Hoshiarpur Literary Society to host first lit fest

Setting literary thoughts in the rural landscape of Punjab amidst citrus groves, the Hoshiarpur Literary Society is all set to host its first writers' festival in Hoshiarpur town on November 23, event organiser said on Friday.

The one-day festival will see authors like Upamanyu Chatterjee and Rakshanda Jalil, literary society president Sanna K. Gupta told the media here.

She said Chatterjee would be speaking on his latest book, 'The Assassination of Indira Gandhi; The Collected Stories'.

The session will be moderated by Ravi Singh.

This session gains significance, especially given that November of 1984 saw wide-scale massacre of Sikhs after India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was shot dead by her own bodyguards.

Participating in the writers' fest is also eminent author Rakshanda Jalil, where her latest book 'But You Don't look like a Muslim' will be discussed.

In conversation with her will be journalist Nirupama Dutt.

"We at the literature society want to encourage a healthy, polite and constructive debate on sensitive topics and on issues which ail our Indian democracy. A healthy, constructive discussion is the only way forward to build a great nation," Sanna said.

"We are also looking at igniting minds and opening up debates to emerging topics in the world of entertainment and Punjabi cinema," she added.

According to her, there are two vital sessions on these topical topics.

The first one is titled 'The Future of Entertainment in the World of Web', and the panellists for the session are actor Ranvir Shorey and former Viacom Chief Operating Officer, Raj Nayak.

Actor Shorey has made his presence felt in the latest blockbuster web series, 'Sacred Games'.

The session of the Punjabi cinema is structured around the present and future of Punjabi cinema.

Participating in it are Punjabi cinema heavyweights, including actor Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi, director Anurag Singh, former Miss India and actress Navneet Dhillon and writer Jatinder Mauhr.

The Writers Festival will also have a significant presence of women authors and moderators, which is a part of the Lit society's thought, which is to lend an opportunity to women writers' and voices to share their works and thoughts.

The curtain raiser for the Writers Festival was done by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh this month where he launched the Punjabi translation of his biography, aThe People's Maharaja'.

He was in conversation with his biographer Khushwant Singh and the session was moderated by Vir Sanghvi.

The Hoshiarpur Literary Society was conceptualised in the May 2018 and has since then hosted many bestselling authors, including William Dalrmpyle, Sheela Reddy, Amarinder Singh, Vir Sanghvi and Daman Singh.

( With inputs from IANS )