Deccan Literature Festival 2024 to be held on 16th and 17th November

Pune audiences to enjoy sessions on literature, poetry, theatre, and musical performances

Festival to be inaugurated by renowned actor, director, screenwriter, and producer Mahesh Manjrekar

PUNE: The fifth edition of the Deccan Literature Festival, organized by the Dakani Adab Foundation, is all set to take place on 16th and 17th November from 11 am to 11 pm, at the Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir on Jangli Maharaj Road, Pune. The festival entry is free for all on a first come first served basis though, those interested in attending are encouraged to register in advance on the foundation’s website.

Acclaimed actor, director, screenwriter, and producer Mahesh Manjrekar will inaugurate the festival on Saturday, November 16th, at 11 a.m. at Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir. Dignitaries, including Rahul Ranjan Mahival, IAS, and former President of Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan Laxmikant Deshmukh, EX-IAS, will be present. Moreover, the event will feature the unveiling of Rahul Ranjan Mahival’s book, ‘Jashn-e-Deewangi’.

Elaborating on the program details, Jayram Kulkarni – Director of Dakani Adab Foundation said, “This year’s Deccan Literature Festival promises a lineup of engaging programs, including mushairas (Urdu poetic symposium), interviews, panel discussions, plays, and musical performances. We aim to create a platform for renowned and emerging artists to showcase their talent to an enthusiastic audience.”

Festival curator Monika Singh said, “The growing response to the festival each year only enhances our enthusiasm. In its fifth year, the festival will celebrate literature not only in Marathi but also in Hindi and Urdu. This year, audiences can look forward to a vibrant array of literature, poetry, theatre, discussions, music, ghazals, and mushairas featuring renowned artists.”

On day one, post the inauguration, there will be an open interview of Mahesh Manjrekar as part of the “Beyond the Lens’ program by Milind Kulkarni. This will be followed by a coffee-table talk with actors Pankaj Jha and Dhanshree Heblikar titled ‘Tumhara Milna Zaroori Tha Tumhare Liye’ At 3.30 pm the ‘Festival of Poetry- Kavitecha Rangotsav’ will commence, featuring Marathi poets Dr. Pradnya Daya Pawar, Indrajit Bhalerao, Neerja, Kalpana Dudhal, Aaba Patil, Ajay Kandar, Abhay Dani, Felix D’Souza, and Anjali Dhamal, with Indrajit Ghule as the moderator.

The evening will continue with a reading of the play ‘Final D.R.A.F.T.’ at 5.45 pm. The play is written by Girish Joshi, with editing, direction, and music by Padmanabh Pathak. Actors Adv. Sujata Pathak and Dr. Dilip Ghare will participate. At 7 pm., the ‘Poetry of Youngistan’ program will feature poets such as Abhisar Shukla, Amritesh Babu, Murari Mandal, Numan Siddiqui, Vineet Shankar, Simran Khurana, Amar Yaduvanshi, and Mujtaba Shahroz. The day will conclude with ‘Rang- Grand Mushaira’, starting at 8 pm, showcasing poets Rajesh Reddy, Shakeel Azmi, Khan Shamim, Rahul Ranjan Mahival, Monika Singh, Dr. Nusrat Mehendi, Shakeel Jamali, Salim Siddiqui, and other notable voices from across the country.

The second day of the festival will begin at 10 am with a performance of the play ‘Chauthi Cigarette’, written by Yogesh Tripathi, which received the Mohan Rakesh Award in 2019. Yuvraj Shah is the producer, with Dhanshree Heblikar as the artistic director and Abhijit as the director. At 12.30 pm, the audience will be able to enjoy an engaging conversation with renowned author Durjoy Datta as part of the ‘Love, Life, and Literature’ session by author Sudha Menon. This will be followed by the discussion panel with authors Kiran Manral, Tanushree Poddar, Sudha Menon, and actress Vibhavari Deshpande as a part of the ‘Devi, Diya or She-Devil’ session by Saloni Mistry

The afternoon will feature ‘Tridhara’, a Marathi literature dialogue, at 3.30 pm, with author Monika Gajendragadkar, Sangram Gaikwad, and Krishnat Khot, moderated by Datta Gholap. At 5:00 p.m., audiences can enjoy ‘Dastangoi’, a unique storytelling session based on tales from the Mahabharata, performed by Fauzia Dastango. This will be followed by ‘Uljhe Alfaaz Ki Sargoshiyan’, a session with Psyco-Shayar aka Abhi Munde. The festival will conclude with a soulful Sufi evening, ‘Mauko Kahan Dhoonde Re Bande…’, performed by renowned Sufi singer Meer Mukhtiyar Ali.

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