12th Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet from January 23 – 27, Governor of West Bengal to inaugurate on January 23, Guest of Honour: Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah
News Editor, Takmaa News, Kolkata, 17th Jan 2024 : The 12th edition of Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet, in association with Victoria Memorial Hall, will take place from January 23 to January 27, 2024 on the grounds of the Victoria Memorial. Hon’ble Governor of West Bengal Shri CV Ananda Bose will be inaugurating the 5-day literary meet. Guest of Honour, 2021 Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Abdulrazak Gurnah will also be present at the opening. From this edition of the literary meet a new section has been introduced – State of Focus – and this year, the spotlight is onKerala. On January 24, the Hon’ble Governor of West Bengal Shri CV Ananda Bose will be inaugurating the State of Focus segment and speak about the literary heritage of Literature’s Own Country – Kerala. Dedicated sessions will be held on Malayalam literature where authors like S Hareesh and KR Meera will speak.
On the inaugural day, Padma Bhushan winner and Chairperson of Infosys Foundation, Sudha Murthy will be making her maiden appearance at the Meet and talk about multilingualism and literature. Winner of the 2021 Booker Prize, Damon Galgut will speak about his celebrated novels. Irish author John Boyne whose books have been translated in 59 languages world-wide will talk about his greatly popular and acclaimed work, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Celebrated British author, Sebastian Faulks, will also be participating in the Meet.
While critically acclaimed Indian actor Huma Qureshi will be speaking about her debut novel, noted director Tigmanshu Dhulia, acclaimed actress Tillotama Shome and writer and film critic Shubhra Gupta will be remembering the incredible legacy of the legendary actor Irrfan. Amitav Ghosh will be back to discuss how the colonial exploitation of Eastern India shaped its history, economy and literature and will also be in conversation with Kazi Ashraf, author from Bangladesh, on the river Padma.
Celebrated advertising filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar will be launching his memoir Adman Madman and talk about his iconic campaigns and brand India. There will be a session on renowned fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani’s book Journey to India Modern and he will also be discussing India’s textile traditions and the challenges faced by artisans in today’s world along with noted crafts expert and social worker Laila Tyabji.
The festival will feature a series titled Republic of Hope celebrating diverse voices that engage and inspire including author-activist Ruchira Gupta and youth icons Riddhi Sen, Surangana Bandyopadhyay and Ishaan Ghosh.
Raguram Rajan, the ex-Governor of RBI, and economist Rohit Lamba will be sharing the stage to discuss their new book. Raghuram Rajan will also be interacting with the young generation on future hopes and challenges. Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and former Governor of West Bengal, will be speaking on the life of the Mahatma in the years leading to Independence and will launch the new edition of Mahatma Gandhi’s book I Am An Ordinary Man: India’s Struggle For Freedom.
Sessions in Bengali will host local favourites including veteran author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay as well as Srijato, Chandril Bhattacharya, Anindya Chatterjee, stage actors Senjuti Roy Mukherjee and Poulami Chatterjee Bose, author-academic Chinmoy Guha, theatre stalwart Suman Mukhopadhyay, among others. Sessions will be held to celebrate the centenary of Sukumar Roy’s Abol Tabol and the bicentenary of Michael Madhusudhan Dutta.
The Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet has always had a strong line-up of theatre, music and performing arts. On each day of the festival there will be performances by well-known artistes. On the inaugural evening, Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah and Heeba Shah will be performing in Ismat Apa Ke Naam. The following days will see an Indo-Polish dance collaboration by Sudarshan Charkraborty and Jacek Luminski and a play by Suman Mukhopadhyay – Mephisto – featuring Anirban Bhattacharya and others at the GD Birla Sabhaghar. On Republic Day, Anupam Roy will enthrall the audience at the Victoria Memorial in a special performance titled Eka Anupam. Shubha Mudgal will close the festival with her iconic vocals in a classical concert at the main steps of the Victoria Memorial.
‘Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet has come a long way to become one of the best-loved literary meets of the country. The participation of a Nobel Laureate, a Booker Winner, and a Jnanpith Awardee to this edition of the Literary Meet is indeed an honour for us. There will be serious discussions, humour, thrillers, cinema, music and entertainment during the 5 days of the Literary Meet. I am sure that book lovers of the city and beyond will grace the occasion and make our festival a memorable one” said festival director Malavika Banerjee.
