HLF 2019 off to a flying start

Hyderabad: The ninth edition of the Hyderabad Literary Fest (HLF) started at the Hyderabad Public School campus in the city on Friday amidst several installations, dances by students, street theatre and panel discussions on a variety of topics ranging from #MeToo, contemporary trends in Chinese literature, encountering stereotypes, relevance of Mahatma Gandhi and other issues.

Writers, film directors, actors, students of art and literature, social activists, students from different schools and colleges visited the festival. HLF, an annual event is multi-disciplinary, multi-lingual event that draws crowds from across the country. Several writers, artistes, academics, scholars and publishers from India and abroad visited the fest.

The authors’ corner at the festival was a huge hit as students and people who appreciate the written word took selfies and autographs from their favourite authors. Started in 2010, the festival is gaining in popularity with each passing year. Talks, walks, readings, workshops, exhibitions, book launches and cultural programmes marked the event.

The world multiplies its needs and at the same time talks about sustainable living. This is a paradox that we have to live with and it is in such a situation that Gandhi is missed, said Sudeer Chandra speaking on the opening day of the festival. Nature has enough for everyone’s needs, not for everyone’s greed, said M K Gandhi. Today, if the consequences of global warming are hitting us, it has a lot to do with the mad rush for industrialization and not living the Gandhian way, he said. Answering a question on whether Gandhi was against the machine and industrialization, he said that was untrue.

When a similar question was posed to Gandhiji, he had replied, “Our human body is a fine example of a machine. How can I be against machinery?”
On the growing violence in society, Sudhir said, “Gandhiji was clear that violence is not a viable alternative and had always advised politicians to first travel across the country for a year before taking a plunge into politics.”