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The curious case of 13
As if Chandigarh has finally woken up to the mighty literature of the country, another literature festival — Chandigarh Literature Festival (CFL) — is ready to take city’s book enthusiasts by a storm in November
As if Chandigarh has finally woken up to the mighty literature of the country, another literature festival — Chandigarh Literature Festival (CFL) — is ready to take city’s book enthusiasts by a storm in November.
The three-day literature festival — from November 8 to 10 — will see 13 of India’s renowned book critics take part. Altaf Tyrewala, director, CLF 2013, Mitul Dikshit, chairman, Adab Foundation and Madhav Kaushik, secretary, Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi on Monday announced the format of the festival.
“CFL 2013 will be held at Hotel Taj, Sector 17, Chandigarh, where the critics would nominate books that would further be read out and analyzed at the festival,” says Tyrewala.
A few prominent names that will be a part of the festival are Manjula Padmanabhan (book nomination - The Extras by Kiran Nagarkar), Nirupama Dutt (nomination - Shanti Parv by Des Raj Kali and Em and The Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto), Ashok Vajpeyi (nomination - The Mirror of Beauty by SR Faruqi), Jerry Pinto (nomination - Patna Roughcut by Siddharth Chowdhury and Cuckold by Kiran Nagarkar).
About what to expect at the fest, Kaushik says, “The festival is a celebration of creativity. In the past, it has been observed at literary festivals, authors’ faces are highlighted while their books are not. So, we have decided to throw light on books at this fest. Hindi and Punjabi books will also be read and analyzed.”
Adding to it, Dikshit says, “Chandigarh doesn’t have Sector 13, which would make for an interesting topic to talk about; we expect authors and critics to talk about the anthology of Chandigarh. This festival would have various genres to focus on. For instance, a city-based theater group would also enact passages from these 13 books.
Also, since our focus is ‘13’, we would have 13 nominated books in the year 2013! The festival would also include a panel discussion about literature, politics and the society. Other events, including ‘guess the book’ reading sessions, art and writing competitions, would also take place.”
About the intersection of literature and cinema, Dikshit and Tyrewala say, “Films would also be a part of the fest; Bollywood films BA Pass, Ghanchakkar and The Lunchbox would be screened in the presence of film critics like Raja Sen and directors like Raj Kumar Gupta and Ajay Bahl.”
