Hyderabad Literary Festival to commence today

Hyderabad : The much-awaited event on the city’s calendar every year, the Hyderabad Literary Festival (HLF), is all set to kick start on Friday. HLF, which began in 2010, became an annual calendar event in their itinerary for Hyderabadis, coinciding with Republic Day weekend. Climate conversations, science, and the future of endangered languages will be the new themes of this year’s festival.

From Vidyaranya High School in Saifabad, a building that was part of the Wanaparthy Samasthanam where the festival was held in 2020 and 2023, is set to move to Sattva Knowledge City near Durgam Chervu for its 14th edition. The inaugural edition of the festival was held at the Osmania University Centre for International Programmes (OUCIP) (earlier known as the American Studies Research Centre) from December 10–12, 2010. In the second decade of the 21st century, the festival was hosted in various parts of the city, such as Taramati Baradari, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Hyderabad Public School (HPS), and others. The festival, which has free entry, expects nearly 20,000–25,000 visitors across three days. HLF organisers have teamed up with the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) and will provide free shuttle services from Raidurg metro station to the venue.

Every year, the festival invites a foreign country and leading authors and artists from an Indian language to showcase their literature, art, and culture. This year’s festival will feature Odiya as the language in focus and Norway as country in focus.

The festival will bring together academicians, authors, poets, literary lovers, performing artists, storytellers, and film directors spanning across the diverse regions of the country. The event will also witness several book launches, interactions with authors, stalls for book lovers, panel discussions, movie screenings, and storytelling workshops for children and adults alike.

Talking about the newly added themes in this edition, Professor Vijay Kumar, one of the directors, HLF, says, “Despite the linguistic diversity, encompassing twenty-two recognized languages by the Constitution, there exists a concern for the numerous other languages facing extinction that require urgent attention. Similarly, in the realm of climate discussions, the imperative to address the endangerment of various species and biodiversity is evident. However, there is a noticeable contrast; while climate issues often see activism and awareness, there is limited scope for attention and action in the preservation of endangered languages.”

Reflecting on the recently introduced theme, “Science and City,” he pointed out that many scientific research institutions in the city. however, there is a significant aspect of scientific activity in our daily lives that often goes unnoticed, something we tend to overlook. It is necessary to broaden our perspective on science beyond specialized areas of study and recognize the multitude of scientific phenomena and innovations occurring in our everyday experiences.

The festival will host sessions on the works of various authors such as Amish, AasheeshPittie, GV Prasad, Badri Narayan, K Srilata, G N Devy, N Venugopal, Krish Ashok, Mani Shankar Aiyer, Kunal Purohit, Bishnu Mohapatra, Aakar Patel, M Narendra, and several others. Spanning over three days, with workshops along with art installation works and story-telling sessions, the HLF will be a packed affair for art and literature lovers in the city.