The Hindu Lit for Life is back

“Literature is a means by which we may ask questions,” said Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket at The Hindu Lit For Life 2019. This is something that the festival has espoused over the 10 years of its

“Literature is a means by which we may ask questions,” said Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket at The Hindu Lit For Life 2019. This is something that the festival has espoused over the 10 years of its existence by asking questions on stage and off it. Literature also did not mean just fiction (both literary and popular). It encompassed travel, science, politics, art, memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, poetry, food, health, theatre, films … and more.

After a two-year hiatus, thanks to the pandemic, the festival — which began as a celebration of 20 years of The Hindu’s literary supplement, Literary Review — now returns “in a digital format with a carefully curated programme that reflects our much-changed world with sessions on the virus and its impact with leading scientists and medical practitioners, conversations between thinkers and writers on a variety of topics such as films, art and literature, as well as an important conversation on how to navigate these complex times,” says Dr. Nirmala Lakshman, Festival Director and Curator and Director, The Hindu Group.

With COVID-19 still dominating the world, it cannot be ignored. In Lessons of the Pandemic, moderated by Kamini Mahadevan Dr. Gagandeep Kang, Dr. Srinath Reddy and Prof. Arun Kumar take stock of the impact on healthcare, society and the economy and what we need to do to go forward. Mind Matters: An exploration of lifespan mental health in COVID-19 times will have Dr. Pratima Murthy, Dr. Shekhar Seshadri, and Dr. Soumitra Pathare and Dr. Ennapadam S. Krishnamoorthy discuss what the past two years have meant for our mental well-being. In a related session titled A Viral World, Pranay Lal and Ramya Kannan explain why viruses are indeed necessary and why we need to relook our relationship with them.