‘Dickens 2012’ will be a treat for Indians: Dr Florian Schweizer

The year 2012 will be celebrated as the bicentennial year of English author Charles Dickens’ birth. The Great Expectations Project 2012 is a major step in this direction by the Charles Dickens Museum of London.

There will be exhibitions, film shows and literary events across the globe to mark what would be the 200th birthday of one of the most important figures in English literature. On a visit to the British Council in Pune, Dr Florian Schweizer, director of the Charles Dickens Museum, spoke to DNA on the celebrations planned in India and in the city.

What can Pune literature enthusiasts and Dickens’ fans expect as part of the celebrations?
The Charles Dickens Museum, in collaboration with the British Council, will organise literary events, exhibitions and workshops in Pune. Interestingly, Pune has the only branch of the Dickens Fellowship in India. It was set up in 1993. That’s also one of the reasons this city is of special interest to us. We had a meeting with the authorities at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), so we might have some film-related activities on the platter too. Besides, we are in talks with the National School of Drama in Delhi and the Kolkata Film Festival authorities to make this festival a cultural and artistic treat for Indians.

You have been to other cities in India. What is your opinion on awareness about Dickens’ works here?
I was pleasantly surprised by the awareness among students about Charles Dickens. More so because some of his works are a part of the academic syllabus here. In England, it’s hard to find young people who have read Dickens! The way things are going, we might actually attract more people in India than in Britain for the 2012 celebrations.

Tell us about the Charles Dickens Museum.
Two centuries after his birth, Dickens remains one of Britain’s most important cultural ambassadors and  a timeless  icon of our national heritage.  Dickens 2012 is an opportunity to celebrate and share the icon’s legacy with the rest of the world.

The  Charles  Dickens Museum was set up in 1925 to act as guardian to our Dickensian heritage, and Dickens 2012 is a fantastic opportunity to promote his artistic and social legacy by engaging new generations of readers and writers around
the world.

The museum recently got funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
On what lines are you looking at developing the museum now?
Located in the heart of Bloomsbury, the museum at 48 Doughty Street was Dickens’ family home and the place where classics like Oliver Twist and The Pickwick Papers were written. Rather than being just another museum, we are increasingly having programmes that relate to Londoners.

We have opened a cafe at the museum and we have reading groups where people can meet and read from Dickens. We want the museum to become a reading hub and our infrastructure is also being further developed on similar lines. We will also be hosting art exhibitions that are in some way related to Dickens and his works. As part of this, Great Expectations is a new 3.1-million pound project to restore, redevelop and improve the museum, timed to coincide with Dickens’ bicentenary.