Renowned writer Amitav Ghosh to present 'World Premiere Reading' at Imphal
Date : February 6, 2015

Amitav Ghosh by David Shankbone" by David Shankbone - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -
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Internationally renowned writer Amitav Ghosh will present a 'World Premiere Reading' of his forthcoming book Flood of Fire at the 3rd M.K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture at Maharaja Chandrakirti Auditorium, Palace Gate, Imphal on February 6, 2015 at 2:00 PM. The 3rd edition of the Memorial Lecture is being organised on the ocassion of the 93rd Birth Anniversary of the late Maharaja Kumari Binodini Devi, the youngest daughter of Maharaja Churachand Singh, the erstwhile king of Manipur.

The programme is jointly presented by Imasi: The Maharaj Kumari Binodini Devi Foundation and the Department of Art and Culture, Government of Manipur. There will be a discussion session with the renowned writer after the premiere reading.

Chief Minister of Manipur Shri O. Ibobi Singh who will be the Chief Guest of the function will also release a book titled The Maharaja's Household: A Daughter's Memories of Her Father, the English translation of M.K. Binodini Devi's Churachand Maharajgi Imung after the discussion session. The book which is a collection of memoir essays is translated by L. Somi Roy and published by Zubaan Books, New Delhi.

The book provides a unique and intimate view of life in the erstwhile royal household of Manipur in northeast India and is an important addition to the untold histories of the British Raj, by painting a portrait of the household of a king that only a princess – his daughter – could have written. The book was recently presented and discussed at the 8th Zee Jaipur Literature Festival, 2015.

Padma Shri and Sahitya Akademi Award winning writer Amitav Ghosh is the internationally bestselling author of Sea of Poppies (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize) and River of Smoke, the first two novels in the Ibis Trilogy, of which Flood of Fire is the final installment. The book will be released on May 28, 2015 in the UK by John Murray Publishers, and also by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on August 4, 2015.The Ibis Trilogy, set during the Opium War, has been acclaimed “as a monumental tribute to the pain and glory of an earlier era of globalization”(Washington Post).

The event will close with the Manipur premiere of Anjika's Black Swan: The Chosen One, directed and choreographed by world famous dancer and Sangeet Natak Award winner Priti Patel.

Black Swan: The Chosen One is Priti Patel's tribute to MK Binodini Devi, the Founder Patron of Anjika Dance Company in Kolkata. The production, choreographed and directed by Smt. Patel, Sangeet Natak Award winner for Manipuri Dance 2013, premiered at Kala Mandir, in Kolkata in 2007. It is being presented in Imphal on the occasion of the Manipuri Dance company's 20th anniversary in 2015.

Imasi: The Maharaj Kumari Binodini Devi Foundation is a trust established in 2010 to preserve, protect, promote and develop the artistic, intellectual and cultural legacy of M.K. Binodini Devi. It recognizes that the literary and artistic legacy of M. K. Binodini Devi is an integral and important part of the cultural legacy of Manipur.

The objective of the Imasi Foundation is to support and develop initiatives in Manipur's culture and heritage: its history, literature, performing arts, film, crafts, religion, women, youth, environment, and internationalism.

Kishan Longjam
Media Co-ordinator
(3rd M.K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture)