The Khushwant Singh Literary Festival returns to London. Regarded as a labour of love. The KSLF theme, “Heal the World,” aims to promote the legacy of Khushwant Singh. The KSLF will be held in London and for the first time at Cambridge soon. Rahul Laud finds out more.
The sixth edition of Khushwant Singh Literary Festival London 2024 (6th edition) will be held at the Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre at SOAS, University of London on Sun, 2 June 2024 between 11:00 – 18:30 BST followed at Cambridge on June 5, 2024 | 14:30-17:30 BST | at the Yusuf Hamied Theatre, Christ’s College.
Coherent with the theme of Heal the World – music on the 1st of June evening will be performed by PROJECT AGORA & THE JAWARI COLLECTIVE. Renowned Armenian flautist Tamar Eskinian, sitarist Tommy Khosla, and collective JAWARI. PROJECT AGORA with a flute and sitar will celebrate their debut LP, ROAD RASA. With Lagnajita Mukhopadhyay’s lyrical poetry.
Speakers at the KSLF include Akshat Rathi, Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi, Corinne Fowler, Fakir Aijazuddin, Harinder Singh, Imtiaz Dharker, Keshava Guha, Louise Tillin, Lynne Jones, Marina Wheeler, Shirin Wheeler, Moin Mir, Nadia Kabir Barb, Noreen Masud, Paul Waters, Pinky Lilani, Rachel Dwyer, Robert Seatter, SY Quraishi, Lord Simon McDonald, Som Batabyal, Subhadra Das and Tahmima Anam among others.
The two and a half days are free! This includes 15 sessions of discussions on books that matter and an evening of music, says Niloufer Billimoria from the organising team.
Speakers at the KSLF will echo the timeless calls for balance, harmony, and coexistence, reminding us of our inherent connection to each other and the Earth. They will challenge conventional ideas and shed light on the fatal flaws that have shaped our perspectives. Throughout the festival, through diverse sessions, the festival will traverse between history, spirituality, art, heritage, ecology, poetry, music, family, partition, the state of the world, and social consciousness.
Billmoria assures that eminent authors will present insights from visionary leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals of substance, who will share their insights on the myriad choices that define our lives.
Rahul Singh an eminent author, journalist, writer, columnist – son of eminent editor, author and columnist Khushwant Singh points out that in these challenging times of conflict and turmoil, “our mission to promote healing and unity through literature is more important than ever. The theme for the KSLF London festival, “Heal the World,” aims to inspire positive change, bring about an understanding of empathy and create a meaningful community.”
The organisers aim to deliberate into profound narratives and thought-provoking discussions that resonate with the very essence of our shared humanity and our collective responsibility towards our planet.
Elaborating on the background of the festival Singh said the idea behind the festival was to promote Khushwant Singh’s legacy by discussing the values he stood for and addressing his concerns, including closer ties between India and Pakistan; equal opportunities for the girl-child and women; and disseminating the values of democracy, tolerance, compassion in a world that is increasingly more polarised. Thus after six years at Kasauli, it travelled to London at a pop-up event in 2018.
For more information: https://linktr.ee/kslitfestlondon
KSLF London: crowdfunding link https://kslitfestlondon.com/crowdfunding