At a time when languages face a threat of extinction due to globalisation or political manipulation — or simply die an organic death — the LIC Gateway Litfest makes an effort to begin a discourse that’s not dominated entirely by English or Hindi literature. With a line-up of over 50 renowned writers from 15 regional languages, the third edition of the festival will focus on five Indian languages: Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Punjabi and Malayalam.
While last year the festival focused on Indian languages that face extinction, this year’s theme is the ‘contemporary face of Indian literature’. The highlight will be a session on script-free languages like Kosli, Konkani, Bhojpuri, Ahirani, Khasi, and Santali. The panel will be chaired by Khasi poet Desmond Kharmawaphlang, and include renowned Goan writer Damodar Mauzo, Sambalpuri language poet and writer Haldhar Nag from Odisha, writer and essayist Parichay Das and Bhojpuri writer Ramesh Suryawanshi.
In the spirit of recognising regional writers, the Gateway LitFest Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Padma Shri Haldhar Nag. The humble poet was born into a poor family at Bargarh district in 1950, and lost his father when he was 10. Forced to stop his education when he was in Class III, his poems today are part of the higher studies curriculum in his home State.
In his lifetime, Nag worked as a dishwasher and then a cook but in 1990 took to the art form of poetry to express himself, penning his first poem Dhodo Bargachh (The Old Banyan Tree). His poetry touches upon themes of social issues, fighting oppression, nature, religion and mythology. He was awarded the Padma Shri last year and has been the subject of a BBC documentary.
Sessions of interest
Among other interesting sessions to look out for are panels on Indian cinema that looks beyond Bollywood and Marathi literature session, which looks to celebrate Dalit writings. The film panel will consist of Marathi filmmaker Neena Kulkarni, Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran and Malayalam filmmakers Anjali Menon and Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
Integral to the survival of regional languages are the processes of translation and publishing. Oxford University Press editor Mini Krishnan, Penguin editor Ambar Sahil Chatterjee, and Vani Prakashan editor Aditi Maheshwari will shed light on the two topics. In an effort to fuel discussion among the youth, for the first time this year, there will be a literary debate with participants from 12 colleges across India.
The LIC Gateway Litfest, on February 25 and 26 at The Experimental Theatre, NCPA, from 10 a.m. Check gatewaylitfest.com for the schedule.
