For literary figures, theatre enthusiasts, and people passionate about books, all roads in Chennai will lead to The Hindu Lit for Life fest, which was inaugurated on Saturday.
The three-day festival will feature discussions on diverse subjects, ranging from literature, politics, society, environment and history to sports, music, theatre, films and travel.
Welcoming the gathering at the inaugural ceremony, N. Ravi, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu , said the fest predominantly attempted to appeal to the intellect, creativity, aesthetics, and the imagination of people. “All of us are involved with books, but some people’s interests extend beyond reading to entering the minds of authors, to the way books are written, what books are being written, what other people are reading — everything about books.”
It is to this deep and abiding engagement with books that The Hindu Literary Review, now in its 24th year, appeals, he said, adding that The Hindu would continue to publish and strengthen the supplement. The Hindu Lit for Life Fest was launched in 2010 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Literary Review.
He said the fest was an endeavour by the publication to promote interaction among the virtuous trinity of readers, writers and publishers, and contribute to the development of a reading society.
Nirmala Lakshman, Director, Kasturi and Sons Limited, and Curator, Lit for Life, said The Hindu had always recognised reading as the foundation of an enriched life.
‘Space to celebrate writing’ “Our efforts over the last few years have been to move beyond the pages of the supplement to actively engage through Lit for Life with readers.” She added that the fest was a “… space we hope to build to celebrate writing, to exchange ideas, and facilitate readers to engage directly with their favourite writers.”
This year, the fest is presented by the House of Hiranandani, represented on the occasion by Prashant Mirkar, GM, Marketing, and powered by VIT University.
Distinguished panel A panel of distinguished judges, comprising Malayalam poet, author and critic K. Satchidanandan, poet and writer Arundhathi Subramaniam, author Timeri N. Murari, surgeon and novelist Kavery Nambisan and writer and critic Geeta Doctor has selected the five books on the Shortlist of The Hindu Prize 2014 that will be announced on Monday.
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