Tata Literature Live Festival is not just for bookworms, here is what to look forward to

Just like there's no standard ingredient for an epic piece of literature, there is no easy script for a great literary festival either. But with its intrepid baby steps, Mumbai's very own literary event, the Tata Literature Live Festival, now in its fifth year, comes close.

The festival, which will kick-off on Thursday, October 30, has managed to make the event accessible to all kinds of readers and audiences. This is reflected in not just the talent that it draws, but also in the events that are planned. From talks and panel discussions to workshops and performances, the events are inextricably linked to literary themes, to make them attractive to a diverse set of audiences.

"Tata Literature Live is undoubtedly and objectively the best literature festival in the country," says writer Ashwin Sanghi, famous for his books Chanakya's Chant and The Rozabal Line. "The country has become more receptive to literature driven by the fundamental change, which is not so much the writer, as it is the reader."

The festival's objective has always been to appeal to a wider audience, says festival director Anil Dharker. "We have an interesting mix of the popular and the erudite. A Chetan Bhagat has his own audience as do Ashwin Sanghi and Amish Tripathi. How will literature increase unless there is a proliferation of books, styles and genres," poses Dharker.

This clarity, of what the festival aims to achieve, is what helps the organisers go beyond the obvious. And so they start their diligence nearly a year before the festival. "Roping in writers and authors is not easy, especially if they have big prizes attached to their names," says Dharker. "I am constantly thinking of new ideas and look at different things. Even when we go into non-fiction, we explore subjects such as psychiatry, anthropology, neuro-sciences, etc."
This year's events at Tata Literature Live will feature 125 writers, authors, poets and experts; 40 of whom will fly into the country just for the event, among them Booker winner Ben Okri and Pulitzer poet Vijay Seshadri.

Here's a handy guide to what's new at the festival, and events that you should definitely make time for. And for the latest, check the festival website: www.litlive.in

PERFORMANCES
Three Men in A Boat
Three bachelors spend a weekend on the Thames. Their nautical hardships and whiskey-fuelled antics end in a gripping climax. The stage version of Jerome K. Jerome's classic novel will be performed three times during the festival. Makre sure you get your pass in time for this one.
When: 6:30pm – 7:30pm on Saturday, November 2
Where: Sunken Garden, NCPA, Nariman Point
Also on:
When: 6pm–7:15pm & 9pm–10:15pm on Sunday, November 1
Where: Prithvi, Juhu

Serenade for Shakespeare
The festival will celebrate Shakespeare's 450th birth anniversary with a rendition of the Bard's sonnets by Canadian pianist Paul Stewart and The Chamber Singers Choir. The singing will be interspersed with readings from the city's renowned actors who share their favourite pieces of the greatest ever playwright. Collect your pass now.
When: 8pm – 9:30pm on Friday, October 31
Where: Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point

WORKSHOPS
Plan-a-Plot
The first thing that any aspiring writer needs before the dogged journey to a Pulitzer even begins starts and ends with this — a compelling plot. Children's book writer and columnist Sowmya Rajendran will take participants through the basics of how to get this crucial ingredient right.
When: 2-4pm on Saturday, November 1
Where: Sea View Room, NCPA, Nariman Point

How to get published in the digital age
It is often said that every individual has at least one great story to tell. And yet, some very creative writers never manage to tell that story in print. Journalist-turned author (of The Emperors' Riddles) Satyarth Nayak will share the tricks of the trade.
When: 10:30 am - 12:30 pm on Sunday, November 2
Where: Sea View Room, NCPA, Nariman Point

DISCUSSIONS/DEBATE
When the ink runs dry
Writers are known to be eccentric people with bizarre habits and crazy inspirations. But what do they do when the inspiration runs out? Wait or plod away? Pulitzer winner poet Vijay Seshadri and Booker winners Anne Enright and Ben Okri talk to author Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi.
When: 3.30pm – 4.30pm on Thursday, October 30
Where: Experimental theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point

Rewriting India's history is a dangerous game
Festival director Anil Dharker is particularly excited about this one. Veteran reporter and TV anchor Nik Gowing, who popularised the BBC World Debates, will chair a debate that will see journalist-writer Vir Sanghvi and Shiva trilogy writer Amish Tripathi take on journalists Kumar Ketkar and Dileep Padgaonkar. Get your pass now.
When: 8pm – 9.30pm on Thursday, October 30
Where: Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point

The world according to Chetan
This IIT-IIM alumni's latest book is about a can't-speak-English Bihar boy falling in love with an articulate girl from Delhi's creamy elite. Does this really happen? India's best-selling author Chetan Bhagat talks to journalist-producer Anuradha Sengupta.
When: 3.30pm - 4.30pm on Friday, October 31
Where: Experimental theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point

From two dimensions to three
How many times have we debated endlessly on whether the Harry Potter series was better to reach or better to watch. There's no end to that debate, but ever spared a thought on how difficult it is to convert a work of literature into a play or a movie or a TV show? Madhu Jain picks the brains of theatre director Tim Supple and dramatics professor Brian Singleton.
When: 3.30pm -4.30pm on Saturday, November 1
Where: Little theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point

WHAT'S NEW
Venue: Prithvi, Juhu
The festival has added Prithvi theatre as one of its venues to expand the festival for audiences in the suburbs. "This (moving to the suburbs) had been on the cards for sometime. Prithvi has nurtured a natural, literary audience for the festival," says Dharker.

New format: Walking Cities
Four poets — Eurig Salisbury and Rhian Edwards (both Welsh) and Sampurna Chattarji and Ranjit Hoskote (Indians) — will go on a city walking tour and discuss their experiences with Ted Hodgkinson, to mark the birth centenary of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.
When: 3.30pm - 4.30pm on Thursday, October 30
Where: Little theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point

marisha.karwa@dnaindia.net; @MarishaThakur