Bengaluru gets ready for Times Litfest 3rd edition

Set your dates for the week end of February 11-12 as the

Times Litfest

Bengaluru, presented by ACT Fibernet, returns for its third edition. With `Discover' as its theme, the festival that will be held at Jayamahal Palace, promises Bengalureans a vibrant mix of writers, thinkers, activists, with a sprinkling of film personalities.

Over 80 writers will discuss a wide range of topics -from history, feminism and minority rights to demonetization and the phenomenon of superstar Rajinikanth. The festival is curated by Jayapriya Vasudevan.

Economist-politician

Jairam Ramesh

will deliver the keynote address on `Discovering Earth and the Environment' on Saturday. Other prominent names are acclaimed historian

William Dalrymple

, who will talk about his latest book, `Kohinoor: The Story of the World's Most Infamous Diamond'; Carnatic vocalist TM Krishna, who will present a lec-dem; adman Piyush Pandey, writers Anita Nair, Janice Pariat and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, actor Rishi Kapoor, singer Ila Arun and filmmaker Aishwarya Rajinikanth Dhanush.

Mahavir Phogat -the subject of Saurabh Duggal's biography Akhada and played by Aamir Khan in the movie Dangal -will take part in a session moderated by Duggal. Actor-comedian Vir Das will be in conversation with his sister, Trisha Das, about her book, 'Ms Draupadi Kuru'.

Since the startup capital is the host, the litfest has sessions dedicated to the subject of business. The session `Digital Wallets: How to Take Forward the Gains from Demonetization' -has iSpirt co-founder and evangelist Sharad Sharma and Mobikwik co-founder Upasana Taku in attendance.

Pranay Chulet (Quikr founder and CEO), Hari Menon (BigBasket founder and CEO) and Byju Raveendran (founder of education app Byju's) will discuss `Internet Commerce in 2017: Opportunities and Challenges'.

The litfest will see active participation by a contingent of internationally acclaimed writers -Sheila McCauley Keyes, author of `Auntie Rosa' and niece of American civil rights activist Rosa Parks; Singapore's Suchen Christine Lim; South Korean Krys Lee, author of `Drifting House' and the hotly debated, `How I Became a North Korean'; Denmark-based TA Morton; and Turkish writer Aye Kulin.

Talking about associating with Times Litfest Bengaluru, ACT Fibernet CEO Bala Malladi said, “We are delighted to be the presenting partner of India's pioneering literary festival -The Times Litfest 2017 -in Bangalore. This is one such fest that brings the entire literary fraternity together, encouraging and stimulating new ideas, people and connections. Being India's leading wired broadband internet services provider, our intent is provide uninterruptable connectivity solutions through our products and services to the customers, and enable them to discover and share ideas and philosophies.“

For more details, log on to http:www.timeslitfestbangalore.com