2 day literature carnival Lit o Fest bids goodbye with a promise to return

Eclectic mix of personalities such as Gulzar saab, Hariharan, Dr Jaspinder Narula, Radhakrishnan Pillai and many others soak in the infectious vibe

Indian authors and book lovers found a new haven at Lit o Fest, Mumbai’s literature carnival that left an indelible imprint in its very first edition. Eager festival goers showed up for the second and last day at the quintessential JJ School of Arts’ lawn. Soon the two halls too were filled with enthusiasm.

From book launches by authors such as Faraaz Kazi, Javed Siddiqui and Gulzar saab to providing a window to budding and minority authors at the Author Publisher meet, from thought-provoking sessions to interactive workshops, from a powerful mythological Hindi play PAANSA to an inimitable folk and fusion performance, Lit o Fest offered every literature and culture lover something memorable to take back. PAANSA stood out with its dramatisation and translation by Gulzar as PAANSA, but the man with a magic wand of words had more to offer through his conversation with Salim Areef on Translations, a journey through Galib's life and his writings. Javed Siddiqui’s book “Roshandaan” was launched at the Lit-O-Fest in the presence of Gulzar Saab, Rakshanda Jalil, Salim Arif, Festival Director Smita Parikh, Saurabh Daftary, Founder of E Bizz Entertainment Pvt Ltd,

Simultaneously, literature lovers immersed in the colourful extravaganza and met some of their favourite authors. In Not a 'Bad' Idea!, a panel of eminent members discussed how subjects like Murder, Rape, Infidelity have a mass appeal. Hindi remained in vogue on Day 2 with sessions such as Kavita paath sahitya ki khoobsoorat dhara that saw talented kavis and their deep rooted passion for Kavita as a medium resurface in the interactive discussion. The session that presented the beauty of Urdu as the language of poetry and verses struck a chord with die-hard literature fanatics. The session Media Mandi Ke Badalte Niyam showcased advent, spread and impact of social media. LoveApp! particularly appealed youth with its relevant nuances on ‘dating’ turning ‘digital’ for the keypad generation. The session Progressive Writers Movement was marked with iconic and insightful takeaways, followed by Spiced Up!, a discussion on truth about autobiographies.

The evening unfolded a reverberating Folk and Fusion performance by legends including Hariharan, Pandit Ajay Pohankar, Dr Jaspinder Narula, Abhijit Pohankar, Gio Conda (Italian Opera Singer), Shankar Brothers and John Ellie. Musical instruments complementing India’s best voices left the audience mesmerised. Dr Jaspinder Narula was in conversation with Hariharan sharing his insights on +the technicalities of music composition. In the workshop Be The Bestseller, Radhakrishnan Pillai of Corporate Chanakya & Chanakya's 7 Secrets of Leadership’s fame, shared the experience of being a best-seller author and presented some unmistakable insights.

Smita Parikh, spokesperson for Lit O Fest, expressed, “The two days proved to be a perfect medley of experiences and new ideas. We loved the response and promise to make Lit-O-Fest Mumbai, the festival with a difference bigger, better and even more sought after next year. Thank you Mumbai, JJ School of Arts and Architecture, all the eminent speakers, authors, performers, publishers and above all the enthusiastic literature lovers for setting Lit o Fest off to a memorable head-start.”

Day 2 saw the country’s finest speakers, panelists, authors and performers making Lit of Fest in its debut edition a grand success. It took place on 28th February and March 01st 2015 at the JJ School of Arts, Mumbai.