Delhi’s LitFest Promises a Range of Literary Delights

Delhi Literary Fest (LitFest) 2016

litfest delhi 2016

The beautiful historic City of Djinns, Delhi, is known worldwide for its varied literary as well as cultural heritage. The Delhi Literature Festival 2016 (TLF-Delhi) is a celebration of 70 years of India since its independence. The second edition of TLF-Delhi is scheduled to be held on the 26th and 27th of November, 2016, at the India Habitat Centre, Delhi. This festival promises to bring together some of India’s brightest minds including writers, thinkers, influencers and game changers, to discuss and debate over the big ideas that shaped the biggest democracy in the world.

India@70 – The Change Begins Here

While India completes 70 years of Independence, and is well on the way towards becoming a developed nation, the festival hopes to conduct talks and showcase panel discussions on the following pertinent questions:

  • What has been the record of Indian secularism?
  • Is Indian politics part of the solution or the problem?
  • Has social media become the new national conversation?
  • Is Indian nationalism inclusive or exclusive?
  • How free are Indian entrepreneurs to explore new vistas?
  • Does Indian spirituality provide answers to modern problems?

Keeping literature in perspective, the festival also plans to delve in the following issues:

  • Talks and performances which examine the hopes, anxieties, achievements and course-corrections of what has been called the biggest and boldest democratic experiment in history.
  • How has Indian writing in English evolved and mirrored the changes that have taken place in these last 70 years?
  • How has Indian cinema reflected India and evolved through the generations?
  • Have Indian myths and traditions been explored enough?
  • How have Indian fashions and styles changed over these last 70 years?
  • Has student rebellion come of age?
  • Is stand up-comedy finally coming of age in India as a new form of satirical self-expression?

Change is a way of life, change means growth, and the literature festival will also showcase the theme ‘Change Begins Here’. The Delhi Literature Festival 2016 promises to be a Think Fest with the brightest of minds, and audience young and old, orthodox and unorthodox, modern and conservative, coming together and thinking towards the betterment of one of the largest democracies in the world.

Galaxy of Stars at the Fest

The TLF-Delhi will see a galaxy of stars including Ruskin Bond, Shashi Tharoor, Nandan Nilekani, Devdutt Pattanaik, Ramachandra Guha, Sharmila Tagore, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Husain Haqqani, Subramanian Swamy, P. Chidambaram, Amitabh Kant, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Sonal Mansingh, Raghu Rai, Rajdeep Sardesai, Rishi Jaitly, Ashwin Sanghi, Ravi Subramanian, Kanhaiya Kumar, Barkha Dutt and Ravish Kumar share their diverse thoughts with the masses.

Things to Look Out For at The Festival

  • Ruskin Bond, one of the most loved speakers will share his inspiration for writing. He is being felicitated with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the festival.
  • Ravi Subramanian, Ashwin Sanghi, Ravinder Singh with Vinita Dawra Nangia at the Write India session on November 26.
  • Rakesh Sinha and Kancha llaiah Shepherd in conversation with Aman Verma on “Holy Cow: Cow Nationalism and the Dalit Bahujan” on November 27.
  • Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, will give a keynote address on his learnings about economic developments from literature on the opening day.
  • Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will discuss his vision for Indian Railways on November 26.
  • The inspiring winners of Rio Paralympics 2016 Deepa Malik and Devendra Jhajharia in conversation with Boria Majumdar and Rajesh Kalra on November 27.
  • The effervescent and thoughtful Sharmila Tagore on why Indian cinema is too simplistic and why we need to change censorship laws.
  • Sonal Mansingh, Indian classical dancer and founder of Centre for Indian Classical Dances on India’s katha tradition.
  • ‘What role does the opposition play in the Modi Administration?’ A must-attend discussion between P. Chidambaram, Pavan Varma, Asaduddin Owaisi and moderated by Rajdeep Sardesai.
  • Reflect on the impact that the British Empire left on India during the session “A long darkness” by Shashi Tharoor.
  • A diverse panel consisting of a scholar, a commentator, a politician and an author on a discussion on “Was PV Narasimha Rao India’s best Prime Minister?”
  • Examine the past 25 years of economic reforms in India to understand them better with Sanjaya Baru, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Shiv Shankar Menon.
  • Revive your spirits with a soothing musical performance by Sonam Kalra.
  • Rib tickling stand-up comedy performances by Abijit Ganguly, Anirban Dasgupta, Maheep Singh, Neeti Palta and Amit Tandon.
  • Gutsy and award-winning writer Akshaya Mukul on his path-breaking Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India.
  • Celebrate music, cinema and the power of youth with Farhan Akhtar on November 27.

Yes, November is indeed going to end on a high note for all the thinkers, writers and literary buffs in India. Happy Thinking!

 

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