The Hindu Lit for Life 2013 is all set to roll out in the city on Saturday.
The two-day festival which will be venue to eminent authors and speakers from across genres will culminate with the announcement of the winner of The Hindu Literary Prize 2012 on Sunday.
Nirmala Lakshman, director, Kasturi & Sons Ltd, who conceptualised and curated the event said, “Lit for Life is a festival which will make the experience of books and reading more meaningful to readers. It is an opportunity for people to interact directly with many well-known authors.”
Rachna Singh Davidar, one of the creative consultants for Lit for Life, said in this year’s edition, the programming has been wide-ranging in order to appeal to a broad swath of readers.
“The festival will open with the evocative and illuminating set of letters exchanged between Rajaji and Mahatma Gandhi and will close with a session featuring some of the most interesting stars of the movie industry,” she said.
The event, which will take place at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Auditorium, Lady Andal School, will host speakers such as Devdutt Pattanaik, Sidin Vadukut, Amruta Patil, Samit Basu, Jerry Pinto, Rahul Bose and Nilanjana Roy among several others.
Author Jeet Thayil, will read from his Man Booker shortlisted book ‘Narcopolis’ on day two. The sessions, workshops and lectures will delve into discussions centred on the power of short fiction, writing for the world’s youngest nation, understanding, creating and deconstructing new trends in art, writing picture books and the power of poetry among several others.
“The effort is to be as representative as we can. This year we have spunky young authors as well as experienced and established ones,” said Mita Kapur, creative consultant, Lit for Life.
Talking about the literary prize, Suresh Srinivasan, vice president (advertisement), The Hindu , said “ The Hindu Literary Prize is an endeavour to recognise the tremendous talent that has emerged in India, especially over the last decade.”
Calling the festival inclusive and democratic, Prasanna Ramaswamy, theatre person and filmmaker who documented the festival in 2011, recalled how she put together a film with over 30 hours of vibrant footage. Pascal Dupuis, general manager, The Leela Palace, said this was the second time the hotel was participating in a cultural event organised by The Hindu .
Students of Asian College of Journalism will provide live updates on panel discussions, tweets, images and videos on www.thehindu- lfl.com. D. Pratish, managing director, VGN, said, “We commend the festival’s goals of supporting free speech and bringing back an appreciation for writing and the arts, amidst our busy lifestyle.”
The Hindu Lit for Life is presented by VGN and powered by VIT University. The associate sponsor is Shriram Chits, official car partner is Volvo, hospitality partner is The Leela Palace, Chennai and bookstore partner is Landmark. The radio partner is Chennai Live and event partner is Aura.
