Orange City Lit Festival promises treats aplenty

Nagpur: Literature lovers are in for cerebral treat as the much-awaited three-day Orange City Literature Festival gets under way at Chitnavis Centre, Civil Lines, on Wednesday.
Jointly organized by the Raisoni Group and SGR Knowledge Foundation, the event will feature innovative workshops, book reading sessions, seminars and musical evenings. More than 60 speakers, including transgender activist Gauri Sawant, author Srijan Pal, and scientist Pawan Sinha, will talk about their books and interact with readers.
“The aim is to promote books of authors and also to foster love for writing and literature.We also want to promote and celebrate the essence of literature in our city,” said Sunil Raisoni, the founder of the Orange City Literature Festival.
The first day will have an inauguration programme followed by felicitation of Padma Vibhushan Shivshahir Balwant Moreshwar Purandare, a living legend of the history of Maharashtra.
“December 5 and 6 will be dedicated to renowned speakers holding multiple sessions and talks at the venue. These lectures will cater to all kinds of the audience by covering a variety of topics such as food, wildlife, politics, films etc,” said project head Mrunal Naik.
Author Nandita Puri is looking forward to visiting the city for the first time. “I have heard so much about Nagpur, the city of culture and oranges. I will be talking about my book ‘Unlikely Hero’, a biography on actor Om Puri. I am very excited about the fest,” she said.
Writer Dharmendar Kanwar is one of the speakers. “I am looking forward to meeting other authors. I will be speaking about the two biographies I have written on the late Rajmata Gayatri Devi. I will also share my experiences about how this book came into being,” said Kanwar.
The fest will conclude with a musical conclave by Manjusha Patil and a performance by a rock band.