Report: Banaras Literature Festival 2024
With panelists discussing everything from being inspired by the Didarganj Yakshi to budgets allocated for research, the event provided much to think about
Sitting at Assi Ghat in Banaras and watching the Ganga flow calmly past is an experience that’s not to be missed. The city famous for its religious significance flows just like the river, carrying with it all kinds of music, literature and art. It was to celebrate this quality that the Nav Bharat Nirman Samiti organized the second edition of the Banaras Lit Fest from 10 to 12 February, 2024 at the Rudraksh International Convention Centre.
The first session that I attended was Itihas, Mithak evam Kavita(History, Myth and Poetry) where Hindi poet and psychiatrist Vinay Kumar recited from Yakshini, his famous collection published by Rajkamal Prakashan. Later, in a conversation with journalist Santosh Singh, he talked about how he viewed history as a living arena to which his artistic mind travels to have tea with Akbar and take a stroll with Ashok before returning to reality. He also spoke about being inspired to write the entire series of poems after seeing the ancient statue of the Didarganj Yakshi at Patna’s Bihar Museum.
In the following session, author Divya Prakash Dubey spoke about his journey into writing and responded with insightful replies to questions about building a literary career and the workings of the industry raised by an eager young audience member. The day ended with a session on celebrating Bhartendu Harishchandra and his contribution to Hindi. Dipali Rajkrishna, a descendant of Harishchandra and the author of Bhartendu, a book encompassing several aspects of his life, spoke about the experience of growing up in such a family. She stressed that even though he was a traditionalist, he stayed away from communalism and believed Ram and Rahim to be one, something that her family still follows. The panel included Shyam Bihari Shyamal, who is also working on a book on Bhartendu Harishchandra. Shyamal said he aims to highlight several forgotten names associated with Harishchandra. These include Teg Ali, a dacoit turned Robin Hood, who used to write devotionally about Krishna.
The second day began early with a multilingual poetry recitation. While Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Majhi and Badri Narayan presented poems in Hindi, HS Shivprakash recited in Kannada and Uday Narayan held forth in Maithili. The panel for the following session, entitled India Now and In Transition – The Way Forward for Indian Democracy, comprised writers Ghazala Wahab, Utpal Kumar and Omair Ahmad and academic Banibrata Mahanta. Ahmad spoke about the ideals on which Indian democracy was envisioned and about the need to focus on where we might be lacking and work towards making ourselves better. He stated that if we wanted to excel, we need to equip our population with the skills to compete with China. Kumar said he believed that India is indeed moving in the right direction. This was contradicted by Wahab, who stated that post-truth has unfortunately become a reality and that while the youth is the strongest asset of our nation, there are no opportunities to utilize that force. She also revealed the dismal budget allocated to research and development and explained how that hinders progress. Dr Mahanta approached the conversation through another angle when he spoke about how Banaras was the nerve of democracy even during the freedom struggle. He added that, in recent times, the space for minorities has been shrinking, which needs to be negotiated.
The session entitled Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam had panelists discussing the importance of world peace and holistic development. Invoking the Bhagavad Gita, academic Sadanand Shahi stated that Krishna says that only someone who considers everyone as their own can only meet him. Writer Ashok Anand focused on the need to instil positive values in young people so that hatred can vanquished.
Another session, Sahitya, Loktantra evam Rashtravad (Literature, Democracy and Nationalism) featured film critic Sangam Pandey talking about how nationalism in India has been limited to reminiscing about the past. Academic Badri Narayan spoke about the need to consider oral and written traditions together while veteran journalist Om Thanvi recalled Rabindranath Tagore’s thoughts on nationalism which he labelled an illness. Literature should always be secular, he said.
Bhikhari Thakur’s epic play Bidesia, directed by Ashish Trivedi, was staged on the last day. A unique session on the challenges of organising literature festivals took place with a panel of organisers of such events from across the country. The panel included Farhat Ahsas of Jashn-e-Rekhta, Monika Singh of Deccan Lit Fest, Kunwar Ranjit Singh of Jashn-e-adab and Banaras Literature Festival’s own Brijesh Singh. The conversation revolved around the economical constraints and the challenge of attracting an audience.
In her session, Sharmishtha Mukherjee, author of Pranab, My Father, spoke about her book on the former president and about her own life as an artist. Next, writer Vineet Kumar stressed on the need for digital detoxes. He also spoke about how the fear of missing out (FOMO) has induced people to become addicted to a superficial reality.
All in all, the Banaras Literature Festival was an intellectually stimulating experience in an eternal city.
Chittajit Mitra (he/him) is a queer writer, translator and editor from Allahabad. He is co-founder of RAQS, an organization working on gender, sexuality and mental health.