Writers Retreat With Best Selling Author Aditi Banerjee

In this retreat, we will focus on

1. Approaching writing as a sadhana, a sacred practice for fulfillment and actualization
2. Building a writing community for support, growth and connection
3. Bringing Indic authenticity to writing in English. This will be an experiential workshop where we will put into practice what we discuss.

Each participant will have multiple opportunities to share pieces of their writing, including in small groups, and to discuss current writing projects to receive encouragement and constructive feedback in a supportive and inclusive environment. We will read together, write together, and learn together through exercises and interactive discussions. We will explore an Indic approach to writing, principally through the framework of rasa, and draw upon examples from Indic literature, including the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. We will discuss how to capture in modern English non-Western concepts that are not easily translatable. We will explore elements of craft – POV, the ‘shape’ of a story, developing compelling conflict and characters – in a practical way. The goal will be for each participant to leave the retreat with an outline, opening and writing plan for their current creative writing project and to develop connections for a community to help support each other through our writing journeys.

This writers retreat is for creative intellectuals to get together and learn from the experts and begin their journey as authors. The idyllic ambience of the retreat will provide the perfect environment for the participants to get away from the monotony of their routine and accelerate the realisation of their writing dreams.

The retreat is limited to 15 participants. The cost of accommodation will be Rs 5000 for both the days.

Existing members of 1000 Reviewers Club ( 2021 & 2022) who have written 3 or more reviews need not pay the above cost and will be hosted free of charge. Outstation members of the Reviewers Club who have fulfilled the above criteria will also be provided an additional travel grant of Rs 10000 or actuals whichever is lower.

Venue: Ritambhara Retreat, No. 69, BMTC Layout, Adjacent to Kammasandra Village, Lakshmipura Hobli.

The Retreat, located just on the outskirts of Bangalore city, is a small beautiful space dedicated to Yoga & spiritual studies and practices in a simple and clean environment adjacent to a farm of its own.

Accommodation: Only shared accommodation will be provided

Food: Simple sattvik food with fresh grown vegetables from the farm

Reaching the Retreat Venue: The venue is about 22 kms from Majestic Bus Stand and is accessible through Magadi Road and Tumkur Road preferably through own vehicles. The retreat center is very close to ‘Kamadhenu Kshetra’ – a highly popular Raghavendra Swamy temple in the last few years. It would take about an hour to reach the retreat venue from the heart of the city. Participants have to make their own arrangements. If any assistance is required Indica Moksha Team will help.

Please Note:

-Precaution and care are being taken keeping in mind the pandemic situation and health advisories. The venue is cleaned and sanitized. Sanitizers and other necessary aids and practices are put in place.
-The participants are mandated to fill and submit the registration form.
-All Participants have to reach the venue by Friday noon as the sessions commence from that evening itself.
-No children below the age of 18 are allowed in the retreat.
-Accommodation would be provided on a sharing basis. No individual rooms.
-No outside food is allowed or available.
-After registration payment link will be shared separately.

Speakers

Aditi Banerjee

Author

Aditi Banerjee’s first novel, The Curse of Gandhari, a successful bestseller, was published by Bloomsbury India in September 2019. Her second novel, The Vow of Parvati, was also published by Bloomsbury India in April 2022. She has also published Hindu Love Stories: Dharmically Ever After in February 2022. She is a practicing attorney at a Fortune 500 financial services company in the US and has also completed an Executive MBA at Columbia University. She earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and received a B.A. in International Relations, magna cum laude, from Tufts University. She is a prolific writer and speaker about Hinduism and the Hindu-American experience. She is a member of the Indic Academy and Indic Book Club, which sponsored a successful six-city book launch tour for The Curse of Gandhari in September 2019 across India. She co-edited the book, Invading the Sacred: An Analysis of Hinduism Studies in America in collaboration with Rajiv Malhotra, and has authored several essays in publications such as The Columbia Documentary History of Religion in America since 1945 and Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America: A Short History (Religion in American Life) (Oxford University Press). Her articles have also been published in Outlook India and many other publications. In her free time, she enjoys wandering the Himalayas, cooking with the latest kitchen gadgets, hunting for that perfect cup of coffee, and reading about history and world literature.