Tête-à-tête with Umashanker Yadav : Festival Director of Ahmedabad Literature Festival

It is thrilling to think, that soon Ahmedabad is going to host the Ahmedabad Literature Festival (ALF) on 12^th & 13^th November, 2016, with Ahmedabad Management Association as the venue. Writers, poets, readers and literary enthusiasts are expected to get-together with a high tempo for this one of a kind festival, where not only from Gujarat or India but people from across the globe are going to be an essential part.  No wonder, we took up the first opportunity to talk with the Festival Director of ALF and know more about the fest!

A yellow room full of knowledge is what we can describe about Mr. Umashanker Yadav’s office. I was already messed up with my questions and the cool breeze from the air conditioner was giving me even more chills. It all faded away as soon as we started talking. A healthy tête-à-tête with Umashankerji commenced, who is the director of ALF, a successful entrepreneur, publisher and also a poet himself. His writings are well known in creative writing field. We discussed on how ALF is going to be a historical event in terms of its impact on the cultural fabric of city. Here is what the philosophic  soul has to say:

Q: The theme for maiden Ahmedabad Literature Festival has been elected as ‘Entrepreneurship and Creativity’, why?

A: The word entrepreneur itself explains the reason; an entrepreneur is a person who risks all his finances towards a hope of profit. The writers or the ones, who work towards creative field are the actual ones, who invest their life upon their zeal in a hope that their creation will become a part of the culture. Both entrepreneurship and creativity works hand in hand as they can be considered as the road less chosen. As an entrepreneur, when I over think about my business and materialistic possessions, I somehow feel lost but it’s the poetry and reading that works as a beacon to guide me towards my ultimate goal of life, which is being happy and empathetic.

Q: How was your experience at Avadh Literary Festival?

A: The Avadh Literary Festival was organized at Lucknow, where more than 150 literary enthusiasts participated. The event was scheduled for 4 hours but the sparkling subjects of young & experienced speakers were so stimulating that it got extended upto 6 hours. People didn’t bother about any refreshments and were purely engrossed in the session. The event received major media coverage, and with Ahmedabad Literary Festival we are planning to take it at the national level this time.

Q: How is Ahmedabad Literary Festival (ALF) different from the other Lit Fest that the city hosts?

A: Bridging the gap between a writer and a publisher is very important. With Ahmedabad Literary Festival we are trying to promote not just Gujarati but even Hindi and English writings. The subjects of panel discussions are contemporary, intricate, sensitive but vital ones. We want to make people understand the in-depth creativity of Gujarati language and how other languages can adapt its profoundness of expressing things.

Apart from panel discussions and sessions on various topics, the ALF is going to run writing workshops, contests, Poetry Recital and Music events, Art & Craft events, basically a complete mix that engages the audience with charms of literature.

Q: Will ALF be able to create a change in a layman’s life?

A: We all are seeking inspiration, liberation and the purpose of unknown. Literature is for anyone and everyone who is a seeker. We are not meant for revolutions but as organizers we promise the audience to gift a literature for everyone.

Q: Who are part of the core committee team behind ALF?

A: The energetic team of ALF includes me (Umashankar Yadav) as the director, few famous personalities like Sumant Batra, Tushar Shukla, Anil Chavda and Piyush Bhatt as the advisory committee. And energetic and experienced committee members like Farha Naz, Vilpa Patel, Bhushan Mehta, Harshit Jadav, Jatin Kataria, Mitali Verma, Yogendu Joshi and Rohit Nagar who bring their expertise and effervescence to the event.

As per the discussion with Mr. Yadav it seems Ahmedabad Literature Festival is going to be an interesting opportunity for exploring literary aspect of the city under a single roof. The city has higher expectations with this festival and Team Creative Yatra will constantly steer audience towards its latest update.

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