By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 1 Apr: The 4th edition of the three-day-long Dehradun Literature Festival commenced today at Hyatt Regency, here.
The annual festival was inaugurated by Cabinet Minister Ganesh Joshi, Actor Tusshar Kapoor, Founder, DLF, Samraant Virmani, Film Director Varun Gupta, General Manager, Hyatt, Harkaran Singh, and Sudeep Mukherjee from Big Bang.
In his address, Cabinet Minister Ganesh Joshi made special mention of the organisers of DLF 2022, especially the founder, Samraant Virmani, and commended the efforts behind hosting the literature festival on such a large scale in Doon.
During the day, an art and photography exhibition held by artists Anisha Khanduja, Amrai, Mowthika Subramaniam, Aloke Lal and Maanas Lal.
Day 1 started with an interesting session with Bollywood Actor & Producer Tusshar Kapoor on his latest book ‘Bachelor Dad’. He was in conversation with the well-known publisher, Milee Ashwarya.
Tusshar remarked, “I never thought of becoming an author, but my friends used to encourage me by seeing the way I am bringing up my son. By the end of 2019, I decided that I can write a book and I should take time out for it. Today, my book is my other child. I have nurtured it over time.”
On being asked about the difficulties he faced as a single parent, Tusshar said, “It’s as easy or as difficult for any parent. The trick is to become a good parent. It’s challenging but ultimately it’s a joy. You get that satisfaction to fulfill all those challenges after becoming a parent.”
Talking about taking the decision of becoming a single parent and sharing the same with his parents, Tusshar said, “I was way much too worried and had put in much thought before taking the decision of becoming a single parent. In the end, I listened to my heart. When I completed the entire process of IVF and the process of surrogacy started, after that I had a deep discussion with my family. My mother was surprised but very supportive of my decision. She said that she and my father would be mere grandparents, but I’ll be the one who’ll have to take the entire charge and it’ll be life-changing. I must say that there were numerous learning milestones at every step of my journey.”
Sharing some anecdotes, Tusshar said, “After all the processes were complete, my excitement level was its peak, and so I went for my unborn child’s shopping. I even bought unisex clothes as the sex of my child was unknown. The night of 1 June, 2016, was one of the most memorable nights of my life as I finally became a dad.”
At the end of the session, members of the audience got a chance to ask him questions about his book, as well as his life as a single parent.
The first day of the three-day-long Dehradun Literature Festival concluded with an intriguing session on ‘Music from the Roots of India’ with famous Folk Singer Malini Awasthi in conversation with Film Director Varun Gupta.
Addressing the audience, Malini talked about the folk music of the country. She said, “Folk music is a lifestyle that one believes in and lives by. Folk hasn’t got lost anywhere. It’s very much amongst us. Rock and Pop are there but our country is defined by Folk and Classical and we’re an integral part of it. God has made us humans with a brain to think about notes and a heart to feel the symphony. Otherwise, we would’ve been born as sheep.”
She added, “Folk music is the authentic connection to our tradition. It gives voice to the individuals of the rural geography, who are otherwise barely heard. The younger generation is shifting away from our ethos and society, barely displaying any interest in tunes of folk music. I started to compile these songs and discovered quite a few from my grandmother. Nearly every family in Uttar Pradesh has a dholak to play while singing. I recall, as a child, penning down the verses and attempting to sing them.”
Day 2 of the Literature Festival will witness some of the finest sessions by renowned authors including Imtiaz Ali in conversation with Richa Anirudh, Piyush Panday in conversation with Prahlad Kakkar, Saeed Naqvi in conversation with Abhimanyu Krishnan, Geeta Shri in conversation with Namita Singh, DGP Ashok Kumar in conversation with Amit Lodha and Ian Cardozo in conversation with Rachna Bisht, among many other engrossing sessions.
