Delhi’s date with literary stalwarts

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After a lull post Jaipur Literature Festival earlier this year, literary fests are rocking again. The good news is that Delhi will also get to host one of these coveted literary events. The famed Kovalam Literary Festival, now in its fourth year, will have a one-day stopover in Delhi today at the India International Centre.
The two-day main event, on October 1 and 2, will follow the Delhi leg. While Fatima Bhutto, Mohammed Hanif and David Davidar are among the main attractions at the fest, Delhi will have a date with Pakistani and Israeli writers. Fatima Bhutto, another Pakistani stalwart had to skip Delhi, as she will be delivering the K.C. John memorial lecture in Trivandrum.
“Delhi is a cultural hub and I brought the fest to Delhi for branding reasons and for positioning it as the second biggest festival in India. It has worked so far,” says KLF founder-director Binoo John on dedicating one day to the city.
The event will open with a reading by Anuradha Roy from her book The Folded Earth, followed by a presentation by Savyon Liebrecht, short story writer and playwright Motti Lerner, who are counted among Israel’s best-known literary figures.
Post lunch session will see Arvind Mehrotra reading from his translation of Kabir’s poems. Author Manu Joseph will be in conversation with Pakistani writer Mohammed Hanif, who will be reading from his new novel, Our Lady of Alice Bhatti.
Usually, these fests have a thread running through them that binds them with a theme, but KLF keeps it freewheeling, which makes it more interesting. Although there is no such rule, it’s difficult to bring in themes, informs Binoo.
Nonetheless the colourful blend of the local as well as global names ensures that the festival retains its glo+cal flavour. Binoo adds that it’s not deliberate but just happened. “It can’t be fully global. You need to connect with the audience. So it needs to be local as well.”
Author Ira Trivedi, who has been participating in the KLF, is quite excited about the new venue as Delhi gives access to a larger audience than any other place and says, “I am looking forward to hearing Mohammed Hanif read. I have been attending the KLF in Kerala for the past two years, and I am excited to see a great line-up this year. Unfortunately, my schedule does not permit travel this year and also I am a bit lit-fested out!”
The day will also see the launch of a book on tigers of Dudwa National Park by Ashok Kumar, Anita Nair’s collection of poems Malabar Minds and Suresh Menon’s Bishan tracking the life of former Indian cricket captain and legendary spinner Bishan Singh Bedi.
There are three verticals this year — words, music and art — to make it more than just a literary gathering. From Delhi’s popular hip hop band Ska Vengers to Susheela Raman, the day promises to end on a musical note.