Second edition of The Hindu Lit for Life Dialogue in Bengaluru this week

The raison d’être down The Hindu Lit for Life Dialogue 2025, a precursor to The Hindu’s much-loved yearly lit festival, is simple: a solemnisation of books, authors, and ideas. “We judge that the abstraction for enjoying speechmaking and lit is unlimited,” arsenic Nirmala Lakshman, Chairperson, The Hindu Group and Festival Founder and Chair, The Hindu Lit For Life, puts it.

Now successful its 2nd edition, The Hindu Lit for Life Dialogue offers, “a cautiously curated programme that makes it chiseled and special,” she says, pointing retired that the inaugural to instrumentality Lit For Life to Bengaluru and Hyderabad aims astatine extending the festival’s interaction successful these places.

“I judge the scope and assortment of subjects that we woody with is unique. Our absorption is connected caller penning arsenic good arsenic covering topics that whitethorn beryllium of involvement to a wider audience,” says Nirmala. Also, Bengaluru is simply a spot wherever The Hindu is work and appreciated, and, “that is an important facet for america — to link with our readers directly”.

The event, which volition beryllium held connected November 21 astatine the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), is supported by Amity University (Associate Partner) and Crossword (Bookstore Partner). It volition comprise 3 eclectic sessions featuring speakers from divers fields, including literature, health, economics, and nationalist thought, specified arsenic Dr Ambrish Mithal, Shivam Vij, Shwetambari Shetty, Narendar Pani, Sanjaya Baru, Devina Mehra and Manu Joseph.

“Bengaluru has a vibrant taste country with truthful overmuch going connected astatine immoderate fixed time, that you person to deliberation particularly hard astir however to drawback its attention,” says Rachna Singh Davidar, festival director,The Hindu Lit for Life.

The focus, therefore, has been connected things that are of involvement to everyone successful the city, successful her opinion. “We are each obsessing astir value nonaccomplishment drugs similar Ozempic. That is wherefore we person a league connected that, explaining however these drugs work, who should instrumentality them and who shouldn’t and truthful on. We sermon money, investment, wealth, and wherefore determination is an exodus of precocious nett worthy individuals from India. We besides person a stand-up enactment connected the ills of modern Indian society,” says Rachna, who believes each league volition resonate with the audience.

In a satellite wherever lit festivals person mushroomed and proceed to proliferate crossed the country, the lone mode you tin basal retired is by ensuring that the fundamentals of your festival are “spectacular”, she adds. “If your programming is world-class, intelligent, entertaining, and ranges across a wide spectrum, your festival volition basal retired and pull radical to it,” says Rachna, who firmly believes that books and writers should beryllium astatine the bosom of immoderate lit festival.

While LFL arsenic a festival has grown some “exponentially” and “organically” implicit the past decennary and a half, “what is important to maine is that nary substance however large we person grown, determination is inactive thing rather intimate astir our festival.”

Rachna views The Hindu Lit For Life Dialogue successful Bengaluru and Hyderabad arsenic its ain chiseled festival, alternatively than an offshoot of The Hindu Lit For Life successful Chennai. “They are smaller, and determination is simply a batch much enactment betwixt idiosyncratic speakers and the audiences,” she says, recalling how, astatine the erstwhile edition, immoderate speakers were whisked distant by students for java and speech close aft their sessions.

“I anticipation determination volition beryllium adjacent greater enactment betwixt writers and their readers going forward. We had a terrific archetypal twelvemonth successful Bengaluru and are hoping for an adjacent grander turnout this year.”

The Bengaluru Edition of LFL Dialogue 2025 volition beryllium held connected November 21, from 4pm astatine the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru. Entry is by invitation only. To register, visit: https://forms.thehindu.co.in/litforlife2026dialogues/