The hill town of Mussoorie came alive on Sunday with the launch of the very first Landour Literature and Arts Festival, a collaborative effort between The Chakkar arts collective and the Mussoorie Heritage Centre.

This maiden edition was dedicated to the memory of celebrated Scottish-Indian travel writer Bill Aitken, who had made Landour his home until his recent passing. The festival set out to honour his spirit by embracing a wide range of creative expressions from literature and history to music, art, poetry, and film.

Among the highlights was an address by Anil Raturi former Uttarakhand DGP, poet, and author—who spoke about Mussoorie’s colonial heritage and its deep ties to his own Garhwali roots.

Festival co-organiser Surbhi Agarwal, founder of the Mussoorie Heritage Centre, emphasized the town’s vibrant creative energy:

“Mussoorie and Landour have a thriving artistic community. This festival gives us a chance to showcase local voices while connecting them with some of the finest writers from across India.”

Karan Madhok, founder and editor of The Chakkar, echoed the sentiment, calling Mussoorie “a beacon of inspiration for generations of storytellers,” noting its lasting influence on authors such as Ruskin Bond, Stephen Alter, Ganesh Saili, and Hugh Gantzer.

The program included poetry sessions with Amit Ranjan, readings by Shikha Saklani Malaviya and Kunal Narayan Uniyal, and an art showcase featuring works by Desna Sharma, Sterre Sharma, and Shubhdarshini Singh. Adding a youthful dimension, schoolchildren participated in a special poetry and art competition themed around the deodar tree the iconic sentinel of Mussoorie’s landscape.

With its successful debut, the Landour Literature and Arts Festival has set the stage for a new annual tradition, celebrating both the legacy of Mussoorie’s literary past and the promise of its creative future.