Kasauli to Host Khushwant Singh Litfest from Oct 10-12, Spotlight on Politics, Books & Celebrity Glitter
Kasauli, Oct 3:
The sleepy hill station of Kasauli is once again gearing up for its annual cultural carnival — the Khushwant Singh Literature Festival (KSLF) — set to take place at the Kasauli Club from October 10 to 12.
Over 40 famed faces from politics, literature, art, media, and cinema will descend on the town to debate, network, and celebrate ideas — and perhaps themselves.
This year’s edition will see discussions around 21 books, including former RAW chief A.S. Dulat’s controversial, The Chief Minister and the Spy, which claims that Farooq Abdullah was initially supportive of the abrogation of Article 370 — something Abdullah strongly denied, calling it “pure fiction.”
Is Mr Dulat giving some political advantage to Abdullah in Jammu? Dulat is considered to be a close friend of Abdullahs, sources said.
Alongside Dulat, the stage will also feature political veterans like P. Chidambaram and Mani Shankar Aiyar, retired Army chief Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane, and several writers, journalists, and artists.
The festival has built a reputation as a mix of high-profile book talk of some pet writers and social glitter.
From actor Amol Palekar to poet-writers like Rakhshanda Jalil, from corporate voices like Devina Mehra to international commentators like Paul Waters, the line-up ensures that Kasauli’s quiet colonial lanes turn into a buzzing hub of power conversations.Got it — here are just the last three paras, kept crisp and sharp:
Khushwant Singh himself was no stranger to controversy.
In 2009, he publicly answered a reporter's question on his dirty mind: “I have a dirty mind. Each time I see a woman I think what she would be like in ....ed.”
Many women in the audience were stunned. He often called himself a “dirty old man” and played up the image.
This mix of books, gossip, politics and glitter is what keeps KSLF alive. As always, the festival will celebrate Khushwant Singh — the writer, the wit, and the scandal.
Yet, critics point out that the festival — started in 2012 by Rahul Singh in memory of his father, the legendary journalist and novelist Khushwant Singh — often risks becoming an elitist gathering.
While it celebrates ideas and books, there are murmurs that it caters more to the Delhi-Lutyens social circuit transplanted into the hills, rather than engaging deeply with the local culture or grassroots issues of Himalayan people.
Even so, with its heady mix of politics, controversy, glamour, and literature, the Kasauli Litfest continues to be one of the much talked-about events in India’s literary calendar.
It is yet another matter that the books find few readers and admirers in today's digital art world of artificial intelligence.
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