The successful Lit o fest, India’s premier literature, art and music festival kicked off on February 20th and 21st from 10 am-10pm. A host of celebrities also graced the event. The festival which was held at St. Xaviers College, Mumbai is the only literature festival of Maharashtra to be supported by MTDC.
The enriching two-day festival brought together deserving authors and dignitaries. Babul Supriyo (Minister of State for Urban Development, and for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation) declared the festival open by reciting a Tagore poem, and was joined by Smita and founder Saurabh Daftary.
There were also a spate of book launches that took place at the event. These were highly appreciated by the audience. There were discussions by experts like Alyque Padamsee on ‘Why I fell in love with Shakespeare’ about the impact of the legend’s work on contemporary literature and theatre. Other discussions included the impact of Mahabharata on contemporary times and if the music is losing its melody due to technology-driven compositions.
There was an author-publisher meet apart from children’s film screening. An impromptu flash mob by the students was another highlight of the event. It concluded with a memorable and power-packed performance by Leslie Lewis and his band. Hariharan’s ghazal rendition and Irshad Kamil’s poetry recitation also enticed the audience and were the perfect end to the vibrant fest!
