JANE BHANDARI

1. Have you ever felt ‘terrorized’ by something? Have you ever told / described it to someone? Has it found an expression in your work?

Yes, it does sometimes, there are images that resonate for a long time.

2. At a psychological / aesthetic / philosophical level, can terror be ‘represented’ in art? Would you like to name certain works (art/writing) in which it has been done effectively?

I think it can be very effectively represented. The most immediate is war footage on TV. ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch is pure terror, to me. Stephen king has sometimes made me sleep with the light on. And Hitchcock’s movie ‘The Birds’ gave me nightmares for a long time.

3. Which would you consider to be the most terrorizing moment / event / ideology you have known?

Well, I think the bomb blasts and riots of 1993 became my standard for terror because my children were in the middle of it. However the recent shootings have pretty well replaced that – again my family too close to it for comgort, though not actually involved. The sheer hatred of the riots in Gujarat shook me, I wondered how it might have started, and wrote a poem about it.

4. How do you respond to the rhetoric of terror(ism) in mainstream media and politics?

With utter disgust.

5. Have the (serial) blasts around made you feel insecure?

Absolutely. And I live right next to the terrorist’s landing point.