As people started adjusting with the new normal life hit after COVID pandemic, everything has gone digital. This new life offers a sense of where we can go from here, so that we do not just go back to normal. While life changes constantly. Keeping this premise in thoughts, the Khushwant Singh LitFest (KSLF) this year has decided to go digital with its online first-ever edition on October 9, 10 and 11, after holding the Khushwant Singh LitFest (KSLF) at the Kasauli Club in Himachal Pradesh for eight consecutive years.
The event is usually observed as a tribute to Khushwant Singh's contribution to literature while the guests indulge in discussions, debates, interactions with leading authors and literary personalities, apart from book launches, musical mornings, evenings and informal gatherings. The need of the hour demands to not risk the health and safety of anyone, and giving a final thought the organisers have decided to have KSLF in a digital avatar.
Writers who will grace the event are Amitav Ghosh, historical novelist and environmentalist; Pico Iyer, essayist, novelist and travel writer; activist Harsh Mander, philanthropist Sudha Murty, TV commentator and author Fareed Zakaria, writers Chetan Bhagat and Shobha De, and explorers Jono Lineen who has travelled much of the Himalayas on foot; and Erling Kagge, among others.
This years theme is 'A New Life'. It offers a sense of where we can go from 'here', so that when we go back to the real life, we dont go back normal. Instead, take someting to reflect and cherish.
"There is so much happening online everyday -- talks, music and other events. Initially, we wondered if we should go ahead with a festival at all. Brigadier Naveen Mahajan, in charge of Kasauli, was most encouraging and offered to have the festival at the Kasauli Club with social distancing. However, Rahul and I are both Mumbai based. Cases are high in the city and we did not want to risk carrying the virus to Kasauli," co-founder of the festival, Niloufer Bilimoria.
Niloufer added, “Initially, we didn’t plan a festival as we were nervous about the fact that there is so much happening online. But then there are so many things that we want to say, and the festival is the best platform to share thoughts, ideas, concerns, challenges and most importantly what we are witnessing, feeling, going through. From the migrant crisis to the tough times most of us have faced, the introspection many of us have encountered, the festival will resonate the many dimensions of a new life we have encountered and hopefully help people to understand to keep the new life, and go back to themselves. And like always, it will be a hopeful festival."
Adding that they decided to do a boutique fest online as they believed that the theme of 'A New Life' was an important one to convey, co-founder Rahul Singh, said, "A physical festival is of course what we hope for. But that could take a long time."
“The first digital edition of KSLF promises to be thought-provoking, stimulating and pointing us in the direction of a new life,” mentions Singh.
"Stressing that the festival, which has witnessed eight editions in Kasauli and two in London, was extremely important to them as it is dedicated to ecology of the region and education of the girl child, values dear to writer Khushwant Singh, Bilimoria said, "We also dedicate it to the great Indian soldier. Though funding is extremely tough, we are determined to be back each year to promote the values and ideals of Khushwant Sngh. Values of tolerance and communal harmony on which our democracy is built; concern for the environment; education of the girl child; respect for the Indian soldier and friendship with our neighbours."