Pablo Ganguli

Infobox Writer
name = Pablo Ganguli


imagesize = 200px
caption = Pablo Ganguli
pseudonym =
birthdate = birth date and age|1983|11|23
birthplace = Kolkata, India
occupation = Impresario

Pablo Ganguli (b. November 23, 1983) is a young cultural entrepreneur who has created and directed several international festivals of arts, literature, media and culture, through his organisation [http://www.liberatum.org Liberatum.] Ganguli's Guardian Profile, [http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/pablo_ganguli/profile.html Comment is free] ]

Ganguli promotes the face of contemporary Britain globally through numerous projects and events. His organisation's aim is to connect Britain's finest minds with the rest of the world. Liberatum also promotes environmental, human rights, freedom of speech and other important issues.

Personal life

India

Ganguli was born in Kolkata, India,reportedly the son of an art historian. Some sources state that one of his great-grandfathers was the private secretary to Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali poet who was Asia's first Nobel laureate.David Robinson, [http://living.scotsman.com/books.cfm?id=293702007 "Ariel perspectives"] , "The Scotsman", February 24, 2007]

In 2000, Ganguli met Simon Scaddan, then British Deputy High Commissioner to Eastern India, at a musical soiree in the French Consulate in Calcutta. When Scaddan became British High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea in 2001, Ganguli moved into his diplomatic residence as his official consort/partner. The relationship became public in 2003.Caroline Philips, [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4153/is_20060824/ai_n16700982 'The boy who beguiled London's literary luvvies'] , "Evening Standard" (London), August 24, 2006] [Paul Gould, [http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto090120061146285852 'Diplomatic impunity'] , "Financial Times", September 1, 2006]

United Kingdom

In August 2006 it was reported that the Ganguli and Scaddan had split, although remaining friends, and that Ganguli was living in Scaddan's Edinburgh apartment. In 2007, it was reported that Ganguli was living in Wales. David Robinson, [http://living.scotsman.com/books.cfm?id=293702007 "Ariel perspectives"] , "The Scotsman", February 24, 2007]

Career

In August 2006, a columnist in the "Evening Standard" of London noted that Ganguli had made 'the remarkable journey from a student studying French in Calcutta to, seemingly, one of the world's leading literary salonistas in just three years'.

Ganguli was named a runner up at the inaugural 'Esquire Man at the Top Awards' under the category 'Young Entrepreneur of the Year'.

Media comments

Pablo, in fact only 22, is like Ariel in The Tempest, a creature who moves imperceptibly between boundaries, appears and disappears, magicks, sulks and shimmies, infuriates and intoxicates. The shape-shifter wears sequinned gowns and knitted hats, holds you with his green-lensed eyes. - "The Independent " - April 17, 2006

The promoter of the whole thing rejoices in the name of Pablo Ganguli. I had imagined a bearded fiftysomething professor of Anglo-Arabic literature. Pablo, who has the flamboyant look of an angel in a renaissance Annunciation, is 21 years old. - "The Daily Telegraph" - October 03, 2005

Ganguli had made the remarkable journey from a student studying French in Calcutta to, seemingly, one of the world's leading literary salonistas in just three years. - "Evening Standard" - August 24, 2006

The 22-year-old Indian-born cultural impresario has broadened our horizons by organising festivals in Papua New Guinea, Morocco and Delhi, getting the great and the good to attend. - "Observer Magazine (The Observer)" - February 18, 2007

But authors, MPs, holy men and Hollywood or even Bollywood aside, the most noticable figure, in the end, was the festival founder Pablo Ganguli. At the age of 22, with the face of a young Elizabeth Taylor and the mascara and make-up to match, this unlikely literary powerhouse had managed to dream up and then pull off such a successful festival.- "The Times" - April 15, 2006

The latest brainchild of the young literary impresario Pablo Ganguli, whose ambitious festival-making has so far encompassed events in Morocco, Delhi and Papua New Guinea (with plans afoot for Jordan, Turkey and Malta), this should be an especially interesting event in the context of the current intellectual climate in Russia, where freedom of speech is increasingly becoming an issue. - "Financial Times" - August 30, 2007

Papua New Guinea

In 2002, Ganguli created Connect UK, a Papua New Guinea based organisation, whose stated purpose was to forge cultural ties between the South Pacific and Britain. In November 2002, the British High Commission and Connect UK jointly put on the first 'British Week' in that country, 'a celebration of British arts, culture, design, education and science and technology'. [ [http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1026490772427 'UK Embassies Overseas: British Week, Papua New Guinea'] , British Foreign Office] Festival participants included Janet Street-Porter and Benjamin Zephaniah.

