The three-day, first ever edition of Pondy lit fest 2018 - Bharat Shakti, which received flak for its inclination towards the right-wing patrons, kicked off successfully on August 17, evening, despite many odds.
The organisers found themselves in the middle of a fresh controversy when the Alliance Française Foundation, the parent body of its venue partner, released a statement distancing itself from the festival, during the last minute. Alliance Française requested the organisers of the Pondy Lit Fest to change the subject "Urban Naxals and Nationalism" to "Youth, Education and Public Engagement". The organisers refused. However, everything fell into place with other organisations roping in to offer the much-needed help.
Literature lovers from across the country flocked to Puducherry, to take part in the three-day festival starting from August 17 to 19. The inaugural day of the fest witnessed active participation by writers, poets, who paid their homage to late Indian prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and dedicated the fest to the leader.
The festival is being curated by professor Makrand Paranspe and Lalit Varma of Aurodhan Puducherry.
"We started with a ceremony commemorating Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji and to acknowledge his great contribution to the nation. Also the fact that he was a poet, an orator, a wonderful literary figure himself, we started by dedicating the fest to the leader and to various flood victims by observing silence to mourn this. We are looking forward to upcoming interactions on concerning issues," said the brainchild behind the fest, Makrand Paranspe.
In the list of attendees, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM, Bibek Debroy, Swarajya editor R Jagannathan, founder of Tapovan Open University of Yoga and Ayurveda, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, national award-winning actor Pallavi Joshi and Dr Sampadananda Mishra, the director of SARC added value to the event.
One of the key speakers in the fest and also the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM, Bibek Debroy, said, "Its great initiative with wonderful people coming together from across the country. I hope it continues year after year."
The known filmmaker, Vivek Agnihotri said, "This is a start to a great fest ahead with so many learned and genuinely concerned coming together under one umbrella to discuss the key issues."
The actress Kalki Koechlin and the Shiv Trilogy author are likely to arrive on 18th August to take part in the events that are scheduled for the day.