A gateway to language at this festival at NCPA

The venue has moved from NCPA's Little Theatre to Experimental Theatre due to a growing audience

Not all who write well can become writers. That's a tough pill for most young people to swallow - and tougher when you don't know English. Although platforms that facilitate a discussion for literature tend to surface every now and then in the city, the lack of representation for non-English writers is evident.

"When we started the festival, a lot of young authors who came to attend it would tell us that they were writing but there was no platform for them to discuss their works. Everyone went for big names," says Mohan Kakanadan, festival director of the Gateway LitFest (GLF) that is slated for this weekend at the NCPA. For its fifth edition this year, the focus is on the youth.

Mohan Kakanadan, Anwesha Singbal and Ranjit Hoskote

"It is not that we are against English," Kakanadan asserts, adding that 22 languages will be represented at the festival. Kendra Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar winners including Anwesha Singbal (Konkani), Parimal Hansda (Santhali), and Farooq Shaheen (Kashmiri) will be present to discuss topics such as New Writers Rewriting Old School Rules and Youth Power in Indian Literature.

Noted Malayalam writer Paul Zacharia's first English novel, A Secret History of Compassion, will be launched at the festival by city writers Jerry Pinto and Shanta Gokhale. The two-day event will conclude with a session on YouTube/WhatsApp poetry featuring Ranjit Hoskote and Hemant Divate, followed by readings by Singbal, Rashmi Pitre and Mihir Chitre among others.

Kakanadan hopes that GLF will be able to encourage the youth as the audience numbers have grown. He shares, "Even when it comes to the Sahitya Akademi awards, winners come and go without recognition. We hope that through our adventures with the festival, we can help."

On March 1 and 2, 11 am to 8 pm
At Experimental Theatre, Sir Dorabji Tata Road, NCPA Marg, Nariman Point
Log on to gatewaylitfest.com (to register)

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates