7 Reasons Why You Have To Attend The Hindu Lit For Life This Year

With the winding down of all the music and dance that Margazhi has to offer comes the annual building up to the most awaited literary event in the city — the Hindu Lit for Life, a three-day bonanza that celebrates world class literature and sees discussions, workshops, performances and conversations by novelists, artists, performers who interact closely with the audience as well. In its eighth edition this year, there is much to look forward to for keen literary enthusiasts and the lay audience alike. If you’ve missed the first two days of the event, you can make up for it by attending its last day – today!

At the core of the festival lies a celebration of everything that comes with the written word. The three day event is dedicated to local and global literature, and to top-rated regional language writers and authors in English from within India and all over the world. These writers have written books that have won international acclaim and seen a good deal of press, many in the recent past. This means fest-goers will have the opportunity to get their hands on some of the freshest additions to the literary world on subjects ranging from politics to Bollywood and cricket to children’s writing, and even meet their favourite authors in the flesh – at book signings, at their assigned sessions, or amidst the crowds thronging the food stalls.

One of the more obvious reasons for the popularity of the lit fest is the opportunity the audience gets to listen to —and even interact with – some of their favourite writers, columnists, journalists and activists. This year, Chennaiites will be able to listen to journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, writer-activist Teesta Setalvad, musician TM Krishna, Bollywood favourites Karan Johar and Hema Malini, poet Tishani Doshi, broadcaster-novelist Sebastien Faulks, writers Amitava Kumar, Hyeonseo Lee, David Davidar Rajni Bakshi, Manu Joseph, historians V Sriram and AR Venkatachalapathy, cricketer Mike Brearley and investigative journalist Josy Joseph. Whatever the subject of your interest, there’s something for you to watch, listen to and take away from.

Two days of amazing events have passed but you can catch the event on its last day! Day 3 of the fest starts off with a discussion on a topic particularly relevant to our times: At 10am, attend The Age of Cowardice And The Violence of Trolling by Gurmehar Kaur, Swati Chaturvedi and Teesta Setalvad in conversation with Narayan Lakshman. And at 12.05pm, listen to Arundhathi Nag, Nissar Allana and Santanu Bose speak with Mukund Padmanabhan about whether festivals serve theatre.

The Hindu Lit for Life is also an inclusive event — it covers the subject of children’s literature, encouraging kids to plunge into the delightful world of books. Apart from its panel discussions on children’s literature, in an attempt to engage an audience between the ages of five and 12, the fest is bringing in children’s book authors and experts who work with children to conducts workshops on storytelling, creative writing, and enjoying books through theatre, drawing and puppetry. The registration fee is INR 350. Sign up here.

On January 16, wait to hear which of your favourite books last year wins The Hindu Prize for Fiction 2017. The prize will be awarded to one of five books: Leila by Prayaag Akbar, Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy, When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy, and The Small Town Sea by Anees Salim.