Kolkata lit meet to discuss intolerance, gender, sports

The fifth edition of the Kolkata Literary Meet (Kalam) beginning here on January 21 will stir up some interesting conversations on the intolerance debate, women and their writings, gender issues and cinema, organisers said on Friday.

The Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet features around 135 delegates including Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, authors Amitav Ghosh, Ruskin Bond, Nayantara Sehgal, cinema personalities Sharmila Tagore, Javed Akhtar, Tabu and Manabi Bandopadhyay, India's first transgender college principal.

Malavika Banerjee, director of Kalam, said the key themes this year are women and their writings, Partition, Kolkata and its depiction in the arts and writing on sports with a focus on Rio Olympics and T20 World Cup.

To be held in association with Victoria Memorial Hall, the six-day event will be held at Victoria and other spots across town, including on the Hooghly.

One of its prominent sessions titled "Let My Country Awake" will see lyricist Javed Akhtar, children's author Ruskin Bond and journalist Barkha Dutt talking on where the country stands between the extreme positions on the intolerance debate.

Journalist-turned-author Avirook Sen, who penned "Aarushi", will speak on the sensational double murders.