Ganguli directed the first Women's Rights Conference in Papua New Guinea supported by the PNG, Australian, US and British governments. Baroness Valerie Amos, the then British Secretary of State for International Development sent a message of good wishes for the conference. [http://www.liberatum.org/papua_content.htm 'Connect UK, Papua New Guinea'] , Liberatum Papua New Guinea ] The British Council and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office supported the work of Ganguli in Papua New Guinea. Connect UK organised events promoting human rights, youth issues and Aids awareness projects.

The cultural programme of Connect UK consisted of piano recitals by Peter Donohoe, mime events by a British artist, science exhibitions designed by the British Council and international film festivals. Ganguli directed three annual international film festivals in different parts of the country. Ganguli directed the first Britain-South Pacific Museum management project. The two UK experts who visited the region to conduct the courses were from the Victoria and Albert Museum and City University.

Morocco

Between 2003 and 2006, Ganguli spent part of his time in Morocco. [Laurie Werner, [http://www.forbes.com/fyi/2005/1212/045.html 'Travel'] , "Forbes" magazine, December 12, 2005] [Tim Bullamore, [http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,19969-2251146.html 'Making a home in Marrakesh'] , "Times Online", June 30, 2006] Ganguli was head of public relations and events at Kasbah Agafay and Kssour Agafay, [http://www.kssouragafay.com/contact.htm] a private member's club and luxury hotel in Marrakech. [http://www.kssouragafay.com/index.htm]

Britain and Festivals by Ganguli

Beginning in 2005, Ganguli started creating and directing festivals in different parts of the world. Ganguli is based in Britain.

North Africa

Arts in Marrakech

The Arts in Marrakech International Festival, a festival of English and Arabic art and literature, was held in Morocco from September 29 to October 3,2005, [http://www.kssouragafay.com/pdf/AiM%20Press%20Release.pdf] and was proceeded by Scottish Week Marrakesh, September 21-28, also organized by Ganguli. [Tim Bullamore, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/services/avantgo/article/0,,1765267,00.html 'Bagpipers facing a battle to be heard'] , "Times (UK)"] The festival included two art exhibitions, one of Moroccan art and one of contemporary British art, under the aegis of Vanessa Branson, sister of tycoon Richard Branson; interviews; readings; and panel discussions on Anglo-Arabic literature.

Those participating included singer Annie Lennox, sculptor Antony Gormley, author Hari Kunzru, writer Deborah Moggach, playwright Hanif Kureishi, artistic director Ekow Eshun and novelist Esther Freud.Sam Leith, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2005/10/03/do0305.xml 'The king of Morocco and his carpet magic'] , "Telegraph" (UK), October 3, 2005] [http://www.kssouragafay.com/pdf/AiM%20Literary%20Participants.pdf] Other guests included Saadi Youssef and Richard Branson. [Catherine Lockerbie, [http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/s2.cfm?id=2068852005 'Voyage of artistic discovery beneath the sheltering sky'] , "The Scotsman", October 11, 2005] .

Asia

Kitab New Delhi

[http://www.kitabfest.org Kitab] , sponsored by the "Hindustan Times," with "The Times" (UK) as its English media partner, was held at the India Habitat Centre in south Delhi, India, [Boyd Tonkin, [http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/features/article357548.ece 'A Week in Books'] , "The Independent (UK)", April 14, 2006] April 7-9, 2006.Subuhi Jiwani, [http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1019841 'Literary festival gets a novel spin'] , "Daily News and Analysis, India", March 24, 2006] It was India’s first international literary festival.Geordie Grieg, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-2133343,00.html 'Giggles and some Goldie philosophy'] , "Times" (UK), April 15, 2006] Speakers included actress Goldie Hawn, member of the British Parliament Clare Short, historian William Dalrymple,, writer Nadeem Aslam, UN Under-Secretary General Shashi Tharoor, [http://jaiarjun.blogspot.com/2006/04/kitab-fest-quick-notes.html] and journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. [Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, [http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/yasmin_alibhai_brown/article358243.ece 'The snobbery and intellectual passion that is India'] , "The Independent", April 17, 2006]

The festival programme consisted of discussions on subjects such as Globalisation, the writer and the nation; Women's writing: what is it and do women want it?; Media Culpa: Does the media fail literature in the UK and India? Debates, book readings, Q&A sessions and lectures were also held. The most entertaining debate was on the subject 'Humanity, fallibility and truth in contemporary politics' Vir Sanghvi chaired the debate with Clare Short, Rory Stewart and Shashi Tharoor.

