As literary events multiply beyond metros, they show how books travel, sell and find new readers even as questions linger about substance & spectacle
For a sense of how far India’s literary festival scene has travelled, listen to publisher Shailesh Bharatwasi run through his recent itinerary. Founder-editor of Hind Yugm and a key voice behind the Nayi Wali Hindi (New Hindi) movement, he now moves through a calendar that stretches well beyond the metros — from Moradabad to Hapur, Aligarh, Indore and Khajuraho, towns once far removed from the idea of multi-day literary gatherings. Now, each has a festival.
For him, the boom is staggering. He estimates that if the budgets of all literary festivals currently taking place in India — a number, he believes, has far exceeded the reported 100 — were put together, the amount would run into several hundred crores.
For him, the boom is staggering. He estimates that if the budgets of all literary festivals currently taking place in India — a number, he believes, has far exceeded the reported 100 — were put together, the amount would run into several hundred crores.