Chandigarh, Nov 22 (PTI) Literary sessions and book launches began on Saturday at the 13th edition of CLF Literati 2025 (Chandigarh Literature Festival), with a series of panel discussions and author interactions.
Organised by the Chandigarh Literary Society (CLS) here, the day opened with a welcome address by Festival Director and CLS Chairperson Sumita Misra, followed by the inaugural address by Madhav Kaushik, President, Rashtriya Sahitya Akademi.
Misra said Literati has grown from a modest gathering of book lovers into one of the most anticipated literary events in the region and across India.
She said this year’s theme, ‘World Within Words’, reflects the belief that every word carries its own universe of meaning, emotion and history.
"Every sentence is a doorway, every paragraph a passage to places we may never visit, to minds we may never meet, and to times long past or yet to come," she said.
The festival's first session, 'The Power of a Story: Advertising Insights', featured ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar in conversation with writer Aradhika Sharma.
In another discussion, ‘Indian Democracy: Evolving Polity and Public Discourse’, former MP and author Shahid Siddiqui, political writer Rasheed Kidwai and senior journalist Neerja Chowdhury interacted with veteran journalist Ramesh Vinayak.
A session on ‘Bangladesh: The Story of an Unfinished Revolution’ brought together author Deep Halder and researcher-writer Rami Desai in conversation with journalist Kartikey Sharma. It also marked the launch of Halder’s book, Inshallah Bangladesh.
Under the Book Buzz segment, two more books – The Silent Brave by Mehak Grover and The Legend of Sanjhi-Giri by Manju Jaidka – were released.
A session on contemporary Hindi literature, ‘Shabd Ki Sugandh: Hindi Sahitya Ka Naya Daur’, featured Kaushik, poet and biographer Chandra Trikha, and writer Chandra Shekhar Verma in conversation with journalist Shayda Bano.
In ‘Dil De Kaagaz Utte: Navi Leher De Kalamkaar’, poet Bubbu Tir and writer Abhishek Dhiman interacted with author Ravee Pandher.
The discussion, ‘Chandigarh: The City That Is, and That Wasn't’, featured journalist Vibhor Mohan and architectural historian Rajnish Wattas in conversation with historian-author Rajiv Lochan.
In the session ‘She Writes, She Leads: Statecraft and Stanza’, Misra, also a senior IAS officer, was in conversation with journalist Manraj Grewal. She spoke about balancing work and personal life, and highlighted the digitisation of land records in Haryana, a project she has led.
She said that while technology has bridged several gaps, the mindset must shift from “process to outcome”. She also spoke about writing poetry for personal satisfaction.
In another session, ‘Untamed Silences: The Many Lives of Sandhya Mridul’, actress and poet Sandhya Mridul interacted with writer-poet Sonia Chauhan.
In the evening, CLS, in collaboration with Nritya Praangan, Bhavan Dancing Courtyard, presented ‘Swarit Mudrayen’, a Bharatanatyam performance by disciples of Sucheta Bhide-Chapekar at Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Sector 27.
The concluding day on November 23 will feature a packed lineup of literary sessions. A major highlight will be ‘Bihar Diaries and Ground Zero: Real Heroes, Real Stories’, featuring IPS officer and author Amit Lodha, whose works inspired a popular OTT series.
The CLF Literati Awards 2025 will also be presented on the final day.
CLF Literati 2025 opens with book launches discussions in Chandigarh
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)