13th edition of Hyderabad Literary Festival to be back in the city

The literary event hosts a lot of ancillary events– from screenings of documentaries and shortfilms, workshops, art and photo exhibits, Youngistaan Nukkad and Nanha Nukkad.

Hyderabad: It is that time of the year where the city celebrates art and creativity in all its forms. The 13th edition of the much-awaited Hyderabad Literary Festival (HLF) will be back in the city and will take place on-ground for January 27, 28 and 29 at Vidyaranya High School, Lakdi-ka-pul. Due to the Covid pandemic, the event was hosted online in the last two years.

Speaking to presspersons here on Wednesday, Festival directors Amita Desai and Vijay Kumar said the agenda, since many years, has been to be all-inclusive – in terms of themes, sessions, interactions, social and gender minorities. “This year we will pay tribute for our friend-colleauge-ideator Ajay Gandhi through The Ajay Gandhi Memorial Valedctory session,” they said.

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The literary event hosts a lot of ancillary events– from screenings of documentaries and shortfilms, workshops, art and photo exhibits, Youngistaan Nukkad and Nanha Nukkad.

The event will also have participation of prominent thinkers, speakers and executives including Deepti Naval, Helene Bukowsi, Jerry Pinto, Umesh Solanki, Palgummi Sainath, Vidya Rao and BVR Mohan Reddy, among others.

Each year, HLF has a guest nation and a regional language in focus. Starting with Germany in 2012, the fest, after ten years again hosts Germany as its guest nation, and Konkani is the language of focus this year with architects, dance performers, and exhibitions from Konkani presenting its rich literary traditions.

Vijay Kumar said the festival and the city of Hyderabad are interlinked and added, “The festival always represented and celebrated the art and culture of the city. From workshops and film screenings to sessions on the restoration of heritage structures in the city and release of book “Hum Aiseech Bolte”- a collection of poems from 40 city-based poets – it’s all about the city and its people.”

The festival has also teamed up with Hyderabad Metro and will be providing free shuttle services from Lakdi-ka-pul metro station to the venue. The three day event will be open to visitors from 10 am to 9 pm. It will begin on January 27 at 2 pm.