Written by Karthika Nair and Sampurna Chattarji and illustrated by Roshini Vyam and Joëlle Jolivet, Over and Underground in Paris and Mumbai is a travelogue in poetry, illustrations and conversations across continents between Sampurna Chatterji from Mumbai and Karthika Nair from Paris.
Listen to Karthika Nair talk about the book and the inspiration behind it in this conversation with the Indian Cultural Forum.
The following are excerpts from the poems “Lines: Before and After (Shock)” and “Second-Class Compartment: Not for Ladies Only!”
Karthika Nair is the author of several books, including the award-winning Until the Lions: Echoes from the Mahabharata, and principal scriptwriter of choreographer Akram Khan's DESH. Also a dance enabler, Nair's closest association has been with Sidi Larbi Cheraoui and Damien Jalet as executive producer of their works like Babel (Words), Puz/zle and Les Médusés, and as co-founder of Cherkaoui's company, Eastman.Sampurna Chattarji's fifteen books include a short-story collection about Bombay/Mumbai, Dirty Love; a translation of Joy Goswami's Selected Poems; and six poetry titles, the most recent being Space Gulliver: Chronicles of an Alien. She is currently Poetry Editor of The Indian Quarterly.Joëlle Jolivet has illustrated numerous children's picture books, book covers and novels around the world including The Honey Hunter (Zubaan Books) and An Indian Beach: By Day and Night (Tara Books) in India.Roshini Vyam is an artist and textile designer. In 2015, she won the Ojas Award for 'Young Gond Artist' at the Jaipur Literature Festival. She has illustrated graphic books for Navayana, Tara Books and Eklavya and has exhibited at national and international forums. She holds a degree from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bengaluru and is the first among the Pradhan Gond artists to have graduated.