Kitab Mumbai

The second Kitab was held in Mumbai, India, February 23-36, 2007. [http://www.kitabfest.org/aboutus.htm] [Farrukh Dhondy, [http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/SUNDAY_SPECIALS/Book_Mark/Confessions_of_a_festival_fly/articleshow/1343990.cms 'Confessions of a festival fly'] , Sunday Times (India), retrieved January 24, 2007] Ganguli said the festival was going to be 'Bollywood meets International Literature'. Participants included Shekhar Kapur, Philip Hensher, Jackie Kay, and Geoff Dyer. [http://www.kitabfest.org/participants.htm]

Several organizers of the festival said in February 2008 that Ganguli stilled owed them money, had provided them incorrect information, and had a bias for British participants rather than Indian ones. [Shreevatsa Nevatia, [http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?id=b0abb84d-67a9-4872-a62d-f4db2071ff2c&&Headline=Controversies+overshadow+literary+fest "Controversies overshadow Mumbai literary fest"] , "Hindustan Times", February 21, 2008] [Shloka Nath, [http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080041939 "Mumbai literary fest: Kitab opens an ugly chapter"] , NDTV.com, February 21, 2008] Ganguli denied all accusations, saying that the local organizers were supposed to raise money from sponsors, but didn't, and that they had invited Indian authors from outside Mumbai, against Ganguli's wishes, despite there being no funds for their expenses.

Kitab Mumbai 2008

The third Kitab was again held in Mumbai, from 22-24 February 2008. Guests were to include M.J. Hyland, Indra Sinha, Sarfraz Manzoor, Christine Jordis, Sonia Faleiro, Dilip Chitre, Robert Graham Irwin and Matthew d'Ancona. Some of the bigger names — like Salman Rushdie — were missing from the list. Ganguli said before the festival began that "I think audiences want to encounter niche names. Last year we had over 100 personalities from various cultural domains and this time there are just 30. But we are sure the festival is going to be as enlightening as ever." [Divya Unny, [http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1150118 "A literary homecoming"] , "Daily News & Analysis", February 10, 2008]

Twelve high-profile authors, including Amit Chaudhuri, the president of the 2007 Kitab, signed a letter in support of the protests regarding the 2007 festival, and most authors scheduled to speak at the 2008 Kitab chose not to do so, including virtually every Indian author. Sponsors who withdrew at the last minute including media partners the Times (UK) and Vogue India. "I don't know what will happen next year," said Ganguli.Kavitha Rao, [http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2259830,00.html "Mumbai book festival ends amid multiple recriminations"] , "Guardian" (UK), February 25, 2008]

Arab World

Majestic Petra

The Majestic Petra Festival was originally scheduled to be held in December 2006 in Petra, Jordan. Ganguli postponed the festival in October, citing 'security concerns'. [Oliver Marre, [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/7days/story/0,,1922721,00.html 'Looks like no Rania on their literary parade'] , "The Guardian (UK)", October 15, 2006] In mid-December 2006 it was reported that the festival's location had changed to Dubai. [Oliver Duff, [http://news.independent.co.uk/people/pandora/article2073007.ece ' Festival moves to save Amis and Greer from al-Qa'ida'] , "The Independent (UK)", December 14, 2006] But the festival is now rescheduled to be held in Jordan in June 2008; Ganguli is working on organizing another British-Arab International festival in Dubai called the BAI Dubai International Arts and Literary Festival.

