What is common between Kanhaiya Kumar, Abhinav Bindra and Montek Singh Ahluwalia? Not much except that all of them, along with the likes of Omar Abdullah, Shyam Benegal and Salman Khurshid, will be descending on the picturesque Kasauli, painting the town in a festive hue as the three-day Khushwant Singh Lit Fest – 2016 will kick off this Friday.
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh will be inaugurating the fest, the only such event in the hill-state, as well as the Khushwant Singh Trail, which is a 9-kilometre track named after the author who did a large part of his reading and writing in the town.
The trail is a short-cut from the 6,000-ft high Kasauli bazaar, down to the plains of Kalka. It will be thrown open to the public shortly after the inauguration.
FEST THEME
This time around, the theme is breaking barriers. “My father broke barriers throughout his life, through his writing and unorthodox viewpoints. It’s apt that this be the theme for the fest,” said Rahul Singh, Khushwant Singh’s son.
It’s only apt then that the likes of Suhel Seth, Mani Shankar Iyer and Steven Alter
{{/usCountry}}It’s only apt then that the likes of Suhel Seth, Mani Shankar Iyer and Steven Alter
{{/usCountry}}REMEMBERING URI MARTYRS
One minute of silence will be observed to express solidarity with the army. Rahul Singh expressed his gratitude to a long-list of brigadiers from Kasauli, the latest being Brig Deepak Sharma, without whom “there will be no fest.”
BIG, LITTLE PRESENCE
Students from 200 schools across Himachal Pradesh and from Punjab will also take part in the fest.
Punjab governor and UT administrator VP Badnore will be present at the closing ceremony.