Thakur to open Shimla’s 1st lit fest

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 18

The stage is set for the first-ever two-day Shimla International Literature Festival to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on June 23 in the historic Gaiety Theatre here.

The festival is being organised by the Vibhor Literature Trust in collaboration with the Department of Art, Language and Culture of Himachal Pradesh. The idea is to give a platform to writers and story tellers of the country cutting across all barriers of regions and languages to present “One India”, claimed the organisers on Monday.

Talking to mediapersons, Secretary, Department of Art, Language and Culture, Purnima Chauhan said the city had been known for producing cultural personalities down the line, but it had no literature festival of its own. The Shimla literature festival would give a major push to literary activity among all stakeholders, besides promoting cultural tourism in the state, she added.

She said the moment the tourists disembarked from the train from the UNESCO heritage site, they could also whet their literary and cultural tastes by visiting Ghar Ghar Kahani museum and the Gaiety Theatre.

The department would celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, by making a portfolio or collage of spots he had visited or was associated with where tourists could visit to get a real connect with him, she added.

Director of the Art, Language and Culture Deepali Thakur said the trust approached them with the idea of the festival. “We expect it will be organised every summer and it will give a platform and exposure to artists and writers of Himachal as well,” she added.

Swati from the Vibhor trust said over 60 writers, artists and scholars would attend the fest.

She said notable speakers include Rajdeep Sardesai, Anant Vijay, Shashi Shekhar, Sanjeev Pakliwal and Sudeep Nagarkar.