Darjeeling Literature Festival holds curtain-raiser event ahead of inaugural edition next year

DARJEELING,: The Darjeeling Literature Festival (DLF) held its curtain-raiser event at Gymkhana here on Sunday, marking the launch of a new platform to bring Himalayan literary and cultural voices into conversation with writers, thinkers, scholars, artists, publishers and readers from across the globe.

Organised by the Darjeeling Literature Festival Society (DLFS), the event set the stage for the inaugural edition of the festival, scheduled for November next year.

“We are a society in the making, and this is the first time we are holding a literature festival in Darjeeling. It is our way of showing respect for literature, which we feel has not received due attention. This will also encourage the younger generation and provide them with opportunities, which we have taken up as a challenge. This is just the beginning, and we plan to hold the festival on a much grander scale in November next year,” said Vaani M. Sharma, president of DLFS.

She said the festival would explore questions such as the meaning of literature and the different paths one could take towards it, irrespective of language. Sharma also expressed a desire to bring literary works from various languages onto a common platform.

“Today was basically an effort to establish our presence. Panel discussions were also held, with writers and publishers from different places participating. We are planning to organise various programmes in the coming days,” Sharma said.

The DLFS president also expressed concern over the growing influence of digital media and its impact on literature. She stressed that reading and writing should continue to receive attention, adding that the society wanted to demonstrate that people remained interested in both.

Speaking about the society’s broader objectives, DLFS convenor Anirban Dutta said it aimed to go beyond organising literature festivals and bring about social change through the influence of literature.

“Our society is not limited to organising events such as literature festivals. We want to bring reforms through the influence of literature. The festival will be a regular feature on our calendar, but we will also organise programmes in rural areas to connect with people at the grassroots level. These programmes will include a diverse range of activities, such as interactive workshops, group travel and curated nature trails,” he said.

“Literature will be the instrument, but our focus will also extend to other areas, including heritage preservation,” Dutta added.

He said literature would play a major role in preserving and better representing Darjeeling. The society would bring together experts from various fields, both from Darjeeling and other regions, who share a deep love for and interest in the area.

The curtain-raiser programme featured panel discussions on topics such as “Making a Place for Literature” and “Making a Life in Literature Begins”. Publishers, scholars and writers, including Satyadeep Chhetri and Chuden Kabimo, participated in the discussions. The programme also featured an address by Padma Shri awardee Dr Gambhir Singh Yonzone.