Delhi Literature Festival

The newly introduced calendar event in the Delhi literary circuit is slowly gaining ground with increased enthusiasm both on part of the organisers and the visitors. The three-day long event beginning on 7 February, 2014, was staged at the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts.

On February 8, Mrs. Shaswati Dutta and Mrs. Sonia Mojumdar, our teachers attended the festival for the followin events.

Illumination: Decorative Art of Book- Making was a session which looked into the world of Persian publishing, it's history and form. Focusing on it's three major elements-illumination (illustration), decoration (graphics) and calligraphy (art of writing), Iranian artists present on the occasion threw light on the art, showcasing a live exhibition and citing examples from their exhibited works.

The Lit Entrepreneurs provided a platform to listen to entrepreneurial journeys from the literary world. Representing the authors' forum, Kulpreet Yadav highlighted ordeals faced by aspiring authors. Shalini Gupta from Zorba Publishers pointed out intricacies of the world of editing. The session was moderated by Darpan Majumdar.

Literary Criticism proved to be of great contemporary relevance as the focus was on how the art of critique is changing with the advent of new media. Through a growing network of social media, personal websites and blogs anybody can put up reviews and criticism on literary works and indulge in conversation. Thus, the conventional modes of critique is giving way to the digital medium where authors get instant feedback directly from their readers. The panelists pointed out how this should be regarded as comments and not to be confused with criticism which is a strict literary discipline.

The most interesting session turned out to be the one titled Bibliophiles, Meetups, Literature et al in the amphitheatre over cups of piping coffee! It proved to be a revelation that the city nurtures several book- clubs and meet-up groups which not only promote reading, encourage writing, engage in intellectual discussions but are also a refuge for young minds wanting to create a difference in their lives.

Overall it was a day well- spent under a welcome winter sun in the vibrant company of literary critics, bookworms, aspiring writers as well as curious onlookers. In a charming venue in Lutyens Delhi.

Compiled by Ms. Sonia Mojumdar.