16th 'Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest' to host Shashi Tharoor, Vinod Kumar Shukla among others

Mumbai, Nov 5 (PTI) Noted writers, thinkers, scholars, and artistes, including Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Hindi writer Vinod Kumar Shukla, former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, will be among over 100 speakers at the 16th edition of 'Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest'.

Starting from November 7 at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), the literature festival by Godrej Industries Group will offer a multitude of voices, stories, and viewpoints across genders, communities, and languages from over 10 countries.

The three-day festival will feature sessions across a range of subjects such as fiction, poetry, health, history, business, science, philosophy, and the city of Mumbai.

Some of the noted speakers in this year's line-up include Anindita Ghose, Ashok Vajpeyi, Jeet Thayil, Jerry Pinto, Lillete Dubey, Sam Dalrymple, Shehan Karunatilaka, Shobhaa De, Soha Ali Khan, Swati Pandey, Venki Ramakrishnan, and Yang Shuang-zi.

"Each year since 2009, the festival has shaped itself into an ever-evolving and exciting entity that the city has come to love. We, the Literature Live! team, are honoured to play a role in continuing the legacy that our founder Anil Dharker created for Mumbaikars: a marvellous feast for the mind and soul. In its 16th year, the story only gets stronger," festival co-director Amy Fernandes said in a statement.

The mainstays of the festival will continue to feature in this edition, including the coveted lifetime achievement, poet laureate, and other literary awards; cultural performances, book launches, daily workshops and campus outreach for college students.

"Engaging with contrasting thoughts and writing - fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama - from around the world is more crucial than ever today. The 16th edition of the Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest will do just that. I have been associated with this Festival since its inception, and it is a privilege to have seen it grow into the veritable city institution that it is today," festival co-director Quasar Thakore Padamsee said.

The 'Little Festival', in collaboration with the HT Parekh Foundation, will feature sessions, activities and performances specially curated for children.

The literature festival will come to an end on November 9. PTI MAH MAH MG MG MAH