Living And Loving In A Burning World

The sky was bright blue, the sun blazing as if summer had curtly shooed winter away. Jaipur was unseasonably warm for January-February, making it tough for the crowd thronging Hotel Clarks Amer—the venue of the 18th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival—to think of global warming and the climate emergency as distant realities. The poets onstage at a packed session at the open-air Baithak mused, in verse, about love in the time of climate change. Cultural theorist and poet Ranjit Hoskote read out a couple of poems from his collection, Icelight, reminding the audience about the deep bond between nature and humans—now threatened by the blinkered march of progress and human greed. “Nature is a pressing political question today,” he said and was quick to add, “Writing about nature has always been political. The overarching theme of Kalidas’ Meghdoot✅ is exile. The Romantics like Wordsworth and Shelley, whose poems were seeped in nature imagery, were writing under the sinister signs of industrialisation and displacement.” 

Poet and diplomat Abhay K. shared his Earth Anthem, a song “for humans and all the other species on this beautiful planet we call home”. He also read out a poem dedicated to the many species in picturesque Seychelles that had gone extinct. His lines memorialised them, hoping that words would be “a way to bring them back to life”. Sudeep Sen, author of the collection Anthropocene: Climate Change, Contagion, Consolation, called his poems “a prayer, a plea” to humanity to slow down and save ourselves and the Earth, from this existential crisis. If we don’t, his poems warned, the future would be flooded, leaving us searching for “an elusive compass”. In Hindi academic and poet Shubham Shyam’s 'Kitni Duniya Dekhi Hai?’ two generations hold a witty and heartfelt poetic dialogue about climate change. The grandmother and grandson talk of untimely rain and drought, of rivers dying, crops destroyed, a world changing beyond recognition. They trade barbs about who understands the changing world better, who knows the art of living best. The audience at the Baithak were generous with applause when Shyam shared the lyrical intergenerational perspectives. In poet and activist Priya Malik’s ‘Agar Tum Saath Ho’✨ lovers swear that their love will remain unchanged despite the storms. No matter how hard it rains or snows, no matter how many fires rage, love will be nurtured and protected just as the Earth should be.

When poets speak, can researchers, scientists and writers stay silent? Of course not. American-Canadian writer and journalist John Vaillant sent out a timely wakeup call from the festival stage. Vaillant’s new book Fire Weather, ♊a deeply reported account of a catastrophic urban wildfire in Canada, takes a close look at our future on a planet that is heating up every year. His dispatches from the frontlines of climate change reporting are both educative and terrifying. He shared with the audience some of the reasons for why the world’s forests have become more flammable, why wildfires are becoming more and more common, and how fires have destroyed the “myth of human exceptionalism” by showing us how fragile our existence on the planet is. We are entering a “new fire regime”, Vaillant warned, and climate disasters are uprooting many communities, causing mass migrations 

When Sunil Amrith, author of the astonishing environmental history of the world, The Burning Earth, ൩and Vaillant held a joint session, they delved into the history of colonialism, resource exploitation and conflict that have shaped the present moment. Amrith spoke about rising inequality, the historical forces responsible for it, and the misguided human attempts to subjugate nature and keep exploiting the natural world. The message from both writers was loud and clear: global collaboration and proactive action to tackle the climate crisis are critical. Without building solidarities to deal with this emergency, humanity is lost.  

The Bishnois, one of “the world’s first eco-warriors” have many lessons to offer on community-based efforts to protect the environment. “Their way of living is based on respect for all life forms,” said Martin Goodman, author of the book My Head for a Treeꦦ, an intimate history of Rajasthan’s nature-loving community. Before starting work on his book, Goodman spent time with the Bishnois, observing their customs, rituals and day-to-day life. Many Bishnoi men and women have sacrificed their lives to protect forests and save wildlife from poaching. They are regarded as role models by the Bishnois. Goodman was impressed to see people leading ordinary lives go the extra mile to contribute to conservation efforts. “They abhor cruelty to other life forms,” Goodman said. “Valuing nature and shedding notions of human superiority—the Bishnois excel at both.” Instead of being bogged down by climate change anxiety, they are taking action, and doing their best to lead sustainable lives in harmony with nature.

In a world riddled by the climate crisis and conflict, can solidarities survive? “We are living in a very dangerous moment,” said Ukranian journalist Yaroslav Trofimov, author of Faith at War, No Country for Love and Our Enemies Will Vanish. "Authoritarian leaders are using extreme rhetoric to polarise. Many wars are going on--for instance, Russia-Ukraine, the Israel-Palestine conflict. There is an unravelling of the world order and it seems like might is right now...In the USA, Donald Trump is back in power, but he is on his honeymoon. I think it's unlikely that he will get his way because there are checks and balances." Booker-winning writer Geetanjali Shree, whose 1998 Hindi novel Our City That Year was recently ♋published in English (trans. Daisy Rockwell), finds it worrying that the world is becoming an insecure place teeming with mutual suspicions and rigid identity politics. "Why is identity politics and othering being paraded as sources of security? Why are voters being mesmerised by the dreams handed out by rightwing leaders?" Shree asked. 

Language, which is meant to help us understand each other better, is being used by many politicians to create divisions. Jenny Erpenbeck, author of the Booker-winning novel Kairos, ꦉa love story set against the backdrop of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of East Germany, dreams of a world in which language is no longer a border. "Languages should enhance our understanding of each other, not limit it," said Erpenbeck, who is grateful to literary translators who work hard to build bridges across cultures. Trofimov, who frequently reports from conflict zones as a foreign correspondent, thinks that there are some hopeful signs amidst the gloom. "In Syria, people have lived through decades of sectarian violence and they've had enough," he said. "History teaches us that there are limits to authoritarianism. So I remain optimistic." Despite overwhelming odds, love and solidarities will find a way to make it through the dark times. "If you don't love, what's the point of living?" asked Trofimov.