New Delhi, April 20 (IANS): The hill town Dehradun is all set to host the first edition of its literature festival from Friday. The two-day festival will feature renowned authors like Nayantara Sehgal, Durjoy Dutta, Ashwin Sanghi, Dev Lahiri, Ranjit Lal and Omair Ahmad, among many others.
Organised by Harvard Club of India and brand consultancy firm, Springhead Communications, the event will be held at World Integrity Center, India (WIC India) – Dehradun's most sought-after cultural hub.
Home to some of the most prominent authors like Ruskin Bond, Dehradun is the perfect setting to be the host venue, said Nazia Yusuf Izuddin, founder and president of WIC India.
“The festival is an effort to enrich life and to create a legacy that the children of Dehradun can inherit for times to come. Here, while one is close to nature and daily life is simple, one misses the opportunity to be part of intellectual, social and cultural activities of which literature events are an important aspect,” Izuddin added.
The first day will see enriching sessions like 'Why imagination is more powerful than knowledge" with authors Ranjit Lal and Dev Lahiri, 'Art of Storytelling' by Ashwin Sanghi and sessions by Omair Ahmad and Humra Quraishi.
The highlights of the second day include a session titled 'Religion and Politics' by Nayantara Sehgal and Kota Neelima, while Durjoy Dutta and Novoneel Chakraborty will deliberate on 'Humanotions'.
Apart from 25 authors, six top publishing houses will be participating in the event, which is expecting 5,000 participants.
“The fervour of a literature festival can be harmonised in a serene environment. This festival provides the best opportunity to build a holistic environment to boost reading in younger generation who are moving away from books towards web and social media," said Springhead Communications CEO Subhashish Bharuka.
Apart from the literary feast, visitors can look forward to a book fair hosted by top publishers and scrumptious in-house gourmet world cuisine.
For music lovers, a live performances by well-known Swatantra rock band ‘EKA’ on Friday evening will be a perfect treat.