Two month-long celebration of Agatha Christie ends

Two months, six thought-provoking sessions over 69 novels and 131 short stories of

Agatha Christie

finally culminated with a conclusion that Chrtiries's characters possess a power to give life lessons to the readers. Through the presentation given by curator Arjun Singh, the literature enthusiasts got a sneak peek into the lives of the English citizens, their culture, and especially their food habits. Seema Raizada Club Literati's president shared that they got an overwhelming response from the city and are planning to do similar events in the coming months.

The sixth session of the Agatha Christie crime festival focused on Trains and Murder. The event was held at the Shan-e-Bhopal, the railway coach themed restaurant. Trains have been a frequent inclusion in the murder mysteries written by Christie. The event started off by the enactment of the climax scene of the

Murder On The Orient Express

under the direction of Educationist and theatre artist Bhaskar Indrakanti. To do it with a more realistic approach the actors were made to sit with the audience and kept their acting on as the scene proceded. Bhaskar Indrakanti said, "We tried to present it like it was done in the 1974 movie based on the novel. I played the role of

Hercule Poirot

and to do justice to my character I practiced speaking English with a Belgium accent two hours every day."

This was followed by a presentation session which highlighted the use of trains in her novels. What is lesser known is the fact that Christie was an avid traveler and she had traveled a lot in the

Orient express

and once was stuck for twenty-four hours. The guests were served with Miss Marple's favorite tea time snacks which were cookies and muffins. The entire event was summed up at an evening tea session. Guests were served with a special tea Agatha Christie tea which was a blend of Assam black tea, cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger and Red chili flakes. Guests also were served a specially baked Orange seed cake which finds mention in Christie’s novel- At Bertram's hotel.

- Farzana Patowari
Pics: Vishesh Sharma


Here's a video of one of the previous sessions: