Now, Chandigarh to host its own literature festival

Leading authors of various genres will participate in the first edition of the Chandigarh Literature Festival to be organised here next month.

The two-day literature festival is being organised on Nov 23 and 24 on the sprawling lawns of the Lake Club by the side of Chandigarh's famous Sukhna Lake.

"The lit fest promises an amazing line-up of internationally renowned authors, exclusive performances by specially commissioned artists, interspersed with topical debates and discussions across varied literary genres... the city shall be the destination of choice for literature lovers," Chandigarh Literary Society chairperson Sumita Misra said here Tuesday.

Some of the authors and celebrities who have confirmed their participation for the event include Bhaskar Ghose, Prasoon Joshi, Ashok Vajpeyi, Kishwar Desai, Madhu Kishwar, Gul Panag, Meghna Pant, Rajeev Dubey, Rahul Bose, Irshad Kamil, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Gobind Mishra and Rahul Pandita, Misra said.

Named 'Literati 2013', the event will have sessions for English, Hindi and Punjabi literature with some interesting sessions like 'Exotica is the New Erotica', 'The Four Letter Words: All Between Love & Hate', 'Women and the Paradox of the Modernity', 'Dissent, Discourse & Diaspora', 'Religion and Politics: Oxygen or Position?'.

Several book launches are also planned during Literati, including "Helium" by Jaspreet Singh, and Manisha Gangahar's "Kashmir's Narratives of Conflict", said CLS founder member and author Vivek Atray.

"The sprawling lakeside lawns of Lake Club will be transformed to a literary village with bookstalls, paintings, photographs and handicrafts display, live artists at work, coffee corners, and food stalls," said Atray, a Haryana cadre Indian Administrative Service officer.

Founded in 2012, CLS has activated the Chandigarh literary scene by hosting authors including Anupam Kher, Navtej Sarna, Pavan Varma, Ketan Bhagat, Yousuf Saeed and others, besides organizing various workshops for budding authors and short-story and poetry writing competitions.