Politics, cinema at Delhi literature fest

New Delhi: Politics, Anna Hazare, new wave cinema and changing trends in contemporary writing will be on offer at the daylong 'The Hindu Lit for Life' festival on Sunday.

The Delhi edition of the festival, which will lift the curtain on the two-day literature extravaganza and the awarding of the Hindu Literary Prize Oct 29-30 in Chennai, will begin 9 am at the India Habitat Centre, a spokesperson for the festival said.

The Delhi edition of the festival will be presented by Siyahi, a literary forum.

One of the high points of the festival is a session on 'New Wave Cinema', sponsored by Om Books International, which features the award-winning director of 'Rang De Basanti' (2006) Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra in conversation with cinema writer Jai Arjun Singh.

"It is a celebration of the country's rich visual literature. India has produced a world class writers across all genres. Cinema holds a very special place in my heart and I am delighted to get Mehra on board to deliberate on the new trends of cinema and his contribution to Indian cinema," Ajay Mago, publisher of Om Books, said in a statement.

The literary spotlight will be on Esther David, who discusses her work in a session 'Are You Going to Eat All That'.

David won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2010 and the Prix Eugenie Brazier in France for her book "Rachel", which is now being adapted in a French film.

She has documented Gujarat's Bene Israel Jewish community for the Diaspora Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel. She has also authored 'The Walled City, By the Sabarmati', 'Book of Esther', 'My Father's Zoo', 'Shalom India Housing Society' and the "Man with Enormous Wings". Her novels are based on the Jewish ethos.

Life in theatre will come up for discussion between playwright Mahesh Dattani and Sanjna Kapoor, while Left leader Sitaram Yechury and Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot will try to probe the brand of politics which India will see after Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement with journalist Siddharth Varadarajan.

A workshop on children's writing will be anchored by writer Anushka Ravishankar and illustrator Atanu Roy.