Literature is cool. And The Under-25 Lit Fest, presented by Under 25 Club, is here to prove that. Curated by Surya H.K., the lit fest is slated to be one with a difference.
It attempts to be a departure from regular literature festivals, with a focus on fun-filled, engaging activities and shorter and livelier panel discussions. The theme for the fest is ‘Love. Laugh. Live”, and is dedicated to late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who has been an inspiration for the youth.
There is something for everyone—high brow, low brow and everything in between. The day-long event on June 19, will have sessions on a range of issues: social media, mythology, poetry, politics, history, journalism, among others. And there will be a segment dedicated to the ‘matters of the heart’, which involves love, romance, dating, hook-ups, break-ups etc.
“I had organised the Under-25 Start up Summit for three years for youth interested in start-ups. I wanted to venture into other niche areas the youth is interested in. I have also been a core member of Bangalore Literature Festival’s organising committee, since its inception. We thought it would be a good idea to have a literature fest for the youth,” says Surya about why he chose to organise a youth Literature festival.
Due to social media and the internet, we are bombarded daily with memes, inspirational quotes and short reads. But Surya doesn’t consider that reading in its truest sense.
“Reading is happening, but not books. Those who don’t read are more vocal about not reading. Those who do read, their voices are drowned by youtube and instagram. Reading is a personal experience, so sharing really doesn’t happen. Readers are often stigmatised as boring and geeky. Those who read romances are looked down upon.” It was these considerations that led Surya and his team to make the fest as inclusive as possible.
The challenge was also to draw in the youth to a live event, especially when events can now be viewed on YouTube. “I have been to lit fests across the country, and the audience hardly has anyone from the youth. I wondered what makes literature fests so boring for them. The same speakers speak on the same topics every year.
We realised the youth needs an incentive to attend. We have workshops and activities that actually involve the youth, something that live stream and YouTube can’t.” The event also has open mic, spoken word, book swap, slam poetry and live acts.
“For example, we have a spoken word workshop in the morning and spoken word battle in the evening, for those who participated in the workshop.
We also have a human library curated by Karishma Mehta, founder of Humans of Bombay. People will anonymously share their stories. The human library is hinged on the idea that a human being has many chapters in their lives.
He adds that the workshops and activities aren’t side events. “They will happen on the main stage.”
Even the list of speakers, which includes Shekhar Gupta, Durjoy Dutta, Madhuri Banerjee, Jeet Thayil, Sanjay Koppikar, Vishwas Mudagal, Aakar Patel, Andaleeb Wajid, Nandita Bose, Vickramm Sampath, Roshan Abbas, Akkai Padmashali, among others, were selected keeping in mind that they “must be relevant to the youth.”
The Humming Tree, where the event will be held, was chosen keeping a number of factors in mind. Surya says: “The Humming Tree is a popular destinations among the youth of the city as far as cultural events are concerned. It is easily accessible and the space has a positive vibe, which adds to the festival experience on the whole.”
For details visit: http://under25.club/litfest
