ARTS COVERAGE

Katie Price vs Animal Spice

BY GAZETTE ARTS EDITOR MRIGNAYANI MAHAMAHADHENU

During the judging of the 2007 Man Booker Prize, UK media carried stories that Crystal, a novel by Jordan, real name Katie Price, was outselling the entire Booker shortlist.

What Price a blockbuster? duly appeared in the UK's Observer newspaper, giving the secrets of creating a modern literary masterpiece. Mrignayani Mahamahadhenu put its points to street-kid Animal, narrator of Booker-shortlisted Animal's People. Here are his replies.

FASHION EXCLUSIVE

Nabanna interviews Booker shortlistee Animal

Fresh back from Fashion Week in Milan hobbing and nobbing with such as Calvin Klein and Chrisina Ricci, hanging out in Bice with Mrs Brown and her star buyer Albert Morris, Khaufpur Gazette Fashion Editor Nabanna Mistri ventured into the city's Nutcracker area to talk to street urchin Animal about his life, his story and his style. Interview here.

Street urchin turned storyteller Jaanvar aka Animal has returned to Khaufpur from adventures in Europe which took him to Edinburgh, London and the south of France.

'Edinburgh is a city made fully of stone,' he told the Gazette. 'Many people came to hear me talk, I was with Indra Sinha who's told them sorry for Animal's bad language, someone says Mr Sinha you are more shocked than we are, let him speak freely.

'I signed many books, one man bought 18. I asked did he have so many girlfriends. He says I am buying to sell on the internest. So I said listen this is a business we can do together. I sign, you sell, we share.'

Indira blames Gazette for names mix up

Jaanvar visited France and met up with ex khaufpur.net editor, socialite Indira Singh. 'Indira is too annoyed that she is always being confused with Indra Sinha. She says the confusion arose years back when she was editing khaufpur dot net and the Gazette is to blame. You did an article naming her as Indra and called her "he".

Everyone knows Indira is a woman's name but Indra is the name of a male god of bad reputation. He would get drunk on soma but Indira prefers champagne.'

Exclusive: Gazette interviews Indira Sinha 'I hope the bright light now being shone on the novel also illuminates the suffering of real people in Khaufpur' Exclusive interview with Indra Singh plus a comment from man-of-the-moment Animal.

Indira (left) with Holly

Controversial Khaufpur novel is longlisted for
the 2007 Man Booker Prize

Politicians in Khaufpur and Delhi are privately seething that the memoir "Animal's People", narrated by street kid Jaanvar, aka Animal, has been selected on the long list of the prestigious Man Booker prize.

The prize's previous winners include Salman Rushdie, Kiran Desai and Arundhati Roy, who has in the past given public support to the cause of the Khaufpuri survivors.

The Chief Minister's office has condemned the tome, penned on behalf of Animal by journalist Indira Singh (left), as "a filthy and vile poison, full of bad language and sexy frolics, which depicts Khaupuri politicians as cynical and corrupt personages".

Khaufpur police have been searching for Animal, but he has vanished from the city after leaving a statement saying that he was going away to the UK to attend the Edinburgh Festival.

Reports that Animal has after all been issued a passport were denied by the Chief Minister's secretariat, which told the Gazette, 'We have strongly recommended that the application be refused. We do not want such types going abroad to represent our city and our nation.'

Delight in the bastis

Among the survivors there is great rejoicing at the thought that more people overseas will now learn of their plight.

'I think Animal has legged it,' says basti dweller Chunaram Prasad, owner of the Paradise chai-shop in the city's notorious Nutcracker area.'I asked him how he planned to travel without a passport. He was laughing and boasting, 'I'll enter the UK on August 22, in a wooden crate disguised as a marble statue."'

See related items below.

Khaufpur street boy is invited to speak at UK's prestigious Edinburgh Festival, 2007

The Khaufpuri street urchin, Jaanvar, alias Animal, whose memoir "Animal's People" paints a grim picture of political chicanery and neglect of survivors in Khaufpur has been invited as a guest speaker to this year's Edinburgh Book Festival, the UK's premier literary event.

The reading, scheduled for August 25, is guaranteed to be controversial as politicians in Khaufpur have said they will prevent Animal travelling, denying him a passport if necessary.

Says Animal defiantly, "Who needs passport-shaasport? If necessary I shall go on foot."

Those wishing to attend kindly note the event is at 4:30 pm on August 25 at Charlotte Square Gardens, Edinburgh, UK.

See related items below.

Survivors lift a leg on 'Ratty' Dada

APRIL 13, 2007

Khaufpur survivors groups today took out a procession in the city against an attempt by Indian magnate 'Ratty' Dada, who heads the multi-billion Dadagiri salt, steel and tea empire, to free the Kampani of its undischarged Khaufpur liabilities.

The groups used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain private letters from the Kampani CEO to India's ambassador to the UN. The letters reveal that Dada is trying to broker a deal whereby the Kampani's liability for Khaufpur is dropped in return for a 300 crore investment in a new chemical complex to be jointly run between Dadagiri and the American Chemical Company.

The survivors groups juloos was headed by the statue of a dog which symbolically urinated on a sack containing Dada tea and salt packets. Shopkeepers came out to throw their stocks of Dadagiri products into the sack.

The dog statue was modelled on Jara, the dog belonging to the street urchin, Animal, whose life story, recently published in the UK, has created a storm of controversy in Khaufpur with state ministers calling for it to be banned.

At a press conference in Kolkata, an unapologetic Dada said, 'We need investment in this country, it is ridiculous to let a 20 year old grievance involving a handful of people continue to stand in the way of progress.

Khaufpur activist Nisha Punekar replied, "26,000 people is not a handful of people. Dada should first clear up the mess that his Dadagiri has created in Jamshedpur and other places all over India".

Controversial 'novel' kicks up political storm

Khaufpur March 13, 2007

Preview copies of 'Animal's People' have been circulating among the movers and shakers in the Mantralaya. Sources close to Chief Minister's office termed the tome, penned by journalist Indra Sinha as "a filthy and vile poison, full of bad language and sexy frolics" and informed that action would be forthcoming to ban it from sale in the state.

But Khaufpur survivors' organisations have stuck up for the memoir of the street kid, Jaanvar, known as Animal in the novelised story. "No political forum can go against it, and if it does, legal action may be initiated. Such a move is against the freedom of speech and expression and against the Constitution and democratic values. These kind of intimidatory tactics are used by Khaufpuri politicians out of timidity and intolerance because they realise the civil society's strength and support to the International Campaign for Justice in Khaufpur, especially of eminent persons."

Khaufpur survivors groups declare victory as state government accedes to demands

Khaufpur April 13, 2007

Following six weeks of dharna sit-in and two weeks of hunger strike at the "Tin shed" in the New Market area of Khaufpur, the Collector of Khaufpur has confirmed that the government will meet survivors leaders to implement their demands.

According to survivors' spokesperson Zafar Rahman, 'The politicians have now agreed to implement the Supreme Court order to provide clean water to those whose water is poisoned by chemicals leaking from the Kampani's abandoned and derelict factory.'

Responding to reports that the kampani may be sold off piecemeal in an attempt to dissipate the liability for Khaufpur, Rahman added that, 'Whoever acquires any part of the Kampani will also acquire the liabiity and will be pursued for as long as it takes to get justice.'