It’s February, and Goa’s art and literature fest is here

FEBRUARY FEVER

Come February, and Goa starts buzzing with excitement over the Goa Arts and Literature Festival (GALF) held every year at the International Centre Goa (ICG), Dona Paula.

LITERARY LIGHTS

The 13^th edition of GALF will kick off on February 13 with the ‘power-packed duo’ – Sahitya Akademi award winner, Shanta Gokhale, and academic, writer and poet, Sumana Roy – delivering keynote addresses at 5 pm at ICG.

ART & POETRY

The inaugural event will also see the unveiling of GALF artwork, created by artist, Sonia Rodrigues Sabharwal, and poetry reading by Ramesh Ghadi. Entry to the event is free and open to all.

HIGH POINT

The highlight of the evening will be an interaction between the award-winning Scottish historian William Dalrymple and Padma Bhushan awardee Dr Vidya Dehejia on the former’s latest book, The Golden Road; how ancient India transformed the world.

TALKS & RELEASES

The main festival will take place on February 14 and 15, offering an exciting line-up of events including engaging talks on literature, captivating poetry recitations, and the launch of new books.

INTIMATE & HOMELY AIR

Jnanpith award winner and co-curator of GALF, Damodar Mauzo, says GALF is different from other festivals because “deliberations are serious and the ambience is intimate and homely.”

ARRAY OF AUTHORS

The vast array of distinguished authors at the festival includes Padma Shri awardee Romulus Whitaker (Snakes, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll, co-authored with his wife Janaki Lenin), R S Nilkantan (South vs North: India's Great Divide).

GALAXY OF WRITERS

Others prominent writers at the fest are S N Kannanari (Chronicle of an Hour and a Half), Shubnum Khan (The Djinn waits a Hundred Years), Manu Pillai (Gods, Guns & Missionaries), Anjan Sundaram and Aparajith Ramnath (Engineering a Nation: The Life and Career of M Visvesvaraya) and others.

NEXT: These books were launched by Goan authors at GALF 2024