Date: 11th May 2024

Time: 1:30 pm GMT/ 7 pm IST

Our last three sessions have discussed climate change fiction’s speculative capacities, examined imaginative responses to the alienation between humans and nature through these areas of speculative fiction, and discussed the anthology Ecoceanic: Southern Flows in this context.

In this session, Ashish Kothari of Kalpavriksh and the Global Tapestry of Alternatives will be conversing with Amitav Ghosh, celebrated author, about issues such as:

• What is the range and scope of climate fiction from and on South Asia?
• What is its potential for influencing actual action on the climate crisis?
• In the writing of books like The Hungry Tide and Gun Island, what were your main motivations - stimulating and entertaining readers, getting them to think about climate, conservation, justice issues, or something altogether different?
• What are your thoughts on climate fiction such as 'Ministry for the Future'?

Amitav Ghosh: Born in Kolkata in 1956, Ghosh studied social anthropology at Oxford and divides his time between India and the United States. He has produced a vast body of work, made up of both historical novels and journalistic essays that carry the reader across continents and oceans. Each work is grounded in thorough archival research and succeeds in transcending boundaries and time periods with literary eloquence. Ghosh makes major themes such as migration, diaspora, and cultural identity tangible without ever losing sight of the human dimension.

Ashish Kothari: A founder-member of Indian environmental group Kalpavriksh. He has (co)authored or (co)edited over 30 books, and helps coordinate the Vikalp Sangam and Radical Ecological Democracy processes. He is also part of the Global Tapestry of Alternatives Facilitation team.