Kashmir to usher autumn with literature fest
August 3rd, 2011 - 6:59 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Aug 3 (IANS) A resurgent Jammu and Kashmir will welcome autumn with literature, debates, discussions and book readings at a unique literature festival, “Harud: The Autumn Literature Festival”, Sep 24-26 in Srinagar.
Harud, being promoted as the state’s first pan-national literature festival, will bring together the local, regional and national literature on one platform to allow exchange of ideas and assimilation. It will be held at the Kashmir University premises.
The focus will be on the centuries-old folk and oral traditions of the region, which have grown from the diverse cultural influences the region has been subjected to for more than a millennium. Story-telling and folk music are two of the most important components of the state’s traditional folk culture.
Announcing the festival here Wednesday, author Namita Gokhale, the programme director of the festival, said: “The festival will engage with local writing in Kashmiri, Urdu and English to provide an open and inclusive forum for literature.”
“It will celebrate the vibrant and layered literary traditions of the region, provoke dialogue and communication and create a platform and inspiration for a new generation of readers and writers,” Gokhale said.
The festival will be presented by Teamworks Productions.
Sanjoy Roy, producer of the Harud Festival and managing director of Teamwork Productions, said: “The Harud festival will be a great addition to our existing literary and arts festivals in India.”
“It is a privilege to be creating this programme with the backdrop of Kashmir and its legacy of literature, which has a history of over 2,500 years. We strongly believe that India’s multi-cultural ethos needs to resonate across the world.”
The sessions will include conversations on culture, travel, history, film and poetry, among others.
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Tags: arts festivals, assimilation, backdrop, culture travel, festivals in india, folk culture, jammu, kashmir, kashmiri, literary traditions, literature festival, namita gokhale, national literature, new generation, oral traditions, sanjoy, story telling, teamworks, travel history, university premises