Today marks the beginning of Delhi Literature Festival - a festival dedicated to the love of writing, reading and ofcourse both together bringing the best of the worlds together to give one a time of life!
About:
The first edition of the Delhi Literature Festival
About:
The first edition of the Delhi Literature Festival
The Festival was Inaugurated by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Delhi Smt. Sheila Dixit in the presence of the Italian Ambassador and had participation from over 40 prominent authors for panel discussions, book launches, poetry reading and interactions at the venue. It received great response, support and participation from authors, publishers, bloggers, other literary figures, Embassies, Government bodies and general public especially the youth. Delhi Literature Festival 2013 was presented by Unnati Fortune Group in association with Hindustan Times, India's leading daily newspaper.
It was also actively Partnered by Tata Sons, Nokia, Panasonic, ABP News, Big FM and many more. This year. Delhi Book Lovers is proud to be associated with the festival! Delhi Art, Culture & Language Department, ICCR and Delhi Tourism, Government of Delhi were also Key Partners for the Festival. This year the Chief Minister, Mr. Kejrival is part of our concluding session. Motivated and highly encouraged with the colossal response during the first edition, the 2nd Delhi Literature
Schedule:
Schedule:
7th February 2014, Friday
Session: Inauguration
Description: Dr. M Veerappa Moily, is also a literary figure having received the prestigious Moortidevi Award of Bharatiya Jnanpith. He has authored several books in Kannada. Mr. Moily will officially flag off the 2nd Delhi Literature Festival 2014.
Speaker/Guest: Chief Guest -M. Veerappa Moily(Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Environment & Forests) Guest of Honor - Dr. Karan Singh (President, ICCR), Dr. Burak Akcapar (Ambassador, Turkish Embassy)
Time: 5:45 PM
Session: Reminiscing Rajendra Yadav – A Tribute
Description: Rajender Yadav, who recently passed away in October 2013, was one of the most well-known writers of Hindi language. He is most known for pioneering the Hindi Literary Movement – Nayi Kahani. He also revived Munshi Premchand’s Magazine Hans in 1986 and has extensively written for the cause of Dalits, Women, Rural India etc. through it.
Speaker/Guest: Namvar Singh, Ajit Kr. Chaudhary, Rachna Yadav, Dr. Nirmala Jain (MODERATOR).
Time: 6:15 PM
8th February 2014, Saturday
Session: Creative Pursuits of Civil Servants
Description: A session to probe into the official and fictional lives of civil servants (IAS, IRS, IFS etc.) with an inclination towards art and literature
Speaker/Guest: Vandana Kumari Jena, Shubha Sarma and Sangeeta Gupta,Bhaskar Ghose (MODERATOR)
Time: 11:00 AM
Session: Illumination: Decorative Art of Book Making (In association with the Iran Culture House, New Delhi)
Description: A session that looks into the world of Persian Publishing, its history and form. Focusing on its 3 major elements – illumination(illustrations), decoration(graphics) and calligraphy(art of writing), these Iranian Artists will throw light on the ‘Art of Book Making’ showcasing a live exhibition and citing examples from their exhibited works
Speaker/Guest: Ali Reza Goldoozian, Arde shir Mukhtari Vafer, Hasan Mullai Tehrani (Calligraphy) and Ali Asghar Mortezaee
Time: 12:30 PM
Session: Literary Criticism: Now & Then
Description: A session to understand how the form of criticism is changing with the advent of new media. Anybody can put up reviews and views about literary works and also indulge in conversations through social media networks, personal websites and blogs. The authors and writers get almost instant feedback, direct from their readers. How is the conventional way of criticism giving way to the new digital medium will be discussed by the panelists.
Speaker/Guest: Rakhshanda Jalil, Prof Harish Narang, Prajna Desai
Time: 2:00 PM
Session: Mutilator: A Dramatic Reading
Description: Keeping with the tradition of promoting independent writers and publishers, DLF 2014 will see a dramatic reading of a yet to be published novel, Mutilator. When passion makes you question your sexuality and your vocation as a scholar, you know you are in trouble. And that is what happens to Hilda, an anthropologist who arrives in Abhujhabad to study Bibi Mastan, a female genital cutter. What starts out as an admiring study of her idol, turns into a tumultuous journey of doubt, disbelief, and dissatisfaction.
