Literary Sessions of 13th Edition of CLF Literati Kick-Start

“From Modest Beginnings Literati Has Blossomed into One of the Most Anticipated Literary Events of the Region and India,” Dr Sumita Misra, Fest. Dir & Chairperson CLS

Chandigarh, November 22, 2025: Literary sessions and book launches began on Saturday at the 13th Edition of CLF Literati 2025(Chd. LitFest), being organised by the Chandigarh Literary Society(CLS). The day started with a welcome address by Dr. Sumita Misra, Festival Director & Chairperson (CLS)followed by an opening address by Madhav Kaushik, President, Rashtriya Sahitya Akademi, after which the literary exchanges kick-started.

Dr Sumita Misra said, “From a modest gathering of book lovers ‘Literati’ has blossomed into one of the most anticipated literary events in not just the region but also India.” Dr Misra added, “The theme for this year ‘World Within Words’ is very apt as we feel that within every word lies an entire universe—of meaning, emotion and history. This theme reminds us that every sentence is a doorway, every paragraph a passage to places we may never physically visit, to minds we may never otherwise meet, to times long past or futures yet imagined.”

The literary discussions got off to an exciting start with the session - ‘The Power of a Story: Advertising Insights’ in which Prahlad Kakkar was engaged in a conversation by writer Aradhika Sharma; In ‘Indian Democracy: Evolving Polity and Public Discourse’ Shahid Siddiqui former MP known for his memoir ‘I, Witness: India from Nehru to Narendra Modi’; Rasheed Kidwai known for books like ‘24 Akbar Road’ & ‘The House of Scindias’, and award winning journalist Neerja Chowdhury interacted with veteran journalist Ramesh Vinayak; In ‘Bangladesh: The Story of an Unfinished Revolution’ Deep Halder acclaimed author, known for his books ‘Blood Island, Bengal’, and ‘Being Hindu in Bangladesh’; and author & researcher Rami Desai , had a tete-a-tete with senior journalist Kartikey Sharma. This session also saw launch of Deep Halder’s book ‘Inshallah Bangladesh’

In ‘Book Buzz’ two more book launches - ‘The Silent Brave’ by Mehak Grover and ‘The Legend of Sanjhi-Giri’ by Manju Jaidka also took place.

This was followed by a session ‘Shabd Ki Sugandh: Hindi Sahitya Ka Naya Daur’ in which Madhav Kaushik, poet and biographer Chandra Trikha and motivational speaker & writer Chandra Shekhar Verma engaged in a conversation with senior journalist Shayda Bano; in ‘Dil De Kaagaz Utte: Navi Leher De Kalamkaar’ , poet Bubbu Tir and writer Abhishek Dhiman interacted with author Ravee Pandher; in ‘Chandigarh: The City That Is, and That Wasn’t’ Journalist Vibhor Mohan, architectural historian Rajnish Wattas were seen in conversation with historian & author Rajiv Lochan; Dr. Sumita Misra a celebrated poet had an interesting conversation with journalist Manraj Grewal in ‘She Writes, She Leads: Statecraft & Stanza’ ;

The session witnessed the many facets of Dr Misra who is a senior IAS officer of Haryana. On being asked how she balances work and home she said that she has become good at multitasking which helps her live two different lives - family and office. She also spoke passionately about the digitisation of land records that she has spearheaded in Haryana. She added that while digitization has bridged many gaps, the mind-set needs to shift firmly from process to outcome. Talking about poetry she said that she does it for her personal satisfaction and enjoys writing.  

 In ‘Untamed Silences: The Many Lives of Sandhya Mridul’, actress & poet Sandhya Mridul was seen in conversation with writer and poet Sonia Chauhan.

In the evening CLS in collaboration with 'Nritya Praangan', Bhavan Dancing Courtyard presented 'Swarit Mudrayen' a Bharatnatyam presentation by disciples of Dr Sucheta Bhide-Chapekar at Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Sec 27.

The concluding day November 23, offers a power packed day of literary sessions - one session particularly on the fest’s last day that is being eagerly awaited is ‘Bihar Diaries and Ground Zero: Real Heroes, Real Stories’ which will feature Amit Lodha the IPS officer whose bestselling work ‘Bihar Diaries, Life in the Uniform, and Police Affairs’ was made into a popular OTT series. Another major highlight will be the CLF Literati Awards 2025.