Taj Literature Festival 2016: Programs and Participants

The 3^rd edition of the Taj Literature Festival will be held in Agra from 26-28 February 2016. The 3-day festival this year seems to be much bigger and better than past two years. With a thought to accommodate people from varied interests, the TLF team this year has decided not to have a particular theme.

Continuing the legacy, the Taj Literature Festival this year will hold different sessions by celebrated personalities on a wide spectrum of subjects ranging from art to literature, music to philosophy, films to photography and politics to cooking.

This is the second time when TLF is being held in Agra. Harvijay Singh Bhatia, founder of TLF said in the official website, “Agra is an exquisite spectacle, an oasis of monuments, each a poetic verse of heavenly art and dignity, adorned like an angelic bride to capture every visitor’s heart.”

Taj Literature Festival 2016

Programs-

One of the major attraction at the Taj Literature Festival will be “Kaifi Aur Main” a play starring Shabana Azmi and lyricist Javed Akhtar. Some other ecstatic sessions will include a photography exhibition, Art exhibition, and an interactive session by Swami Ishwaranand Ji (a senior monk from Yogoda Satsang society of India) on Sri Sri Paramhansa Yogananda’s spiritual classic- ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’.

Participants-

1. Javed Akhtar– Being a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter he is one of the most renowned literary personalities of India. Besides 13 Filmfare Awards, he is a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award, Padma Bhushan (2007) and Padma Shri (1999).
2. Shabana Azmi– She is a famous Indian actress of theater, television and films. She has done more than 120 Hindi and Bengali films in both independent cinema and mainstream.
3. Vidya Balan This Indian actress do not need any introduction. She is the recipient of several awards, including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards, and five Screen Awards, and was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2014. She is known for portraying strong female protagonists and has been acknowledged in the media for pioneering a change in the concept of a Hindi film heroine.
4. Shatrughan Sinha– He is a well-known Bollywood actor turned into a politician.
5. Kabir Bedi is an Indian television and film actor. His career has spanned three continents including India, the United States and many European countries in three media: film, television and theater.
6. Mushtaq Sheikh– Mushtaq Sheikh is a renowned writer and actor, best known for his work for movies like Om Shanti Om, Billu Barber, Ra.One and Mastizaade.
7. Radhika Vaz– She is an Indian comedian and writer and also been working as a columnist for The Times of India.
8. Kunal Kapoor– Best known for hosting and judging the TV series Master Chef India season 1/2/3 and Junior Masterchef India season 1, Kunal Kapur is an Indian celebrity chef and restaurateur.
9. Mridula Koshy– She is an Indian writer and has won 2009 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize for her collection of short stories ‘If It Is Sweet’.
10. Saransh Goila – This famous Indian Chef is the author of food travelogue ‘India on my Platter’ and has also won Food Food Maha Challenge.
11. Barkha Dutt– Needless of any introduction, this lady is an Indian television journalist and columnist. She came in the limelight from her reportage of Kargil War.
12. Bharti Pradhan– She is one of the senior most film journalists of India and is also a columnist with The Telegraph.
13. Swapan Dasgupta– He is a senior Indian journalist often published in The Telegraph, The Pioneer, The Times of India, Dainik Jagran, The New Indian Express, The Free Press Journal and many other renowned newspapers.
14. Avirook Sen– He is the famous Journalist turned author whose second book Aarushi, brought the most talked Aarushi-Hemraj murder case back in the news.
15. Rauf Ahmed– He is a renowned film critic, journalist and an author. He gained prominence from his editorial columns in Filmfare. He wrote a book ‘Mehmood Khan: The Romance of History’.
16. Dr Rakhshanda Jalil- This Indian literary historian and writer is best known for her book ‘Invisible City: The hidden Monuments of India’ and a collection of short stories, called ‘Release & Other Stories’.
