The fifth edition of the LIC Gateway LitFest, the literary festival for Indian language writings, will celebrate the power of young writers in the city on March 1 and 2.
Close to 60 writers, representing 22 Indian languages, will gather to discuss and share views on literary trends in language writings at the two-day event, which will comprise 12 sessions. The attraction this year is centered around 25 winners of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in the recent years.
“The achievements of youths’ writing need to be honoured and celebrated,” Mohan Kakanadan, Festival Director and Editor of the Malayalam quarterly Kaakka, said, while stressing the importance the Gateway LitFest to regional languages. This year’s theme, ‘Youth Power in Indian Literature’, will highlight the strength of young writers in diverse literary streams.
“Many of them have already proved their mettle with their works and continue to tread new paths in the world of letters. They are challenging the conventions of a moribund system and emerging triumphant,” Mr. Kakanadan said.
Key speakers this year include Mangalesh Dabral, Paul Zacharia, Perumal Murugan, Ranjit Hoskote, Anamika, S. Harish, Hemant Divate, Ramu Ramnathan, A.J. Thomas, Sangeetha Sreenivasan, Surya Gopi, and Anamika Haksar among others.
Festival advisors Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Pratibha Ray, Sitanshu Yashaschandra, Subodh Sarkar, Sachin Ketkar, Laxman Gaikwad, and S. Prasannarajan will share their perspectives at the sessions on literature, film, theatre, and poetry.
“Thinking in one’s own language allows for a natural flow for literature to mature and ensures a wider audience reach. Expressing finer literary nuances in one’s own language is crucial to wider dissemination of language writings,” S. Prasannarajan, Editor, Open magazine and a member of the festival advisory committee said.
Organisers said that over the past four editions, the Gateway LitFest has been emphasising the importance of one’s own language as a tool for broader audience access, while translations take up the onus of being an avenue for bridging the cultural gaps. Of late, translations have become more common and many English publishers are now coming up with translations of well-known works of language writers, opening a larger audience to them.
M. Sabarinath, an executive director of the festival, explained that translations bridge cultural gaps and civilisations. “The antiquity of the language also plays a key role in translation. A good translated work should contain the right structure of sound patterns and convey the core ethos of the literary work,” he said.
As a part of the fifth edition, an essay competition has been organised for college students underlining the commitment of the festival to young talent. The topic is, ‘Literature in the Era of E-Writing’. The first prize will carry a cash award of ₹15,000, the second and third prize winners will be awarded ₹10,000 and ₹5,000, respectively. The last date for the entry is February 20. The students can send in their entries to