South Indian lit fest begins in Bengaluru today

The first edition of digital media house Book Brahma’s literature festival — Soul of South – begins today. The three-day festival will focus on literature from the four southern states of India. 

There will be sessions on topics such as the impact of artificial intelligence on classical literature, Kannada literature in the digital era, gender sensitivity and south Indian literature, the pluralistic dimensions of the languages of Karnataka and the future of children’s songs.

One of the highlights of the festival is a solo theatre performance by actor Prakash Raj titled ‘Diverse languages, same feeling’.

Noted Tamil writer Perumal Murugan will engage in a conversation with writers P Gopalakrishnan and Paavannan. Murugan will also discuss ‘South Indian languages: The question of existence’ with other noted panelists — O L Nagabhushanaswamy, Paul Zacharia, Vadrevu Chinaveerabhadrudu and Pratibha Nandakumar.

Film auteur Girish Kasaravalli, film historian K Puttaswamy, Kannada director Sumana Kittur and senior journalist Raghunatha Cha Ha will discuss the topic ‘Is literature inevitable for cinema?’. ‘From feminism to Dalit feminism’, a session by Telugu authors and ‘Tamil Dalit literature: Challenges and achievements’ are some of the other important sessions at the festival. Short stories, poetry, literary criticism, cinema writing and translation are among the other topics. Challenges faced by the publishing industry will also be discussed. One can look forward to sessions on market trends and opportunities for south Indian literature in the global publishing arena.

Special sessions for children will be conducted on all three days. They will include storytelling along with art classes, traditional board games and an art competition. Apart from sessions and panel discussions, cultural programmes have also been organised. Visitors can expect over 50 book stalls and an art fair featuring the works of more than 20 artists.

Book Brahma Literature Festival, August 9 to 11, 9 am to 8 pm at St John’s Auditorium, Koramangala.