Subodh Sankar, Vikram Sampath and Shinie Antony, announcing the BLF schedule on Wednesday
Bengaluru: Come December, all roads lead to the Bangalore Literature Festival!
Now in its third year, BLF is back, now emerging as the second largest literary festival in the country, for two days packed with panel discussions, opportunities to meet with your favourite authors, film screenings, a platform for aspiring writers to meet the who’s-who in the publishing world and, of course, the hugely popular Makkala Koota.
Javed Akhtar, Chandrashekara Kambara, Shashi Deshpande, Nandan Nilekani, Zac O'Yeah, Subodh Sarkar and Andaleeb Wajid are some of the big names in the lineup for this edition. What's more, BLF has found its way back to the heart of the city and will take place at Hotel Royal Orchid on Old Airport Road.
Budding and aspiring writers too have a place with BLF announcing its first literary award in conjunction with the city-based bookstore Atta Galatta.
The Lit-Mart, which kicked off to a huge success in last year's edition, is back for round two. Aspiring writers are invited to make three-minute pitches of their manuscripts to representatives from the biggest publishing houses.
The growing debate around intolerance, one that authors across the country have participated in, is one of the major focus points of BLF 2015. As always, the festival is centered around literature in Indian languages, with a number of regional authors like Subodh Sarkar (Bengali), Dr Mohammad Zaman Azurdah (Kashmiri), Vaasanthi (Tamil) and Sara Joseph (Malayalam) attending the festival.
BLF has also launched film screenings in association with filmmakers Jenny Pinto and Ratnottama Sengupta, who will curate a round-the-clock session of National Award winning films in endangered languages. “BLF has made its mark across the country over the last three years,” said Vikram Sampath, co-founder, BLF.
“It is a festival that is serious about issues concerning literature. Each year, we have attempted to bring something new to the fore and engage our spirited audience with panel discussions, workshops and cultural programmes. The idea is to make the festival a must-visit event in the country."
Anuradha Roy, Amitav Ghosh in shortlist
The award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh, will be given in three cateogries – Best Fiction (English), Best Non-Fiction (English) and a literary achievement award in Kannada. The jury members include Usha K.R., Vivek Shanhbag and Harish Bijoor. Shortlisted candidates include: Amitav Ghosh – Flood of Fire (Fiction), Anuradha Roy – Sleeping on Jupiter (Fiction), Aksha Mukul – Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India (Non-Fiction) and Halt Station India – Rajendra Aklekar (Non Fiction). The award is an original sculpture titled Thought Beyond Words.
Installation to commemorate WW1
One of the main attractions this year is a unique art installation to commemorate the start of World War 1, by Elke Palat from Germany. The installation focuses on the effects, the reception and the narrative of the First World War. Interestingly, it draws attention to the search for soldiers from South India who may have participated in the war.
Makkala Koota
BLF is the only festival that includes structured sessions for children, which have proved hugely popular over the last three years. This year, Makkala Koota includes a writing workshop, mythology quiz and audio-visual storytelling with live sketching. The event has been put together in collaboration with Amar Chitra Katha, Pratham, Duckbll and Bookalore, along with performance storyteller Vikram Sridhar.
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