In your city: Fifth edition of Bengaluru literature festival

This is Bengaluru’s own festival, home-grown and organic,” says a hugely pleased Shinie Antony, festival director of the Bangalore Literature Festival (BLF), which aims to promote and sustain the city’s literary diversity.

The fifth edition of the festival, which will be held at Hotel Royal Orchid on 17-18 December, will see more than 100 writers, publishers and representatives of various art and culture organizations participating. “The BLF will whisk you out of your comfort zone,” says Antony, comparing the festival experience to reading, “Just as it’s not which book you read but how you read it, it is what you take away from a lit fest (that matters).”

And there will be plenty to take away, with the sessions scheduled to have participants such as Ramachandra Guha, Shashi Tharoor, Chetan Bhagat, Amish Tripathi, Bezwada Wilson, Kanhaiya Kumar, Ramya, Gurcharan Das, Arup Kumar Dutta, Sanjeev Sanyal, Rajiv Malhotra and Vivek Shanbhag.

“I am delighted to bring my book, An Era Of Darkness, to the Bangalore Literary Festival,” says Tharoor, adding that he will be opening the festival with writer and economist Sanjeev Sanyal. “I am looking forward immensely to a stimulating discussion,” he adds.

The highlights will include film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan speaking about his life and times, writer and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation Sudha Murty engaging writer Chetan Bhagat in a conversation about women wanting it all, actor Ashish Vidyarthi talking about his life with publisher Ashok Chopra and actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha making an appearance.

There will also be segments for children, a LitMart where aspiring authors can pitch their manuscripts to top publishers and editors, a tribute to singer and Nobel laureate Bob Dylan, ballet, stand-up comedy and live music.

“The Bangalore Literature Festival belongs to the quiet thinker in actors, writers, artistes and readers in 2016,” says Antony. “They occupy the intellectual space on their own terms,” she says.

The festival begins at 9.30am on both days. For more details, visit here .