Speaker/Guest: Author -Prajna Desai Reader - Rehaan Engineer
Time: 3:30 PM
Session: Prisoner Jailor Prime Minister : In conversation with Tabric Currimbhoy
Description: Tabrik Cs thriller Prisoner, Jailor Prime Minister is a scorching account of menacing politics and the fascinating journey of a volatile personality to 7 RCR. But is India's new Prime Minister a product of his genius or of his dangerous mind. Tabric’s special interest lies in observing, analyzing, predicting and debating the rise and fall of political personalities and their influence on the destiny of nations and individuals. He will discuss with the audience 'The future of Indian politics'
Speaker/Guest: Tabric Currimbhoy
Time: 4:30 PM
Session: Book Launch: ‘Holy Smoke, It’s a GODMAN’
Description: Holy Smoke, It's a Godman is a first person narrative delivered from a jail in Copenhagen. In autobiographical mode, it invites the reader to take a journey across India with Jogender Dutt alias Redney Yog, a boy from Rajasthan who runs away to Mumbai and due to a series of bizarre circumstances, lands up in an ashram in the Himalayas where spirituality is merely a cover for nefarious activities. And then onto Denmark, to marry a gorgeous blonde and merge into a 21st century hippie community.
Speaker/Guest: Author: Satish Georgy Kashyap Publisher: Vitasta Publishing
Time: 5:45 PM
Session: Delhi’s Diplomatic Domains
Description: A discussion with Gladys Abankwa-Meier-Klodt on her book Delhi’s Diplomatic Domain about the Chanceries & Residences of Chanakyapuri & Imperial New Delhi
Speaker/Guest: H.E. Mr. Prasad Kariyawasam, High Commissioner (Sri Lanka), Mr. Carlos Duarte Ambassador (Brazil), Mr. Gustavo Aristegui, Ambassador (Spain) , Gladys Abankwa-Meier- Klodt (Author) and Prof K. T. Ravindran (MODERATOR)
Time: 6:00 PM
Session: Cultural Performance by MRIGYA
Description: MRIGYA is an Indian World fusion music band from New Delhi which was formed in 1999. Its music is a fusion of Blues, Folk, Funk, Latin, Rock and Jazz along with Indian classical music.
Time: 7:00 PM
Session: Bibliophiles, Meetups, Literature et al
Description: A talk by an author, book club founders, readers and aspiring writers on the growing culture and popularity of Book clubs and how are they beneficial.
Speaker/Guest: Saumya Kulshreshtha (Founder, PACH), Leher Sethi (Founder, Delhi Book Lovers Club), Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan (Author), Meenakshi Goyal (Reader), Akshay Sharma (Aspiring Writer) and Kunal Gupta (MODERATOR)
Time: 2:00 PM
Session: Tête-à-tête: Publishing in India
Description: A tête-à-tête between Publishers, Authors and their Agents to explore and understand the pressing issues faced by all of them today as they voice their concerns and get confronted in return.
Speaker/Guest: Ms Veena Batra(Vitasta Publications), Abhijit Sengupta, Kishalay Bhattacharya
Time: 3:00 PM
Session: The Lit Entrepreneurs
Description: A platform to hear the journeys of Indie and Self Publishers.
Speaker/Guest: Kulpreet Yadav, Zorba Publishers
Time: 4:00 PM
Session: Graphic Novels: Literature of the 21st Century
Description: Exploring the most visual form of literature which is fast gaining popularity and a cult/geek following.
Speaker/Guest: Bhanu Pratap (MODERATOR), Samit Basu and Abhimanyu Sisodia
Time: 5:00 PM
Session: Love & Relationships in Contemporary Writings
Description: This session probes into the traditional gender relationship roles inflicted upon us by society & analyzes love myths in society today, besides looking at topics like pre-marital sex, infidelity and same-gender love
Speaker/Guest: Nikita Singh, Neeta Iyer, Sid Bahri, Rajiv Soni and Leher Sethi (MODERATOR)
Time: 6:00 PM
9th February 2014, Sunday
Session: In conversation with Kusum Ansal
Description: Mamta Kiran will probe into the literary life of Kusum Ansal in a conversation with her shedding light on her works and style.
Speaker/Guest: Kusum Ansal and Mamta Kiran
Time: 11:00 AM
Session: Bernardo Carvalho: The Versátil Escritor (In association with the Embassy of Brazil, New Delhi)
Description: Bernardo Carvalho is a Brazillian novelist, playwright and is also a journalist. He will throw light on the Brazillian Contemporary Literature and also talk about how he shifts from writing fiction and writing objective news reports. Dr. Sonya Gupta, MA in Spanish and Ph.D from JNU and currently working on Postcolonial Literary and Cultural Studies in Latin American and Indian contexts, will delve into a conversation and interaction with Carvalho.
