The Bangalore Literature Festival 2023: A place where Stories come to Life

Dive into the world of literature at the Bangalore Literature Festival, December 2-3. Experience diverse sessions and vibrant storytelling. Explore the magic of words and stories.

on Nov 24, 2023

The Bangalore Literature Festival 2023: A place where Stories come to Life | Frontlist

The Bangalore Literature Festival, which will be hosted in the city on December 2-3, promises a vibrant and eclectic lineup.

“Lit fests are mythical beasts that come alive — hundred-headed, multilingual, come-hither, magic-carpeting into all directions,” says Shinie Antony, festival director of the Bangalore Literature Festival. The 12th edition of the festival, which will be held in the city between December 2-3, promises to be as interesting as the editions before, offering an eclectic, diverse set of sessions that, as the BLF website puts it, focuses on “rekindling the romance with literature and fostering fine reading and writing, especially amongst the young population of the city.”

Shinie highlights some of the festival's key highlights, including a keynote address by Dr Abraham Verghese, a conversation with Devdutt Pattanaik on Jainism, an interaction with Sudha Murty, who will actually bring Gopi, the dog featured in her children's book, to meet young readers, a stand-up session by Anuvab Pal on lit fests, a conversation between Shashi Tharoor and his sister Smita Thar

There will also be music performances by Kavish Seth and Avrina Prabala-Joslin, as well as a LitMart and ScreenLit, where people can pitch their novel and screenplay ideas, as well as a full carousel for kids, she says. "It's a showy lineup." Ghouls, crime, feminism, book covers, bookstores, translation, satire... "There is no such thing as a taboo subject," she argues.

It all boils down to ensuring there are enough subjects to appeal to a wide spectrum of individuals, according to festival co-founder Srikrishna Ramamoorthy. "We make sure that there is something to draw people in, and they are enticed by the fact that there is a lot more than the festival can offer," he says, noting that the fact that BLF is a community-funded festival — the largest in India — has helped the festival remain independent and neutral.
Furthermore, because it is a city festival, it attracts a high degree of participation from city residents.

"People from all walks of life have contributed to the festival." It makes the celebration even more appealing to them," adds Srikrishna, who feels that if any city in India can pull anything like this successfully, it is Bengaluru. "I think there is something about the soil here, the desire of its people to contribute to making the city a better place."

After all, literature festivals are an excellent method to discover new authors and expand your knowledge beyond what you already know. "A reader who walks casually into bookstores doesn't get to see the sort of diversity that they would otherwise see in the programming of a lit fest," he adds, adding that literature festivals enrich the lives of those who attend them. "I think lit fests are important because there are so many stories that need to be told, and this is a great place for them to be told," he said.

Tashan Mehta, an author who will participate in multiple sessions at the festival, admits to being "insanely excited" about it. "I've been to BLF as a spectator, but this is the first time I'll be speaking there," says Tashan, who recently published Mad Sisters of Esi, a fantasy tale.She feels that literature festivals can help you connect with readers "not for the 'public eye facing' thing, but genuine connections," she says. "It's encouraging; these conversations are important to us as authors," Tashan says, adding that he's looking forward to meeting other authors at the festival. "We're all trying to find the words to say something that we find extremely difficult to say." Meeting like-minded folks is quite empowering."