{"id":5667,"date":"2025-09-12T19:03:58","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T13:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/?p=5667"},"modified":"2025-09-12T20:02:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T14:32:22","slug":"intl-booker-winner-banu-mushtaq-to-headline-aley-literature-fest-in-bengaluru","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/?p=5667","title":{"rendered":"MAHE Bengaluru to Host Inaugural al\u00e8y Literature Festival, Championing \u2018Waves of Solidarity\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MAHE Bengaluru to Host Inaugural al\u00e8y Literature Festival, Championing \u2018Waves of Solidarity\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Bengaluru, September 11, 2025<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Bengaluru, will host the inaugural \u201cal\u00e8y Literature Festival 2025\u201d on September 18 and 19, a flagship event designed to harness the power of storytelling to build community, celebrate diversity, and amplify vital voices in literature. The two-day festival, themed \u201cWaves of Solidarity,\u201d will bring together acclaimed authors, translators, performers, and literary enthusiasts for a series of panel discussions, masterclasses, workshops, and performances.<\/p>\n

Organized by the Department of Liberal Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, the festival aims to create a dynamic platform for cross-cultural dialogue and creative expression, moving beyond traditional academic boundaries to engage the public in meaningful literary discourse.<\/p>\n

International Booker Laureate to Inaugurate Festival<\/strong><\/p>\n

The festival will be inaugurated with a keynote address by\u00a0Banu Mushtaq<\/strong>, the 2025 winner of the International Booker Prize. Her presence sets a prestigious tone for the event, highlighting the festival’s commitment to literary excellence and global perspectives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis festival is born from a deep-seated belief in literature\u2019s transformative power to build bridges,\u201d said a festival organizer. \u201cBy bringing together diverse voices\u2014from international prize winners to local community activists\u2014we aim to create waves of solidarity that resonate far beyond our campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Lineup of Critical Dialogues and Masterclasses<\/strong><\/p>\n

The program is structured to explore the nuances of contemporary literature through critical dialogues. Acclaimed author\u00a0Perumal Murugan<\/strong>\u00a0will feature in a major book talk, discussing his work \u201cStudents Etched in Memory\u201d with\u00a0Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta, IAS<\/strong>. The session promises intimate insights into the lives of rural students and literature\u2019s capacity to highlight marginalized narratives.<\/p>\n

Panel discussions will tackle a range of pressing topics. \u201cWomen Publish Women: Waves of Feminist Publishing,\u201d featuring publishers\u00a0Arpita Das<\/strong>\u00a0and historian\u00a0V. Geetha<\/strong>, will examine the evolving landscape of feminist literary production. Another session, \u201cBig Little Stories: Navigating Complexity in Children’s Literature\u201d with\u00a0Menaka Raman<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Sharanya Manivannan<\/strong>, will delve into the sophisticated world of children\u2019s storytelling.<\/p>\n

The art of translation will be front and center in \u201cBridging the World with Words: Literary Translation Today,\u201d a conversation with renowned translators\u00a0Srinath Perur<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Rahul Soni<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Media Updates: +91-93531 21474 [WhatsApp] |\u00a0indianowme@gmail.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fostering Community and the Next Generation of Writers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beyond panels, the festival emphasizes interactive learning and community engagement. Masterclasses will be led by literary figures including\u00a0S. Joseph<\/strong>\u00a0on the subjectivity of poetry and\u00a0V. Geetha<\/strong>\u00a0on the contemporary relevance of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s works.<\/p>\n

A dedicated fiction writing workshop for school children, \u201cHatch a Plot!\u201d led by author\u00a0Neelima Vinod<\/strong>, aims to nurture young creative talents. The festival will also host a vibrant array of competitions for students, including a Quiz, Stand-up Comedy, Cosplay, Slam Poetry, and Book Cover Designing.<\/p>\n

A significant discussion, \u201cSpaces of Solidarity: Reading in the City,\u201d will bring together community leaders\u00a0Athul T (Cubbon Reads), Rajassekar (Sollazhi), and Lalitha Murugesan (Lalitha’s Book Nook)<\/strong>\u00a0to explore the growing movement of public reading groups and their role in urban community building.<\/p>\n

Performance Art as a Catalyst for Change<\/strong><\/p>\n

The festival will leverage the power of performance to underscore its themes. The\u00a0Qabila Collective<\/strong>\u00a0will present the play \u201cWe Push the Sky,\u201d and an interactive \u201cTheatre of the Oppressed\u201d session titled \u201cListen-Connect-Amplify!\u201d will be conducted by\u00a0Radha Ramaswamy<\/strong>, demonstrating how performing arts can be a potent tool for social commentary and change.<\/p>\n

Commitment to a Inclusive Literary Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n

The al\u00e8y Literature Festival 2025 reinforces MAHE Bengaluru\u2019s commitment to fostering a inclusive literary culture that encourages dialogue and understanding across diverse sections of society.<\/p>\n

Registration for the festival is open to the public. For more details and to register, visit\u00a0bit.ly\/aley2025<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Key Quotes<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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    “This festival is born from a deep-seated belief in literature\u2019s transformative power to build bridges. By bringing together diverse voices, we aim to create waves of solidarity that resonate far beyond our campus.” \u2014 Festival Organizer, MAHE Bengaluru<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    “The session will explore the evolving landscape of feminist literary production and the importance of creating spaces for women’s voices in publishing.” \u2014 On the “Women Publish Women” panel feat. Arpita Das & V. Geetha<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    “The conversation will provide intimate insights into the lives of rural students and literature\u2019s critical capacity to highlight marginalized narratives.” \u2014 On the book talk with Perumal Murugan<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    “The panel will explore the growing movement of public reading groups and their vital role in fostering urban community building.” \u2014 On the “Spaces of Solidarity” session with Cubbon Reads, Sollazhi & Lalitha’s Book Nook<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    MAHE Bengaluru to Host Inaugural al\u00e8y Literature Festival, Championing \u2018Waves of Solidarity\u2019 Bengaluru, September 11, 2025\u00a0\u2013 The Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Bengaluru, will host the inaugural \u201cal\u00e8y Literature Festival 2025\u201d on September 18 and 19, a flagship event designed to harness the power of storytelling to build community, celebrate diversity, and amplify vital […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[198],"tags":[86],"class_list":["post-5667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bengaluru","tag-manipal-hospital"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5667"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5680,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5667\/revisions\/5680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}