Among the numerous confirmed speakers for the Petra festival are authors Hanan al-Shaykh, Martin Amis, VS Naipaul, Vikram Seth and Mariella Frostrup. [http://www.liberatum.org/petra.htm]

Russia

Jewel of Russia

An international festival of arts, literature and music [James Collard, 'Culture Clubber', "Saturday Times Magazine" ("Saturday Times" Newspaper), October 28, 2006, pages 52-54] called "Jewel of Russia" was held in St Petersburg from October 27-31, 2007. As of February 2007, Ganguli was hoping to stage talks, readings and discussions. Confirmed guests, according to the programme on the Liberatum website, included Edward Docx, Orlando Figes, Alex James, Jasper Conran, Mikhail Piotrovsky, Norman Rosenthal, Stephen Frears and Lyudmila Ulitskaya. Participants of the Jewel of Russia festival discussed, debated and reflected upon subjects relating to arts, media, fashion, music, literature and freedom of speech. [ [http://www.wallpaper.com/art/jewel-of-russia/1631 "Jewel of Russia"] , "Wallpaper" magazine, August 6, 2007 ] The broadcaster Jon Snow also took part in the programme. One of the festival venues was the Hermitage Museum. [ [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/bdd5b26e-564e-11dc-ab9c-0000779fd2ac.html "Literary festivals around the world"] ,"Financial Times", August 29, 2007 ]

Lufthansa was the title sponsor of the festival, therefore the name of the festival was Lufthansa Jewel of Russia. The music programme of the festival was directed by Alexander Zeldin. Opera and concerts were performed at the Mariinsky Theatre. Thomas Ades, Valery Gergiev and Peter Donohoe conducted and performed.

Future festivals

A British-Turkish cultural festival in 2008 in Istanbul, called "Rosewater", is also being planned, [http://www.counterpoint-online.org/cgi-site/whoswho.cgi?action=detail&id=82&authorid=155] , as is a fourth Kitab in Kolkata, India, in 2008.Jai Arjun Singh, [http://www.business-standard.com/lifeleisure/storypage.php?leftnm=5&subLeft=3&chklogin=N&autono=274271&tab=r 'I don`t mind being called an impresario', Q&A: Pablo Ganguli] , "Business Standard", February 11, 2007]

According to the Liberatum website, Ganguli's forthcoming festivals include Mexico City, Moscow, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Venice and Kuwait. In August 2008, Ganguli said that the festival planned for Moscow in October 2008 probably would have to be postponed. [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/my-week-in-media-pablo-ganguli-907629.html "My week in Media: Pablo Ganguli"] , "The Independent", 25 August 2008]

References

Further reading

* [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,,2012248,00.html Ganguli's 'Rising Star' profile in the Observer Magazine]
* [http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/features/article2339511.ece Boyd Tonkin on Kitab 2]
* [http://www.counterpoint-online.org/cgi-site/whoswho.cgi?action=detail&id=82&authorid=155 Ganguli's profile on British Council Counterpoint website]
* [http://connectunitedkingdom.tripod.com/ Connect UK in Papua New Guinea]
* [http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20030123/news08.htm Post Courier article on Ganguli]
* [http://news.independent.co.uk/people/pandora/article2165433.ece Independent's Pandora on Kitab]
* [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/poetry/article1461703.ece Nirpal Dhaliwal on Kitab 2]
* [http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/features/article317654.ece Boyd Tonkin on Ganguli's Marrakech Festival]
* [http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists/dylan_jones/article2347992.ece Dylan Jones on Kitab 2]
* [http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/arts/samleith/feb07/kitab.htm Sam Leith's Blog on Mumbai and Kitab 2]
* [http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/02/making_hay_in_mumbai.html Guardian blog on Kitab 2]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/02/26/do2604.xml Sam Leith on Kitab 2]
* [http://www.kssouragafay.com/aim.htm Arts in Marrakech Festival]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2089859,00.html Jewel of Russia mentioned in the Guardian]
* [http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/columnists/313896/in-dostoevsky-time-you-worry-about-stuff-like-heavy-swing-doors-and-britishness.thtml The Spectator article on Jewel of Russia]
* [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c9458e62-89b1-11dc-8dff-0000779fd2ac.html Jon Snow's Financial Times article on Jewel of Russia]
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2766835.ece The Times article on Jewel of Russia]
* [http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/the-week/540251/diary.thtml The Spectator Diary on Kitab 2008]

External links

* [http://www.liberatum.org Liberatum]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/pabloganguli Ganguli's profile page on the Guardian website]
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pablo-ganguli Ganguli's Huffington Post profile]