A report on the Atlas Meet in Delhi on 19th February

The 7th Atlas Meet in Delhi took place on Friday, 19th February 2010. Billed as the 'Fountainhead Special', it attracted a gathering of nine enthusiasts, including newcomers to the meet Mayank Sharma, Bindu Mangalpalli and Ashok Atluri, as well as old-hands Barun Mitra, Vikram Bajaj, Arun Virmani, Poonam Vasudeva, Sunil Khetan and Rajendra Lakhotia.


The evening began promptly with a viewing of trailers and excerpts from the movie "The Fountainhead". Animated discussions followed on issues ranging from the casting of the film to whether it captured the spirit of the novel well or not.


Next, each of the participants shared their favorite quote from the novel and expanded on why they liked it. More than a few chose the famous line "But I don’t think of you." that is delivered by Roark in response to Toohey's question. Others remembered the exchange between Keating and Roark when Roark admonishes "Never ask people. Not about your work."; or the section when Roark feels the emotion of pity upon seeing Keating's pathetic attempts at painting - his true, but long-suppressed, passion. Some favored the exchanges between Roark and Wynand or Roark and Dominique, but in every case it was fascinating to learn how a few words in a novel had such a life-changing impact on the individuals who read them!


Atul started another, even more interesting round of discussion by asking the question if any of those present had any fundamental disagreement with Ayn Rand's world view. There were some who felt aggrieved by her view of India and Indian dance, while others were unhappy with her depiction of the mother-son relationship in her novels; some were still grappling with applying her ideas in real life, but nothing was shared that was of significance in a fundamental sense. Atul, himself, was miffed by Ayn rand's attitude towards women as evidenced by Ayn Rand's views on a woman as the president of the United States! The debate was often heated and lively, but amicable throughout. 


Rajendra had carried a DVD of Michael Paxton's Oscar-nominated documentary "Ayn Rand: A Sense Of Life", but we found that we were way past the curfew hour and agreed to schedule a viewing for the next meeting, which is due on 19th March, Friday.