Enriching platter of ideas, books & debates

Literary festivals take Bengaluru-based, Kolkata-born businessman Harsh Vardhan Arya back in time. “We live in a virtual world,” he says, “you buy books online, download and read them on your Kindle. There’s no romance to buying a book anymore.
A literary festival allows you to breathe. You get to touch and feel books, you run into like-minded people, may be they are on stage, leading a discussion, may be they’re sitting next to you.It’s like walking down to the bookshop at the corner of your street, like we did in our childhood.”
The Times Litfest, Bengaluru edition, scheduled for this weekend at the picturesque Jayamahal Palace Hotel, will feature debates, discussions and festivities that will cater to all age groups. The topics range from politics to publishing, sex and sport, food and film-making, it’s a full plate.
T he two-day event, which has brought together writers, authors, news makers and path-breakers will provide, what Arya calls, ‘soul food’. “Literature and art work as therapy for me,” he says, “as someone said, I read to live and work to put bread on the table.”
Little wonder then that literary festivals are popping up all over the country, much like mushrooms in the monsoons.
Bowling international Prathima Hegde is a voracious reader, popular fiction being her top pick. The Bengaluru-based athlete hoped litfests take place around the year, rather than just in the winter months. “I don’t see why, but all of them are held about this time of the year,” she said, “These are special events and it would be good to have one to go to every once in a while.”
“The other problem I have with some litfests is that popular authors/characters are there everywhere, it’s the same people,” she said, “It would be good if organizers introduced new, young authors, it brings in an element of novelty. What I love about literary festivals are the book readings. You drift into a session and if you like what you hear, or how the author presents his or her book, look or presence, you end up picking up the book and reading a genre of writing you haven’t really bothered with before.”
Brand guru Harish Bijoor said litfests provide a ‘great escape’. “Take the Times Litfest for example,” he said, “it’s being held at a beautiful venue, the Jayamahal Palace Hotel and for whatever length of time you are there it provides you with everything you need. It’s your chance to get away from the humdrum, it’s eclectic. It has good food, ambience, activities for children and stirring debates and discussions. The way I see litfests, they’re uplifting.”
Rekha Harikrishna, a media professional, says she enjoys listening to popular dialogue, everything from politics to books to movies. “Whatever is trending,” the 32-year-old said, “in sport it could be the cricket World Cup right now, or the form of a particular player or selection woes; or it could be the movies, why some pieces of fiction have lent themselves so wonderfully to cinema.
Whatever people are talking about in offices and street corners. There’s nothing quite like a literature festival that engages you. When you leave, you carry ideas with you, the topics of the day should be buzzing within you…”