The eighth edition of The Hindu 's literature festival, Lit for Life 2018, kicked off to a colourful start at the Lady Andal School in Chennai on Sunday. The annual three-day event, which connects renowned literary personalities with book lovers, brings in a variety of programmes and many speakers this year too.
Nirmala Lakshman, Director and Curator of The Hindu Lit For Life 2018, welcomed the gathering, promising a thought-provoking and colourful literature festival complete with debates and sharing of ideas and knowledge. She spoke about the crucial need for free space and the dogma of censorship, and stressed that abridgments to core democratic values would be discussed, and literary milestones celebrated.
N. Ram, Chairman, The Hindu Publishing Group, praised guest of honour Rajmohan Gandhi’s pursuit of knowledge and his research on Indian history. He gave a brief introduction to Mr. Gandhi’s commitment to peace, reconciliation and secularism.
Mr. Gandhi recalled his memories with The Hindu and his tryst with its heritage and said that the counter to threats is the nib of the pen. “It is the nib of the pen which punctures every humbug.” He encouraged the audience to defend the freedom they inherited.
The Sunshine Orchestra, a project of music director A.R. Rahman’s foundation performed at the inauguration.
