The 11th edition of Khushwant Singh Literary Festival (KSLF), with the theme of Climate Change, concluded on a promising note in Kasauli on Sunday. The festival had begun with a call for improved Indo-Pak ties so that the cultural ties between the two countries kept thriving.

In his welcome address, KSLF Director Rahul Singh said that one of the key concerns of Khushwant Singh was that India and Pakistan retained the warmth in their people-to-people relations. That’s why a large number of Pakistani personalities could take part in the first few editions of the KSLF and had vibrant discussions on the matters that concerned both the nations.

“The sessions would not only draw packed houses but would also have scintillating debates and discussions,” said Rahul making an appeal to both the governments to relax visa rules for cultural and literary ambassadors of both the sides. There should be more flights and more personal contact between the people of the two countries, he suggested.

The tone of the festival was set by celebrated author Amitav Ghosh who took up the theme of the festival, “The Climate of Change: Still Sprightly @ 75”, and expressed his grave concern at the constant ravaging of the nature that humanity has been doing in the recent past.  He said the entire civilization would be ruined if the world did not wake up to the devastation and took reformative steps.

In another session, much-acclaimed writer Rajmohan Gandhi said India needed another kind of greatness not just what is reflected through the Hindu majoritarianism. In conversation with Mahua Moitra, Trinamool Congress MP, he regretted how for centuries the Indian society suffered discrimination. Sharing his thoughts on the topic “Reflections on a 75-year Legacy”, Rajmohan said the legacy of the country since Independence has been onerous and challenging and it is time that we had more equitable and homogenous society.

The three-day Litfest had a  distinguished panel of speakers, including Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Tusshar Kapoor, Rajmohan Gandhi, Sathya Saran, Mahua Moitra, Pavan Varma, Mallika Sarabhai, Ramesh Inder Singh, Geetanjali Shree, Amitav Ghosh, Bachi Karkaria, Shazia Ilmi, Gul Panag and Muzaffar Ali.

The festival concuded on a high note with a closing session by booker prize winner Geetanjali Shree who interacted with the audience and delved on the writing process.

The KSLF was started in 2012 by the iconic writer, Khushwant Singh, and it happens to be the only litfest named after an individual. It is also the only litfest held in Himachal Pradesh. As many renowned and outstanding writers, thinkers, filmmakers, celebrities and politicians have been attending the litfests in the past, this time we have around 50 participants from different fields who would be taking part. The underlining feature this time was that the KSLF incorporated environmental considerations.