Home Dehradun VoW|G-Literati proves a treat for bibliophiles

VoW|G-Literati proves a treat for bibliophiles

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By Dr Tania SailiBakshi

Dehradun, 17 Aug: The Valley of Words, Literature and Art Festival|Shabdavali’s G-Literati event held in partnership with The Daly College, Indore, and AFS India, on 10 August was a roaring success for book lovers.

Twenty five schools from all over India took part in the one-day event which revolved around the Literary Festival’s Young Adult Literature longlist. Five authors from the category were flown in to take part in an event that aspires to inculcate the love for reading among school going students.

The objective of this unique initiative was to bring students closer to literature and its universal appeal; where students got to meet, interact, and hear from authors about their books.

Festival Director Dr Sanjeev Chopra was present at the inaugural event. The Guest of Honour was Rashmi Chopra, a true connoisseur of literature and the brain behind Shabdavali.  The occasion was also graced by the presence of renowned authors Mandira Shah, Lubaina Bandukwala, Nikhil Gulati, Sutapa Basu, and Vikas Prakash Joshi.

In his keynote address, Dr Chopra urged the students as well as the educators to, “celebrate the value and magic of words in the context of Indian languages through literary festivals that provide a dedicated space to celebrate the written word, honouring authors, poets, and their creative contributions”.  He added, “Such literary initiatives undertaken by Daly College serve as dynamic intersections of creativity, learning and cultural exchange.”

Adding multi-dimensional layers to the one-day event, cultural performances such as musical interludes, live readings, character enactments, poster displays, book reviews and theatrical adaptations of literary works were put on the charts.

Including the host school, the event, G-Literati’23 witnessed enthusiastic participation from twenty-five prestigious schools of the country. The books and authors discussed at the event were ‘The Children of the Hidden Land’ by Mandira Shah, ‘Chowpatty Cooking Club’ by Lubaina Bandukwala, ‘The People of the Indus’ by Nikhil Gulati, ‘Birth of My Nation’ by Sutapa Basu and ‘My name is Cinnamon’ by Vikas Prakash Joshi. Talking about the great line-up, Dr Chopra said, “The VoW G-Literati held at Daly College Indore had twenty- five schools from across the country – Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP and Punjab interacting with five authors: Mandira Shah, Vivek Prakash Joshi, Sutapa Basu, Lubaina Bandukwala and Nikhil Gulati on their books which have found a place in the VoW list for Young Adults this year. What a range of themes – from transborder crime, drugs and ethnic issues in Manipur, the 1942 Quit India Movement, to the nuances of adoption and the understanding of how India has evolved over the years from the times of the Indus Valley!”

A series of moderated interviews, insightful conversations, and exchange of perspectives through open floor discussions with the authors enabled the students to engage and become familiar with the authors, their writing style and both historical and contemporary socio-cultural issues.

As for the authors who took part, they all reiterated the fact that it was a well-organised event and they all found it stimulating to interact with young enthusiastic bibliophiles.