Drinking wine leads to trouble for Vikram Seth
Rumor has it that Vikram Seth of A Suitable Boy fame, landed himself in a spot of trouble for drinking wine while on stage at the Jaipur Literature Festival this weekend. Local Hindi newspapers fumed at his "sinful" behaviour and misreported him as being drunk. "He should not drink alchol in front of an audience at a public function. It's disapproved of here," said Nikhil Gupta, a duvet seller in the bustling old market near Diggi Palace. Our opinion - its much ado about nothing. Literature and wine have a historic and symbiotic relationship lets not make it political.
Comments
It's so sad that a bunch of morons in Jaipur have decided to act as cultural cops. The literary fest in Jaipur has built up a decent reputation and is likely to become even more popular as time goes by. However, such cultural denouncements will not help this fest in any way. I have listened to Vikram Seth speak at literary festivals such as the Cheltenham Literary Festival and the Hay-on-Wye Festival. On both occasions, he had a glass of wine with him. Drink, he did. Drunk, he wasn't.
How right you are, Vinod. Sipping wine like this is the very essence of wine culture and wine lovers rarely drink to get drunk. It's just a civilised, urbane, social habit.
@Reva I suppose you also supported the idea of Sanjay Dutt hunting down a black buck. Its part of the 'hunting culture', isn't it. Vikram Seth might be able to write well but it does not mean he does not need to abide by the laws.
He was drinking in a public place and is hence punishable by law.
The morons in Jaipur seem to know more about the Indian Constitution than the 'literary genius' and Vinod.
@Author I so agree to Robert Louis Stevenson when he says 'Wine is bottled poetry' but one cannot be punished for drinking whiskey and the other let go for sipping wine.
Respect to the 'symbiotic relation' but once you are done with the fourth glass its advisable that you continue with writing the next morning.