Organisers of the first Bangalore Literature Festival are acutely aware of the thin line they are treading between commercial interests and high-brow exclusivity, divisive agendas and progressive voices.
“No funding from politicians, mining firms and liquor barons,” declared Vikram Sampath, event founder and author of My Name is Gauhar Jaan! – The Life and Times of a Musician . Although he is not yet ready to reveal the list of sponsors for the event, scheduled for December, he easily concedes that steering clear of controversy is an “ambitious goal”.
Social impact
“Commercial interests will not override the agenda of the event,” said festival co-founder Srikrishna Ramamoorthy while adding the caveat that market forces can be redirected toward “creating social impact”.
They spoke to The Hindu on the sidelines of a press conference held here Wednesday to announce the Bangalore Literature Festival 2012.
“The effort will be to keep the event ‘inclusive’ unlike other festivals elsewhere in the country. We want to get every voice and every opinion in… However divisive they might be, there are some literary voices that we just cannot ignore,” said Mr. Ramamoorthy of some names in the festival that could court controversy.
Mr. Sampath said: “There are so many schisms, so many contesting ideologies in Karnataka. We would be failing if the festival does not reflect these fissures. And not all inclusions will be agreeable to all.”
‘Won’t be judgemental’
“We are not going to sit in judgement over a writer’s political views,” said Mr. Ramamoorthy while Mr. Sampath opined: “It is up to the panels and the audience to tear into somebody if they do not like them.”
Together they pointed out that the format has been very carefully planned to include point and counterpoint. S.L. Bhyrappa with Baragur Ramachandrappa; Ruskin Bond with Chetan Bhagat; and Shashi Tharoor alongside the seriously political British-Pakistani author Maajid Nawaaz.
Both Mr. Ramamoorthy and Mr. Sampath promised the lit-fest was going to be a treat.
