Srinagar, Oct 13 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is set to inaugurate the Kashmir edition of the fourth Kumaon Literary Festival in Srinagar next week. The opening ceremony of the festival, which will feature various sessions on literature, cinema, art and culture, will also be attended by filmmaker Rahul Mittra, Rahul Rawail and actor Divya Dutta.

The highlight of the two-day event, scheduled to be held on October 19 -20, is the special session ‘Raj Kapoor – The Master at Work’ with Rawail and Mittra.

Asha Batra co-founder of the festival said this year they have a notable line-up of speakers along with some interesting book launches and discussions.

“India has been a global hub for arts and culture for centuries; the setting and inspiration for celebrated works of literature, drama and art, and home to artists and writers from around the world. The festival brings together brilliant and unique minds from various genres of the creative world,” Batra said in a statement.

Some of the speakers at the festival are Bibek Debroy, chairman, economic advisory council to the Prime Minister of India; veteran journalist Bhawana Somaaya; Anant Vijay, a senior journalist and author; film historian Pavan Jha and authors Kiran Manral, Yatindra Mishra, Jai Arjun, Anu Singh and Mona Verma.

Sessions on books including “Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography”, “The Magicians of Mazda”, “The Mystic and the Lyric: Four Women Poets from Kashmir”, “Inked in India-Fountain Pens and A story of Make and Unmake”, “Letters to Self by Narendra Modi”, “The Stars in My Sky” and others will also be organised during the event.

The Kashmir Edition is being held in association with KYARI, Kashmir’s Yumberzal Applied Research Institute.

The festival was founded in 2014 by lawyer-author Sumant Batra. The not-for-profit event has held many successful editions attended by hundreds of literary luminaries and thinkers from around the world. PTI KKP SHD SHD.

Note: This news piece was originally published in the print and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights.