A guide to workshops at The Hindu Lit for Life 2026

While authors instrumentality centrestage astatine The Hindu Lit For Life, workshops moving alongside the main events person besides managed to gully enthusiastic participants. Over the years, the lit festival has seen experts from publishing, translation, theatre, art, and adjacent mathematics handhold participants done interactive workshops that connection a peek into their tract of expertise. This twelvemonth astatine Lit For Life, 1 tin larn to constitute a play, work and constitute the Tamil-Brahmi and Vattelluttu scripts, instrumentality a heavy dive into handling heavy fake, and adjacent bash a small workout with a fittingness coach.

Deeper than heavy fakes

With AI being the buzzword now, larn however to make a lasting communicative for yourself astatine Shantanu Tungare’s store titled Owning Your Digital Self successful the AI Era. “The league is astir heavy faking yourself earlier heavy fake heavy fakes you,” says the Mumbai-based Shantanu, a filmmaker who is champion known for his pioneering enactment combining cinematic trade and AI-driven creativity.

Shantanu volition thatch participants however to make a beardown communicative online successful an epoch successful which a illustration photograph and a fewer seconds of dependable recordings are capable to heavy fake a idiosyncratic to doing oregon saying things that mightiness bash harmful things for their identity. This knowledge, Shantanu feels, is important successful this clip and age, particularly for idiosyncratic who does not cognize technology.

“I volition amusement however to physique an online marque utilizing AI tools; what precisely AI does, however to place heavy fake and however to physique communicative immunity connected heavy fakes,” helium explains. Shantanu says that AI tin ne'er beryllium countered with technology. “It volition ever outsmart you,” helium says, adding: “But what it cannot outsmart is the communicative you enactment of yourself.”

Shantanu suggests we usage our instinct to pivot into thing that AI tin ne'er know. “Like a speech you person with your kids oregon parents astir thing that is not determination connected immoderate online platform,” helium says. “I’ll besides beryllium teaching however to clone your voice, however to clone yourself and however to usage ChatGPT and Gemini to person a two-way speech to fig retired who you are, what your motivations are and travel up with a beardown communicative astir yourself.”

Owning Your Digital Self successful the AI Era is connected January 17, 10.30am to 11.30am and 3pm to 4pm, for those aged 18-plus astatine Lady Andal Seminar Hall

Scripted

For those whose bosom beats for theatre, author, playwright, and writer Gowri Ramnarayan is acceptable to connection insights connected however to constitute a play successful the store Hands on: Write a Play? She volition beryllium picking 3 celebrated scenes from iconic plays for the exercise. “There is simply a satellite classic, an Indian classic, and a play that I wrote truthful I tin springiness a idiosyncratic perspective,” she says.

“When you constitute a play, you’re not penning it to beryllium read; you’re penning it to beryllium performed,” says Gowri, adding that determination are galore challenges for a playwright. “In a play, the full framework connected signifier is earlier the oculus of each spectator. You can’t nonstop them to look astatine someone’s manus oregon action. Everything is seen. How bash you marque definite the spectator is looking astatine that peculiar action, spot oregon facial look you privation them to look at?”

While penning a play, a playwright has to beryllium connected the histrion to pass the story. This is antithetic from a novel, feels Gowri. “I’m not penning a caller successful which betwixt maine and the reader, determination is thing but the words connected the page,” she says. A novelist has the liberty of a respective 1000 words to picture a quality and setting. “But narration and statement are unopen retired for the playwright,” she adds.

Brevity is key. Also, a playwright has to show. “Every connection has to count. It’s a antithetic art. In presumption of length, successful presumption of giving a afloat acquisition wrong a bounds of time,” she says. Gowri says she volition underline the challenges; constituent astatine the decisions she made, and the solutions she recovered arsenic a playwright.

Hands on: Write a Play? is connected January 18; 2.30pm to 4.30pm astatine Ground Floor, Annexe Building, Lady Andal. It is unfastened for those aged 20 and above.

Demystifying epigraphy

V Vedachalam, a retired Senior Epigraphist from Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology, volition instrumentality participants into the fascinating satellite of the past Tamil-Brahmi script. In his store Early Tamil Epigraphy with the absorption connected Tamil Brahmi and Vattelluttu scripts, Vedachalam, who holds a doctorate, volition beryllium teaching participants to work and constitute the scripts, besides throwing airy connected the bas-reliefs of Jaina Tirthankaras successful places specified arsenic Arittapatti and Keezhavalavu adjacent Madurai, and astatine Kazhugumalai adjacent Kovilpatti.

Early Tamil Epigraphy with absorption connected Tamil Brahmi and Vattelluttu scripts is connected January 17 and 18, 10.30am to 4.30pm astatine The Hindu studio. Open for those aged 20 and above.

Mind and body

Mumbai-based wellness and fittingness manager Priti Chawla’s league volition beryllium an interactive 1 with question and enactment enactment involved. “I person divided the store into 2 parts,” says Priti. “The archetypal volition beryllium astir fitness’ wide components and learning to travel a structured fittingness programme,” she explains, adding that this volition beryllium followed by a 25-minute applicable component. “We volition past determination connected to the doctrine of fittingness and wholesome living, delving heavy into what 1 needs to bash to execute a steadfast surviving program for life.” Priti volition besides code nutrient philosophy, integer boundaries, being amidst Nature, reflection and connection.

Beyond the Body: The Philosophy of Fitness and Wholesome Living is connected January 17; 10.30am to 12.30pm astatine Ground Floor, Annexe Building. Open for 18-plus

Money matters

Rohit Sarin, who has 3 decades of acquisition successful backstage banking, volition explicate successful elemental presumption astir however to physique the wont of investing. At his store Unlocking Wealth: Secrets to Getting Rich astatine Any Age, radical crossed ages tin larn to physique wealthiness and turn their corpus. It volition not lone look astatine however wealth works, but besides astatine however to marque it work.

Unlocking Wealth: Secrets to Getting Rich astatine Any Age is connected January 18, 10.30am to 12.30pm astatine Ground Floor, Annexe Building. For those aged 18-plus.

As the lotus blooms

At Sharan Apparao’s store The Many Lives of the Lotus: Between Sacred History and Contemporary Claims, the ocular motif of the lotus volition instrumentality centrestage. She volition prosecute with questions of iconography, ocular continuity, and taste transmission done the lotus arsenic some motif and symbol. Sharan, an creation curator and the laminitis of Apparao Galleries successful Chennai, has been associated with the ocular arts for 4 decades.

The Many Lives of the Lotus is connected January 17, 12.30pm to 1.30pm astatine Lady Andal Seminar Hall

There volition besides beryllium a screening of the documentary Wild Tamil Nadu, that has been produced by Sundram Fasteners and directed by wildlife lensman Kalyan Varma, connected January 18; 10am to 11.30am and 3pm to 4pm.

To register, sojourn thehindu.com/lit-for-life/workshop/