‘Discuss, Debate, Deconstruct!’
An initiative of Ikon Education Foundation, Ahmedabad International Literature Festival AILF, with the persistent efforts of its visionary and passionate Founder-Director Mr. Umashanker Yadav, words of wisdom from the advisors, and the hard work put in by the talented team, has grown in strides in every aspect since its inception in the year 2016. While literature has seen considerable appreciation and yet received minuscule support, it is no less than a feat to be consistently conducting successful literature events year after year with the same grandeur and passion, being able to create a platform for literary enthusiasts and keeping alive the essence of art culture and literature.
The 9th Edition of the Ahmedabad International Literature Festival was recently held at the Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad on the 5th and 6th of October 2024 organized under the visionary leadership of Umashankar Yadav, the festival’s Founder-Director. Celebrating the richness of art, culture, and literature and its diversity, the festival promoted the passion for all facets of literature among enthusiasts of all age groups. Focusing on the discourse of the art of storytelling, content-rich programming, and engaging panel discussions, the event saw an exquisite array of performances, discussions, book launches, and literary activities that celebrated the written and spoken word. Featuring over 50 speakers from all over the country and abroad, this year’s edition engaged in around twenty thought-provoking sessions over two days. The festival commenced with the mesmerizing Kathak performance by Rachana Yadav, setting the stage for a day filled with enriching literary sessions. While the renowned author and screenwriter Niren Bhatt captivated the audience with his insights in one of the discussions, the popular Bollywood singer Karan Oberoi created a musical evening making the event even more special. Whereas panel discussions on topics and experts from Cinema, Youth and Literature, Creative Initiatives, Poetry, Books and Society, Women Narratives, etc captivated the audience, a special remembrance was dedicated to Late Dr S K Nanda with Manoj Aggarwal IAS and Umashankar Yadav emphasizing the significance of continuing his legacy. Apart from English, languages like Gujarati and Hindi mainly drew the framework of discussions during the event. Also sponsored by Gujarat Tourism, the patron, the event highlighted the literary tourism aspects in the effervescent city during the festive times of Navratri. The event also saw some amazing book launches by Serene Publishers including the masterpiece ’Smriti’ written by Shradha Ahuja Ramani, Author and President-Ahmedabad Book Club. The book was launched by the renowned Author Kavita Kane. Some other prominent speakers in the event included Lyricist Dr Sagar, Mukul Kumar, Civil Servant and Poet, Rachana Yadav, and many more. The poster of the upcoming motion picture ‘Heer Aur Ranjha’ by Serene Films, Producer- Umashankar Yadav, Production Team- Abhinay Singh, was launched at the event.
One of the panel discussions ‘When Women Write- The Traits of New Age Women Writers’ saw an insightful interaction with the panelists, HR-turned-Author Jyoti Jha, Bestselling Author Sujata Parashar, Educationist, and Author Ishmeet Chaudhry, and moderated by Shivika Vishwakarma, a young literary enthusiast and literature student. The discussion steered around the evolving role of women writers in Indian Society and on the Global Platform, the challenges of women writers, the importance of women writers in reshaping literary trends, and words of wisdom for emerging women writers. An enthusiastic and participative audience kept the momentum going while the panelists shared their valuable inputs on the topic.
A dedicated team of volunteers, an expert team of designers, printers, decorators, sound technicians, photographers, online technicians, caterers, and a venue team, apart from the valuable participants, esteemed speakers, and enthusiastic audience, energetically contributed to creating a stimulating and successful 9th Edition of the Festival under the honorable organizing committee and group company of AILF. With a motivation and assurance of continuing to bring landmark events year after year, the event closed on a high note.
