The Ahmedabad International Literature Festival (AILF) is all set to kick off in style on 5 and 6 October 2024.
As the city comes together to revel in the spirit of Navratri, literature lovers will also have much to celebrate at the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), the festival’s venue. An initiative by the Ikon Education Foundation, AILF made its debut in 2016 and has grown significantly since then.
AILF aims to ignite a passion for literature, particularly among children and young adults, with a focus on open dialogue, storytelling, and thought-provoking panel discussions on a wide range of subjects.
The festival celebrates both the written and spoken word. Since its inception, AILF has featured more than 500 speakers in over 200 sessions, both in-person and online.
Talking about this year’s festival, Umashankar Yadav, AILF’s founder-director, says, “We will be focusing on how literature is essential to society. A society can’t realise its full potential without literature. There will be more than 50 speakers from across India and abroad addressing different issues, ranging from the relevance of literature, poetry, and popular culture to women’s narratives, youth power, and more.
“This year’s edition will feature over 20 sessions, including interesting panel discussions, cultural activities, film poster releases, and more.”
He adds, “We want to bring literature closer to everyone. The basic philosophy of our festival is knowledge inclusivity. Literature can only thrive when there is the freedom to debate, discuss, and dissect. We have always adhered to the ethos of our festival, which turns nine this year.”
This year’s speakers include noted environment educator Kartikeya Sarabhai, renowned screenwriter Niren Bhatt, mythological author Kavita Kané, Gujarat Sahitya Academy Chairman Bhagyesh Jha, edu-entrepreneur and author Manjula Pooja Shroff, and poet and novelist Mukul Kumar.
In an attempt to bring popular culture closer to its audiences, actors from the Hindi and Gujarati film industries—Karan Oberoi, Vishal Yadav, Netri Trivedi, and Hardik Shastri—will share their thoughts on their works, films, different genres, and how entertainment is becoming medium-agnostic.
The two-day festival will also feature youth from Tanzania, Hungary, Mauritius, and Bangladesh discussing the role of literature in shaping an exciting future. Additionally, a session on the “Role of Institutions in Enriching Gujarati Language and Literature” will be led by Bhagyesh V. Jha, Mehul Makwana, Naishadh Purani, and Ketan Trivedi.
English poets Mukul Kumar, Dr. Sonali Pattnaik, and Gautam Vegda, among others, will explore the significance of poetry in societal development.
Addressing the need for inclusivity in literature, Sonali Pattanaik, Shradha Ahuja Ramani, Abhignya Sajja, and Kavita Kané will share their thoughts in a session titled “Compelling Women and Narratives: Mythology, Fiction, and Reality.”
The festival will also pay tribute to its late mentor, Dr. S.K. Nanda, IAS, with a special session in his memory.
Ankita Joshi, a young college student, is excited to attend the festival again. She says, “I attended last year’s festival and really enjoyed the sessions. There was so much to learn. I’m really looking forward to this year’s sessions. I love listening to women writers and poets because their narratives interest me a lot.”
Amdavadis, it’s time to get ready for this literary extravaganza!
Deepika Sahu has been a journalist for 29 years and she has worked with some of India’s leading media houses. Right now, she is independently engaged in content creation and curation. Twitter: @menondeepika, Instagram@moodydeepika, Facebook: Deepika Sahu
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