Speaker/Guest: Bernardo Carvalho and Dr. Sonya Gupta
Time: 12:30 PM
Session: Sex & the City : Erotica in Literature
Description: Writing erotica is itself being a rebel in the Indian society. The session looks into the social and personal lives of these daring writers who often have to use pen names and face the brunt of the conventional society. It will also try to understand through these authors, the art of scripting an erotica.
Speaker/Guest: Rosalyn D’Mello, Girja Kumar (MODERATOR), Sreemoyee Piu Kundu
Time: 2:00 PM
Session: The Digital Revolution & Literature
Description: The session will aim to understand how New Media has changed some rules for the literary world. From marketing to criticism and direct feedback from readers, authors have taken up new media platforms in full swing for all of these. New Media has not only changed how people promote their works but has affected the writing style too. It has created trends that gained popularity worldwide in short time. The session will explore the power and revolution of the New Media and how it has affected things.
Speaker/Guest: Ravi Chhabra, Sreemoyee Piu Kundu
Time: 3:30 PM
Session: A Tribute to Safdar Hashmi: Play Reading by Jana Natya Manch (JANAM)
Description: Jana Natya Manch will pay a special tribute to Safdar Hashmi through a Play reading session by its members and actors.
Speaker/Guest: Jan Natya Manch
Time: 4:45 PM
Session: The Art of Playwriting: A Discussion
Description: The session will discuss playwriting as a literary art form, the challenges being faced by the playwrights and the art form itself and also its changing face today.
Speaker/Guest: Bernardo Carvalho, Jaidev Taneja, Diwan Singh Bajeli (MODERATOR), Mohan Maharishi, Mariam Karim Ahlawat
Time: 5:00 PM
Session: The Craft of Poetry: Shifting Contours
Description: None other than the veterans of poetry and the award winning poets such as in this panel can explain the craft of poetry
Speaker/Guest: Ashok Chakradhar(Tentative), Rana Safvi, Dr. Vanita
Time: 6:00 PM
Session: In Conversation with Arvind Kejriwal
Description: Ms. Barkha Dutt, Group Editor, NDTV in conversation with Shri Arvind Kejriwal, Magsaysay Awardee and Chief Minister, Delhi on his much acclaimed book, Swaraj: Power to the people
Speaker/Guest: Arvind Kejriwal, Barkha Dutt
Time: 7:00 PM
Session: PACH
Description: Fun activities by Poetry Club PACH
Time: 1:00 PM
Session: Play Performance
Description: Pierrots Troupe
Time: 3:00 PM
Session: Play Performance
Description: Machine written by Safdar Hashmi
Speaker/Guest: Jana Natya Manch
Time: 3:30 PM
Session: Tribute to Juan Gelman
Description: Poet - Argentina
Speaker/Guest: Prof. Manjulata Sharma, Prof. Ajay Prasad
Time: 5:00 PM
Session: Inauguration
Description: Dr. M Veerappa Moily, is also a literary figure having received the prestigious Moortidevi Award of Bharatiya Jnanpith. He has authored several books in Kannada. Mr. Moily will officially flag off the 2nd Delhi Literature Festival 2014.
Speaker/Guest: Chief Guest -M. Veerappa Moily(Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Environment & Forests) Guest of Honor - Dr. Karan Singh (President, ICCR), Dr. Burak Akcapar (Ambassador, Turkish Embassy)
Time: 5:45 PM
Session: Reminiscing Rajendra Yadav – A Tribute
Description: Rajender Yadav, who recently passed away in October 2013, was one of the most well-known writers of Hindi language. He is most known for pioneering the Hindi Literary Movement – Nayi Kahani. He also revived Munshi Premchand’s Magazine Hans in 1986 and has extensively written for the cause of Dalits, Women, Rural India etc. through it.
Speaker/Guest: Namvar Singh, Ajit Kr. Chaudhary, Rachna Yadav, Dr. Nirmala Jain (MODERATOR).
