Poetry, book readings enthrall audiences at Hyderabad Literary Festival

Hyderabad: Thousands of visitors thronged the Hyderabad Literary Festival (HLF) with their families and friends on the weekend, with multiple sessions unfolding simultaneously on the second day of the event. Entire venue was bustling with not only visitors from various parts of the city but also children from various schools. The event began with senior journalist P Sainath's recent work on 'The Last Heroes: Foot Soldiers of Indian Freedom.' In conversation with Sunita Reddy, he urged the youth to reclaim history as he narrated the stories of unsung heroes of India's freedom struggle.

Another session that drew in a crowd was Aparna Thota's work on Poorna Malavath, a mountaineer from Telangana. The festival witnessed sessions on art and culture from Goa, as Konkani being the language in focus for this edition.

In the afternoon session, prominent writers and poets such as Damodar Mauzo, Jerry Pinto, Bardroy Barretto were engaged in a panel discussion on 'Language(s) of Goa.' Apart from the literary sessions, there were several events on poetry, 'Kaavya Dhaara'. Various poets in diverse Indian languages and English such as Deepti Naval, Jerry Pinto, Muraad Siddique, Ramesh Karthik, Mani Rao, Sharmistha Mohanty enthralled the audience with their poetry reading.

Being mindful of children as a special attraction to the event, the festival engaged them with various story telling sessions, drawing workshops, and other activities to enhance their imagination and creativity through reading books. With special emphasis on children, the festival displayed an exhibition, 'The Nocturnal Dialogues: The Darkroom Project', curated by Atika Amjad, which involves the viewer completely in space. Such viewing engages the viewer completely in the image and creates an interface by asking questions posted at the foot of the artwork, thereby enhancing the child's imagination and comprehension experience.

During the day, 'Moving Images Talkies' screened a film on 'Other Kohinoors: The Rocks of Hyderabad' by Uma Magal, which narrated the city's relationship with its rocks and how it has changed in the last couple of decades. The film anchored itself in the regional tapestry, and showcased how the city's distinct history, language, and culture are tied together with its rocks. The sessions such as 'Meet the Author' and 'Meet the Artist', where visitors had an informal conversation with their favourite authors and artists, were a special feature of the festival.

Towards the culmination of the second day, cultural performances from Goa, mesmerized the visitors with the popular Konkani dances, Dhalo and Fugdi, performed by Goan women of various local communities. The performance, which showcased the celebration of womanhood, is a form of thanksgiving for the bounty of nature that resonated with the audience as it received huge applause.