India: Regional authors set to come together for Gateway Litfest
In February, a one-of-its-kind literary festival will bring together regional language authors on one platform, to give vernacular writings the same recognition as Indian English literature.
Gateway Litfest, to be held at the National Centre for the Performing Arts on February 14 and 15, is an initiative by Mohan Kakanadan, editor of Mumbai-based Malayalam literary magazine, Kaakka.
“In its inaugural edition, the fest will focus on seven languages — Marathi, Malayalam, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil and Oriya. While Indian authors writing in English, and even in Hindi, have several popular national platforms, there is none for vernacular authors even as their contribution to Indian literature is immense,” said Kakanadan.
