T he HinduLit For Life festival is back, with two days of high-energy sessions on eclectic topics, by eminent speakers from across the country.
Day One begins with Gopalkrishna Gandhi moderating a dramatised reading of letters exchanged between his grandfathers, Rajaji and Mahatma Gandhi. Actor Rahul Bose and Chennai theatre person Yog Japee will read from the letters. This will be followed by a discussion of Writing in the South, between Malayalam authors Anupama Raju and Benyamin, and Kannada writers Sarah Aboobacker and Vaidehi.
How can sports-writing make an impact in the world of sport and media today? Listen to sports journalist Suresh Menon, editor of ESPN-cricinfo Sambit Bal, and billiards champion Michael Ferreira exchange ideas.
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Designer Wendell Rodricks, who will discuss his memoir
Authors Jugal Mody, Lalita Iyer, Ravinder Singh and Sidin Vadukut will talk about appreciating popular fiction while Rocky Singh and Mayur Sharma, the authors of Highway On My Plate: The Indian Guide To Roadside Eating , share their experiences with chef Dharmen Makawana and Pascal Dupuis of The Leela Palace, Chennai, and Farzana Contractor, editor of the magazine UpperCrust . “Our motto is ‘make food, not war’,” they say.
The last session on Day Two is a star-packed one with Sharmila Tagore, Shriya Saran and Jerry Pinto discussing the evolution of story-telling in cinema.
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The Delhi edition — on February 6 — saw a packed auditorium as renowned photographer Steve McCurry enthralled the crowd with stunning images of his journeys across India. Shankkar Aiyar, Bibek Debroy, Brinda Karat, Jayanthi Natarajan and Siddharth Varadajan engaged in a heated debate over Aiyar’s book, Accidental India .
Nilanjana Roy, one of the jury members tasked with selecting the winner of The Hindu Literary Prize 2012, announced the shortlist of five books — Difficult Pleasures (Anjum Hasan), Bitter Wormwood (Easterine Kire), Narcopolis (Jeet Thayil), Em And The Big Hoom (Jerry Pinto), and The Extras (Kiran Nagarkar). The winner will be announced on February 17 in Chennai.
The Hindu Lit For Life is sponsored by VGN and powered by VIT University; Associate Sponsor: Shriram Chits; Official Car Partner: Volvo; Hospitality Partner: The Leela Palace, Chennai; Bookstore Partner: Landmark; Radio Partner: Chennai Live; and Event Partner: Aura.