Time: 6:15 PM
8th February 2014, Saturday
Session: Creative Pursuits of Civil Servants
Description: A session to probe into the official and fictional lives of civil servants (IAS, IRS, IFS etc.) with an inclination towards art and literature
Speaker/Guest: Vandana Kumari Jena, Shubha Sarma and Sangeeta Gupta,Bhaskar Ghose (MODERATOR)
Time: 11:00 AM
Session: Illumination: Decorative Art of Book Making (In association with the Iran Culture House, New Delhi)
Description: A session that looks into the world of Persian Publishing, its history and form. Focusing on its 3 major elements – illumination(illustrations), decoration(graphics) and calligraphy(art of writing), these Iranian Artists will throw light on the ‘Art of Book Making’ showcasing a live exhibition and citing examples from their exhibited works
Speaker/Guest: Ali Reza Goldoozian, Arde shir Mukhtari Vafer, Hasan Mullai Tehrani (Calligraphy) and Ali Asghar Mortezaee
Time: 12:30 PM
Session: Literary Criticism: Now & Then
Description: A session to understand how the form of criticism is changing with the advent of new media. Anybody can put up reviews and views about literary works and also indulge in conversations through social media networks, personal websites and blogs. The authors and writers get almost instant feedback, direct from their readers. How is the conventional way of criticism giving way to the new digital medium will be discussed by the panelists.
Speaker/Guest: Rakhshanda Jalil, Prof Harish Narang, Prajna Desai
Time: 2:00 PM
Session: Mutilator: A Dramatic Reading
Description: Keeping with the tradition of promoting independent writers and publishers, DLF 2014 will see a dramatic reading of a yet to be published novel, Mutilator. When passion makes you question your sexuality and your vocation as a scholar, you know you are in trouble. And that is what happens to Hilda, an anthropologist who arrives in Abhujhabad to study Bibi Mastan, a female genital cutter. What starts out as an admiring study of her idol, turns into a tumultuous journey of doubt, disbelief, and dissatisfaction.
Speaker/Guest: Author -Prajna Desai Reader - Rehaan Engineer
Time: 3:30 PM
Session: Prisoner Jailor Prime Minister : In conversation with Tabric Currimbhoy
Description: Tabrik Cs thriller Prisoner, Jailor Prime Minister is a scorching account of menacing politics and the fascinating journey of a volatile personality to 7 RCR. But is India's new Prime Minister a product of his genius or of his dangerous mind. Tabric’s special interest lies in observing, analyzing, predicting and debating the rise and fall of political personalities and their influence on the destiny of nations and individuals. He will discuss with the audience 'The future of Indian politics'
Speaker/Guest: Tabric Currimbhoy
Time: 4:30 PM
Session: Book Launch: ‘Holy Smoke, It’s a GODMAN’
Description: Holy Smoke, It's a Godman is a first person narrative delivered from a jail in Copenhagen. In autobiographical mode, it invites the reader to take a journey across India with Jogender Dutt alias Redney Yog, a boy from Rajasthan who runs away to Mumbai and due to a series of bizarre circumstances, lands up in an ashram in the Himalayas where spirituality is merely a cover for nefarious activities. And then onto Denmark, to marry a gorgeous blonde and merge into a 21st century hippie community.
Speaker/Guest: Author: Satish Georgy Kashyap Publisher: Vitasta Publishing
Time: 5:45 PM
Session: Delhi’s Diplomatic Domains
Description: A discussion with Gladys Abankwa-Meier-Klodt on her book Delhi’s Diplomatic Domain about the Chanceries & Residences of Chanakyapuri & Imperial New Delhi
Speaker/Guest: H.E. Mr. Prasad Kariyawasam, High Commissioner (Sri Lanka), Mr. Carlos Duarte Ambassador (Brazil), Mr. Gustavo Aristegui, Ambassador (Spain) , Gladys Abankwa-Meier- Klodt (Author) and Prof K. T. Ravindran (MODERATOR)
Time: 6:00 PM
Session: Cultural Performance by MRIGYA
Description: MRIGYA is an Indian World fusion music band from New Delhi which was formed in 1999. Its music is a fusion of Blues, Folk, Funk, Latin, Rock and Jazz along with Indian classical music.
Time: 7:00 PM
Session: Bibliophiles, Meetups, Literature et al
Description: A talk by an author, book club founders, readers and aspiring writers on the growing culture and popularity of Book clubs and how are they beneficial.
Speaker/Guest: Saumya Kulshreshtha (Founder, PACH), Leher Sethi (Founder, Delhi Book Lovers Club), Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan (Author), Meenakshi Goyal (Reader), Akshay Sharma (Aspiring Writer) and Kunal Gupta (MODERATOR)
Time: 2:00 PM
Session: Tête-à-tête: Publishing in India
Description: A tête-à-tête between Publishers, Authors and their Agents to explore and understand the pressing issues faced by all of them today as they voice their concerns and get confronted in return.
Speaker/Guest: Ms Veena Batra(Vitasta Publications), Abhijit Sengupta, Kishalay Bhattacharya
Time: 3:00 PM
Session: The Lit Entrepreneurs
Description: A platform to hear the journeys of Indie and Self Publishers.