17. Saba Bashir– She is an educationist and being teaching at Jamia Milia Islamia University and Ambedkar University. She is also an author and has written books like Memory:Past, Poetry of Gulzar and I swallowed the moon.
18. Jerry Pinto– He is an Indian writer and a journalist. Some of his noted books include- ‘Helen: The Life Times of an H-Bomb’, ‘Surviving Women’ and ‘Asylum and Other Poems’, and ‘Em and The Big Hoom’ .
19. Pramod Kapoor– He is the founder and publisher of Roli Books and a famous author. Some of his noted books include Delhi: then and now, Gandhi: an illustrated biography.
20. Pushpesh Pant– A noted Indian academic, food critic and historian is India’s one of the leading experts on Indian cuisine and International Relations. He has also been working as a columnist for publications like Forbes, Outlook, Open, The Tribune and Times of India.
21. Anoop Jalota– Best known for his Hindu devotional music bhajan and Ghazals, he is a famous Indian singer and musician.
22. Sudhir Mishra– Famous Indian film director and screenwriter best known for his famous movies like Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Chameli And Dharavi.
23. Amit Mehra– He is one of the leading Indian photographers and has been known for his specialization in advertising architectural and documentary photography.
24. Vani Tripathi– She is an Indian actor seen in movies like Dushman and Chalte Chalte. She is also a former national secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party.
25. Raja Muzaffar Ali- He is an Indian fashion designer, filmmaker, a poet, and artist. He has also been into social work since long.
26. Sabbas Joseph– Been involved with media for long, he is one of the founder directors of Wizcraft International Entertainment.
27. Siddharth Bhatia– Being in media for more than three decades, Siddharth Bhatia is an author, journalist and a famous columnist. He has been working as a regular author at Firstpost.
28. Sathya Saran– Currently working at Diligent Media Corp Ltd. Sathya Saran is a renowned Indian journalist.
29. Kishwar Desai- This Indian author is best known for her award-winning novels- Witness the Night, Origins of Love ad Darlingji: The True Love Story of Nargis and Sunil Dutt.
30. Jaswinder Singh– Son of famous composer Kuldeep Singh, Jaswinder Singh is a famous Indian ghazal singer.
31. Priyanka Sinha Jha– She is a young Indian journalist working as a Head of Content, Screen (Hotstar), Star India Pvt. Ltd.
32. Piyush Jha– Indian novelist, screenwriter, and a film director well known for his novels Raakshas, Anti-Social Network Compass Box Killer and Mumbaistan. Some of his noted films are Sikandar, Chalo America and King of Bollywood.
33. Maria Goretti- This popular MTV VJ Maria also hosts a show Do It Sweet on NDTV Good Times Channel.
34. Hindol Sengupta– award-winning Indian journalist is also an entrepreneur and writer. Some of his noted books include- New World and You and Being Hindu: Old Faith.
35. Sanjeev Sanyal– Awarded as Young Global Leader 2010, Sanjeev Sanyal is an Indian environmentalist, economist, urban theorist and best-selling writer. His three bestselling books include- “The Indian Renaissance: India’s Rise after a Thousand Years of Decline”, “Land of the Seven Rivers: A Brief History of India’s Geography”, and “The Incredible History of India’s Geography”.
36. Suhel Seth- Besides being is a socialite, a columnist and an author Suhel Seth is a managing partner of consultancy Counselage India.
37. David Frawley– He is an American Hindu author and teacher. His books on Hinduism, Vedas, Yoga, Vedic astrology and Ayurveda are published both in the US and India.
38. Shahid Rafi-He is an Indian singer and son of the legendary Bollywood singer Mohammad Rafi.
39. Anisha Motwani– She is a young corporate speaker, columnist and business strategist. She has written the book Storm the Norm.
40. Satyarth Nayak– He is a young budding Indian author and his first novel The Emperor’s Riddles is one of the bestselling thriller in India.

Taj Literature Festival 2016 Day One (26 February, 2016)

Taj Literature Festival 2016 Day Two (27 February 2016)

Taj Literature Festival 2016 Day Three (28 February 2016)

If you are a literature lover you can’t afford to miss the Glorious Taj Literature Festival 2016. Head over to the official website for more information on sessions and programs.