The countdown has begun to the seventh edition of The Hindu Lit for Life, which will cast a wider net than ever before.
The festival, which will see parallel sessions taking place in three spaces within the same venue, will have wide-ranging discussions on literary and popular fiction, Dalit writing, politics, film-making, and more.
It will be held at the Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall in Lady Andal School in Chennai from January 14-16, 2017. The Hindu Prize 2016 will be announced on January 15.
Since its inception in 2010, to commemorate the 20 year of the Literary Review, the festival has seen audiences swell and the discussions become more vigorous, and attracted more diverse panellists.
Celebrating diversity
“It is a festival that reflects the spirit of our times,” says Nirmala Lakshman, festival director and Director of The Hindu group of publications. “ The Hindu Lit for Life defends free speech and expression, celebrates diversity and unique voices. For a newspaper, it is not only an online presence that matters nowadays but a presence on the ground too. The festival brings the paper to its readers and places writers and readers on the same platform.”
With literary festivals proliferating in India over the years, how has The Hindu Lit for Life managed to remain distinctive? “ The Hindu stands for credibility,” says Ms. Lakshman. “We have had a great reception over the years. People don’t come from Chennai alone but from other cities too. This is heartening and encouraging. The idea of the festival is to connect literature, and not just high literature, to the masses. We try to make the festival as inclusive as possible, focussing on regional literature and bringing culture, cinema and the arts together.”
Youth audience
Around 26,000 people attended over 40 sessions in 2016, says Ms. Lakshman. And this, contrary to popular perception, consists of a large number of young people.
“This is because there is a lot to learn at the sessions at The Hindu Lit for Life. It is always a fabulous experience,” says Arun Kumar, a young Chennai-based writer. “Last year, I particularly liked a session on documentary films where the film-maker gave us many insights on his craft.”
This time, around 150 speakers have been invited, including Katherine Boo, Mark Kurlansky, Rishi Kapoor, Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh, Malavika Sarukkai, Vairamuthu, Shashi Tharoor, Sunil Khilnani, Akshay Manwani, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Ritu Beri, Aruna Sairam and Kanhaiya Kumar.
Local and global
With a focus on regional literature (this year, there are sessions on Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Urdu literature) as much as world literature, The Hindu Lit for Life is “a democratic space that attracts as big a crowd for a Tamil politician as it does for an Alexander McCall Smith,” says Ms. Lakshman.
For the first time, a children’s literary festival has been introduced.
It will offer workshops for those aged between 5 and 12, a science laboratory, a Zumba session, storytelling and colouring, and a tea party where children will be dressed as their favourite literary characters. There is also an open-air library for children to browse and read while lounging on bean bags.
The festival also includes workshops by experts on crystal healing, Shakespeare and Bollywood, art appreciation, translation, street theatre, reading film and storytelling.
Book prizes
The Hindu Prize 2016 has five books on the shortlist this year: Half of What I Say by Anil Menon; Jinnah Often Came To Our House by Kiran Doshi; Kalkutta by Kunal Basu; The Adivasi Will Not Dance by Hansda Sowendra Shekhar; and The Island of Lost Girls by Manjula Padmanabhan. Crea Shakthi School of Drama has organised an inter-collegiate contest based on the shortlisted books.
Another prize that will be announced is The Hindu Young World-Goodbooks Awards for Indian children’s books, to promote excellence in children’s writing and illustration in India.
Author Jim Crace, who spoke at The Hindu Lit for Life 2014 and gave away The Hindu Prize 2013, says the festival maintains “the perfect balance”.
“It is large enough to be eventful and wide ranging but not so immense and overwhelming as to jeopardise the hospitality, generosity and intimacy which are Chennai’s specialties,” he says. “Personally, I loved every moment of it.”
Visit ww.thehindulfl.com to register. Follow on Facebook: The Hindu Lit for Life; Twitter: @HinduLitforLife; Instagram: @hindulitforlife; YouTube: Lit for Life. Helpline: 7299911222
