BackThis is where the Ibis docks
The Spring Fever 2015 literary festival will host an open-air library and a preview of Amitav Ghosh’s third book in the Ibis trilogy
Premium(Gulzar (right) will recite from his latest book, ‘Another 100 Lyrics’, on 15 March)
NEW DELHI : For a week starting Saturday, visitors to the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi will be able to browse through 2,000-plus books from Penguin India and Random House India across segments like literature, politics, business and self-help.
For, like previous years, the eighth edition of the Spring Fever literature festival, being organized by Penguin Random House India in collaboration with the Visual Arts Gallery, will also feature an open-air library.
“Spring Fever was launched initially to celebrate the joy of reading; it still does, but on a much larger scale," says Hemali Sodhi, publisher (children’s and young adult titles), Penguin India. The library is accessible to everyone during the day and book lovers are welcome to browse and buy books. “The festival gives audiences a platform to come together as a community and celebrate books in all forms," says Sodhi.
Author Amitav Ghosh will open the festival with an exclusive preview of his much anticipated book Flood Of Fire—the third book in his Ibis trilogy, the previous two being Sea Of Poppies (2008) and River Of Smoke (2011). Ghosh will talk about the book and read short passages from the manuscript. The book will be published in May.
There will also be sessions like “Can India Make It?" on 16 March, with journalists T.N. Ninan, Mihir Sharma and Aakar Patel (a Mint Lounge columnist), among others, discussing the state of the nation. The session, “Shabdon Ki ‘Social’ Factory", on 17 March will include writers Pankaj Dubey and Yasser Usman and politician Shashi Tharoor, who will deliberate on how social media and condensation of language affect writing.
Author Gurcharan Das, economist and author Bibek Debroy, art critic and writer Alka Pande, among others, will explore the presence of love and desire in the Indian classics in “The Romantics" on 19 March. “Ek Akela Iss Shahar Mein", on 21 March, will see lyricist Gulzar, a festival regular, reciting verses from his new book, Another 100 Lyrics.
The festival is known for its literary conversations each evening and post-session cultural performances. Look out for a musical performance by New Delhi-based desi rock ‘n’ roll band Faridkot on 14 March and Dastan Alice Ki—an Urdu rendition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland and Through The Looking-Glass, And What Alice Found There—to be performed by Poonam Girdhani and Ankit Chadha on 17 March.
Spring Fever 2015 will be held from 14-22 March, at India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road. Library timings, 11am-7pm; sessions begin at 7pm. Click here for the schedule and registration.
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