All you need to know about the Gateway Literature Fest in Mumbai

Shobhaa De, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Aparna Sen (extreme right) attend an earlier edition of the festival

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. But if you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart," said the late former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela. Echoing that thought process, the Gateway Literature Fest was founded by four journalists in 2015 to give a platform to the authors who wrote in regional languages. "At that time, Mumbai had many literature festivals. However, most were to honour international writers only," said festival director Mohan Kakanadan, "As journalists, regional language writers would often share that there are few platforms, or if they'd get invited to festivals, it would be for the sake of it. There was only the Sahitya Akademi Awards that acknowledged such writers. Hence, we decided to start the Gateway Literature Festival."

After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the festival is back with its seventh edition. This year, the focus is on the translators. "We believe they are the ambassadors of Indian literature," said Kakanadan. "English is a bridging language and these translators enable some brilliant works of Indian literature to traverse borders."

Mohan Kakanadan and Damodar Mauzo

Novelist and short story writer Damodar Mauzo will deliver a keynote address on Indian Writers Pushing Boundaries to kickstart the festival. This will be followed by an address by prominent writers like Pratibha Ray, Subodh Sarkar and Sitanshu Yashaschandra. The highlight will be honouring seven translators, alongside an award ceremony where Laxman Gaikwad will receive the GLF Lifetime Achievement Award. "We will also celebrate 50 years since Yayati (the 1959 Marathi novel by VS Khandekar) won a Jnanpith Award," says Kakanadan. For this session, translator Sachin Ketkar and Mauzo will talk about the impact of the novel and give a tribute to the author. Other events include discussions on poems written in 18 languages and Marathi plays.

On March 1, 2 pm onwards; March 2, 11 am onwards
At Convocation Hall, Mumbai University, Mantralaya, Fort.
Email gatewaylitfest@gmail.com (for more details)
Call 9819060144
Free