Battle of Wits witnessed among Doon authors

An exciting battle among authors was held in the Doon valley on Sunday by the Booknerds where many Doon-based authors participated and expressed their views on their writing. It was not exactly a battle in the true sense but more of a competition between all of them as far as their expression and content of their writing is concerned. The concept was novel and attracted  a large audience despite the heavy and incessant rain.

Among the writers who participated in this event were Raj Kanwar, Jaskiran Chopra, Kunal Uniyal, Mona Verma, Surya Prakash , Pradeep Singh, SP Singh, Ananya Dhawan, ADGP Ashok Kumar, Girija Gopalakrishnan and  Agrima Nidhi Sharma, a schoolgirl who has written a book of poems. Agrima won the Lit Dangal, by audience voting, with her confidence and energy .She is just seventeen years old.

All authors spoke about their life and works in seven minutes each. They came to know each other better and thus the “Dangal” became a platform for new friendships and bonds on Friendship Day. Young authors were inspired by hearing the older ones speak and the older ones were happy to see that the new generation is carrying on the tradition of writing that is so close to the heart of the Doon valley. Many eminent persons were among the audience including teachers, students, budding writers, civil servants and publishers. “Café Tonic”, the venue, was crowded for the Dangal despite the downpour.

Books of all the authors participating were on display as there was a book signing session after the Dangal.  The display was organised by Randhir Arora of Bookworld who also participated in the session. Madhukar Dhiman of Rosemounts Institute of Languages was also present.This institute was a co-organiser of the event. The Booknerds is a literary startup based out of Dehradun founded by  the young husband and wife duo Rohan Raj  and Neha Raj, with a presence in both Dehradun and Lucknow which . It was launched in October 2015 with the vision to connect book lovers in India and beyond.

The Booknerds have conducted 105 meetups/events and hosted more than 50 authors in Dehradun and Lucknow till date.

Over the past two and a half years, they have collaborated with the best publishing houses in the country.Their consistent efforts have gone a long way in reviving the traditions of reading and writing in the valley. A large number of school and college students attend their hang outs that are held in the various new cafeterias that have come up in the valley over the last two years.

All the authors at the Dangal expressed gratitude to the Booknerds for getting them all together today through this unique event .The variety of literary talent in Dehradun found expression at the  engrossing three-hour long session.

Rohan and Neha welcomed all the authors and presented them with mementos .Booknerds mementos are always special. And this time, it was indeed very special. Each author was presented with a dummy of a book which had his or her photograph on the cover.Indeed, a special idea for a special literary event of the valley!

The title “Lit Dangal” brought new energy and freshness to the interaction among the authors who rarely get an opportunity to gather under one roof . Way to go, Booknerds!