Multilingual Identities in Francophone Indian Literature: Ari Gautier in Conversation

Currently based in Oslo, Ari Gautier spent his childhood in former French colony Pondichéry, India. He is the author of Carnet Secret de Lakshmi and Le Thinnai, two novels which creatively intersperse Tamil, Hindi, Créole and English with French, reflecting the multilingual identities of those living in Pondichéry. His works give an insight into the impact of the French rule on the lives of Pondichéry citizens, their constantly vacillating identities, the multicultural aspect of the city, the Indian caste system, and the history of Pondichéry.

At this event, Ari Gautier’s novels and various aspects of multilingual and postcolonial literature and translation will be discussed with the author, Professor Jane Hiddleston (Exeter College, Oxford), Professor Blake Smith (Chicago University) and Sheela Mahadevan.

All welcome.