face discrimination and exclusion.

Nayan Raj Pandey’s realistic novels and short stories depict lives marked by poverty and political neglect; Gopilal Acharya draws on journalism, essays, fiction, and folklore to write about Bhutanese society, its cultural transformations, and the tension between official narratives and lived reality; Uzma Falak’s poetry, essays, and films are rooted in Kashmir, where she explores memory, resistance, loss, and the consequences of militarization.

Drawing on the diverse experiences and approaches of these authors—each of whom will read from their works—the conversation explores what's happening when official narratives about nation, development, and progress contradict—or even override—the way people perceive and experience their homes in Kashmir, Bhutan, and the border regions of Nepal. How can fiction, poetry, and folklore create space for accounts of occupation, marginalization, and cultural change that would otherwise be overlooked or silenced?

In English with simultaneous German translation

Free admission