Speaker/Guest: Kulpreet Yadav, Zorba Publishers
Time: 4:00 PM
Session: Graphic Novels: Literature of the 21st Century
Description: Exploring the most visual form of literature which is fast gaining popularity and a cult/geek following.
Speaker/Guest: Bhanu Pratap (MODERATOR), Samit Basu and Abhimanyu Sisodia
Time: 5:00 PM
Session: Love & Relationships in Contemporary Writings
Description: This session probes into the traditional gender relationship roles inflicted upon us by society & analyzes love myths in society today, besides looking at topics like pre-marital sex, infidelity and same-gender love
Speaker/Guest: Nikita Singh, Neeta Iyer, Sid Bahri, Rajiv Soni and Leher Sethi (MODERATOR)
Time: 6:00 PM
9th February 2014, Sunday
Session: In conversation with Kusum Ansal
Description: Mamta Kiran will probe into the literary life of Kusum Ansal in a conversation with her shedding light on her works and style.
Speaker/Guest: Kusum Ansal and Mamta Kiran
Time: 11:00 AM
Session: Bernardo Carvalho: The Versátil Escritor (In association with the Embassy of Brazil, New Delhi)
Description: Bernardo Carvalho is a Brazillian novelist, playwright and is also a journalist. He will throw light on the Brazillian Contemporary Literature and also talk about how he shifts from writing fiction and writing objective news reports. Dr. Sonya Gupta, MA in Spanish and Ph.D from JNU and currently working on Postcolonial Literary and Cultural Studies in Latin American and Indian contexts, will delve into a conversation and interaction with Carvalho.
Speaker/Guest: Bernardo Carvalho and Dr. Sonya Gupta
Time: 12:30 PM
Session: Sex & the City : Erotica in Literature
Description: Writing erotica is itself being a rebel in the Indian society. The session looks into the social and personal lives of these daring writers who often have to use pen names and face the brunt of the conventional society. It will also try to understand through these authors, the art of scripting an erotica.
Speaker/Guest: Rosalyn D’Mello, Girja Kumar (MODERATOR), Sreemoyee Piu Kundu
Time: 2:00 PM
Session: The Digital Revolution & Literature
Description: The session will aim to understand how New Media has changed some rules for the literary world. From marketing to criticism and direct feedback from readers, authors have taken up new media platforms in full swing for all of these. New Media has not only changed how people promote their works but has affected the writing style too. It has created trends that gained popularity worldwide in short time. The session will explore the power and revolution of the New Media and how it has affected things.
Speaker/Guest: Ravi Chhabra, Sreemoyee Piu Kundu
Time: 3:30 PM
Session: A Tribute to Safdar Hashmi: Play Reading by Jana Natya Manch (JANAM)
Description: Jana Natya Manch will pay a special tribute to Safdar Hashmi through a Play reading session by its members and actors.
Speaker/Guest: Jan Natya Manch
Time: 4:45 PM
Session: The Art of Playwriting: A Discussion
Description: The session will discuss playwriting as a literary art form, the challenges being faced by the playwrights and the art form itself and also its changing face today.
Speaker/Guest: Bernardo Carvalho, Jaidev Taneja, Diwan Singh Bajeli (MODERATOR), Mohan Maharishi, Mariam Karim Ahlawat
Time: 5:00 PM
Session: The Craft of Poetry: Shifting Contours
Description: None other than the veterans of poetry and the award winning poets such as in this panel can explain the craft of poetry
Speaker/Guest: Ashok Chakradhar(Tentative), Rana Safvi, Dr. Vanita
Time: 6:00 PM
Session: In Conversation with Arvind Kejriwal
Description: Ms. Barkha Dutt, Group Editor, NDTV in conversation with Shri Arvind Kejriwal, Magsaysay Awardee and Chief Minister, Delhi on his much acclaimed book, Swaraj: Power to the people
Speaker/Guest: Arvind Kejriwal, Barkha Dutt
Time: 7:00 PM
Session: PACH
Description: Fun activities by Poetry Club PACH
Time: 1:00 PM
Session: Play Performance
Description: Pierrots Troupe
Time: 3:00 PM
Session: Play Performance
Description: Machine written by Safdar Hashmi
Speaker/Guest: Jana Natya Manch
Time: 3:30 PM
Session: Tribute to Juan Gelman
Description: Poet - Argentina
Speaker/Guest: Prof. Manjulata Sharma, Prof. Ajay Prasad
Time: 5:00 PM
A place I wish I would have been if I could have been! More details coming up soon.....