The country’s largest celebration of writers and the written world, and the most awaited event in the literary enthusiasts’ calendar, was all set to steer a stimulating exchange of views on literature, books, and ideas among some of the best authors, poets, theatre artists, lyricists, scriptwriters, filmmakers, and bloggers from across the country and the world. In its seventh edition held at the premier multi-auditorium complex of the Government of India, Siri Fort Auditorium on 11th and 12th February 2023, Times LitFest marked its literary festivity with grandeur in the capital city, New Delhi.
The power-packed two-day event commenced with the ceremonial inauguration by Chief Guest Sh. Ashwini Vaishnaw (Minister of Railways, Communications, and Electronics & Information Technology – Govt. of India), Sh. Samir Jain (Vice-Chairman & Managing Director – The Times Group) and Sh. Atul Jain (Director – DS Group) with the opening address by Sh. C.K. Sharma (Business Head – DS Group). With its ever-growing reach and impact, the Festival continued to create headlines and spark enthusiasm, making it a must-attend event for the lovers of the written word who turned out in huge numbers to witness the monumental celebration. The impressive lineup of litterateurs, artists, and celebrities, and a sizeable contingent from the glitter of Bollywood, spoke their minds in freewheeling sessions, inspiring everyone who came to listen to these great thinkers on this electrifying platform. The other attractions consisted of book launches, readings, and crafted workshops to enlighten and enrich the audience and the literary community.
Under the expert supervision of the Festival Director, Vinita Dawra Nangia, the mega event soared in success and appealed to one and all. Executive Editor, an author, and a columnist with The Times of India, Vinita in her more than two decades of experience in Lifestyle and Features Journalism, has specialized in society, relationships, and life commentary. Her exceedingly popular weekly column in The Times of India – O-zone – throws light on contemporary living and relationships. Director of Times of India Literature Festivals in Delhi, Bangalore & Kolkata and the Founder-Director of ‘Write India’, Vinita has initiated cutting-edge literary movements to discover the next generation of writers. The world’s biggest movement for crowd-sourced writing in association with established authors, ‘Write India’ was conceptualized and launched by her. In three successful seasons, the campaign has attracted almost 50,000 short stories and launched 200 winners, selected by established authors. Vinita’s prowess as an author is evident in her literary masterpieces- ‘Love is Always Right & Other Musings’, ‘It’s Your Life – Reflections on Contemporary Living and Relationships’, ‘Are You Making the Most of Life?’ and a coffee table book on fashion – ‘Fashion Fair – The Journey of 13 Contemporary Designers’. Her widely read column ‘Hi-Society’ in Delhi Times paved the way for the concept ‘Page 3’. She continues to inspire the literary fraternity by conceptualizing and launching several products across all platforms, both print and online, for The Times of India.
An all-inclusive literature festival, Times LitFest, themed around ‘One World Many Words’, brought new writers to the mainstream of literature and helped them network and interact with the established names on one single platform. The event was star-studded with eminent names, and who’s who from the glitz and glamour of both the literary world and film industry. Geetanjali Shree, Ashwin Sanghi, Anand Neelakantan, Preeti Shenoy, Yasser Usman, Deepti Naval, Ashneer Grover, Jerry Pinto, Jeet Thayil, Anuj Bahri, Kanishka Gupta, Nandini Sengupta, Anuja Chandramouli, Bernhard Moestl, Arun Shourie, Barkha Dutt, Rana Safvi, Rene Singh, Mridula Garg, Manjiri Prabhu, Sara Rai, Amrita Rao, RJ Anmol, Priyanka Sinha Jha, Shiv Khera, Vivek Agnihotri, Vaibhav Purandare, Dr. Nguyen Phan Que Mai, Meena Kandasamy, Kiran Manral, Devika Rangachari, Kenashree, Sunita Pant Bansal, Sutapa Basu, Meghna Pant, Kamalini Natesan, Milee Ashwarya, Ravinder Singh, Novoneel Chakraborty, Harshali Singh, Jyoti Jha, Aashisha Chakraborty, and many more acclaimed names from both the established literary world and new writers, the span of literature and buzz of Bollywood, cape of artistry and entrepreneurial acumen, and so much more, adorned the event to mark its grand success. Engaging workshops and presentations from Harper Collins, William Dalrymple, and Children’s Workshop kept the audience motivated. Recorded events by elite names like Abdulrazak Gurnah, Elif Shafak, Salman Rushdie, Douglas Stuart, Robin Sharma, Rutger Bregman, Harlan Coben, and Yuval Noah Harari kept the spirit of literary celebration ongoing.
The event had a huge turnout of literary enthusiasts from across the globe and ended on a high note of anticipation that the celebratory essence of literature would continue to keep the people energized.
