Literature Live! Mumbai LitFest 2025: Festival Co-director Amy Fernandes On Carrying Forward The Legacy Of Anil Dharker

Way back in 2010, Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest was founded by Anil Dharker and Shashi Baliga. According to festival co-director Amy Fernandes, who has been around since its inception, "Anil loved his books. He respected the written word and felt that Mumbai deserved a literary festival." That's how the city got its first LitFest.

"I have been involved with it from the time Anil Dharker announced the idea of the festival, but I formally joined in the second year," she explains in an interview with FPJ.

Amy misses having Anil Dharker and Shashi Baliga around. "Our festival is a tribute to them," says the former journalist who hopes to pull off a great event this year as well.

Literature Live! Mumbai LitFest 2025 co-director Amy Fernandes

What can one expect at the Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2025?

It is the 16th edition of the literary festival and we have a line-up of brilliant writers. To name a few, there's Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan and Booker Prize Winner Shehan Karunatilaka, both of whom will participate in the opening session that talks about truth, trust and testimony.

We have new stars on the horizon like Omar Musa and Sam Dalrymple. Shobhaa De launches her new book The Sensual Self at the Festival.

The Little Festival for children adds a delightful flavour to our celebrations. There is also a great debate lined up on a topic that's on everyone's minds: India and China Must Be Friends.

Since when have you been associated with the festival, and how have you seen it transform over the years?

I have been involved with it from the time Anil Dharker announced the idea of the festival, but I formally joined in the second year. Each year has grown stronger and is a learning for us. Our audience is our barometer which tells us what works and what does not.

Almost every year, Anil Dharker added a new award to our list of awards and today, it is a prestigious segment of its own with the Lifetime Achievement, Poet Laureate, and the Literary Awards which are much anticipated.

Literature Live! Mumbai LitFest 2025: What To Expect At City's First & Oldest Literary Festival Silent reading session by Mumbai Bookies

Is there something you miss about the festival?

I miss not having our visionary Anil Dharker and our feisty Executive Director Shashi Baliga with us. Our festival is a tribute to them.

The concept of The Little Festival, which is exclusively for children, is very interesting. What is the theme for 2025?

The Little Festival started pre-COVID and we continued it online too for a year. We have resumed it since last year and the convenor of The Little Festival, Reena Agarwal, should take a bow at the line-up she has created.

We usually do not have a formal theme for the festival, but something organic does come up. This year, inclusivity, access, nature and environment, music and art have emerged through books and stories written for children by passionate crusaders of these. And as every year, celebrating storytellers marks our festival.

A glimpse from The Little Festival 2024

How do you go about selecting the line-up for The Little Festival?

Our focus is on different ideas that children's writers are writing about and how we can present them in different ways. For instance The Zakir Hussain Story is not just the book about a boy who became a tabla legend, but also how we are presenting it— with a reading of his story and the tabla being played by Fazal Qureshi, his brother.

What is also interesting is that we get a young teenager to talk to an adult. This year a Norwegian author will speak to a teenager and our youngest festival author Anya Hannan, all of 14, will speak to an established author.

The Doorbeen Library Tent sessions are unusual — for example a session on philately to help start off a stamp collection hobby.

The Roots and Shoots programme initiated by Jane Goodall, who we were so lucky to have speak at our festival last year, is being continued and we are telling the children stories of the natural world through microscopes.

Why is there nothing for young readers below 8 years at The Little Festival? Aren't books supposed to be fun across all ages?

We hope to bring in that age group soon. Meanwhile, we're working through teachers and librarians to make books fun across all ages, setting up libraries for NGOs which will reach out to this age group, and they are all welcome to the book swap where the little ones can come and exchange a book. The condition is that only the children will choose their own book with no adult allowed to intervene.

Book lovers at LitLive 2024

Through The Mumbai LitFest, you're keeping the legacy of book-reading alive, especially among the young generation. Do you have some tips on how parents can encourage their children to read more?

I understand that there are so many choices for the younger generation, in the way they consume content. There's a tough battle between hard copy books and screens.

But the first teachers are parents and one hopes that if they display their love for books by reading to the little ones every day, and leaving books around the house or preferably filling the house with books, children will get the drift.

You are carrying forward Anil Dharker's legacy. Is it an easy job to do?

Legacies of this scale cannot be carried by one person. The festival Anil created and left behind continues with us in the team that comprises Quasar Thakore Padamsee, Reena Agrawal, Antoine Lewis, Shireen Mistry and Tina Nagpaul.

Each bring a unique perspective to the festival and together with our partners, we are able to pull off a great event year after year.

Dissent is crucial for democracy. How does the festival offer a platform for authors or books of dissent, controversy and censorship?

The festival is a platform for civil conversations, discussions and debates. It has always been that and continues to be so.

Which are the books you are currently reading?

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. The story stays with you long after the last word. Read it.

Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest is on from November 7 to 9 at NCPA, Nariman Point. Visit their website www.litlive.in for more details.