Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened

September 27th-29th brought me moments of revelry & frolic , i still long for! BLF’13 was my 1st tryst with literature in the sans pareil manner ever! A dream come true,  i was over-my-senses beholder to my 2nd love-Literature! Before i begin, here goes some stats’ that would definitely set friends with a concurrent passion for literature to yearn over!

• Around 120 authors including 12 international authors.
• Around 11 book-launches
• Around 60 plus events to tinge the taste buds of the literature hungry across genres.

My personal bringing about :

• Met my most-read & sought after authors : Shobhaa De, Shashi Despande, Madhulika Liddle, Piyush Jha, Aroon Raman, Ravi Subramanian, Varun Agrawal,Vikram Sampath, Lavanya Shankaran,Ashwin Sanghi Kishwar Desai & Anita Nair.
• Picked up 3 new books, & was lucky enough to get one of em’ autographed (read more to know more!!)
• Witnessed Gulzar Sahab Live.
• Met with fellow indibloggers out there.
• Was lost – Totally for the wonderfuly spent 2 days akin to a quick journey to  heaven!

Moving on to my piece of cake :

I was lucky enough to bob up the fest right from day2, though i still regret missing day-1 which had Farhan Akhthar talk about Bhag Milkha Bhag, Sri Sri Ravishankara , among many others. I started off witnessing a vivacious panel discussion which followed the launch of Shashi Despande’s “SHADOW PLAY” . The panel disussion on : ” Are we becoming  a bestseller generation” kept me astounded, hooked & refreshed at the same time owing to the one-on-one between Shobhaa De, Ashwin Shanghi,Shashi Despande & Ian Jack. Moderator V.K.Karthika, editor at Harper Collins had to walk on eggs as she was being questioned more than answered. A consensual conclusion however, couldnt’ be drawn as each of the panelists had varying slants on a book being a bestseller!
I was running out of time, as i lived faraway from the venue, & hence took off quite early, though i was really tardy about giving the other sessions of the day a miss….

Sunday, the last day @ BLF’13, i made it in the afternoon, on account of an online examination which i had in the morning. Guys, Preeti Shenoy, Varun Agrawal, Lavanya Sankaran & Aditya Mukherjee, were panelists of a discussion “The First Book Club“, moderated by Vani Mahesh.
The creme de la creme experince for me was the next panel discussion which followed book launch of Ravi Subramaniams’ “BANKERUPT“ . It was rather impetuous to witness Thriller Writers Piyush Jha,Ravi Subramanian & Aroon Raman on an engaging topic “Edge of Darkness : On Thrillers & Chillers“, which was being moderated by banglore-based  writer Eshwar Sundaresan– Ghost Writer. The panel put forth some wonderful viewpoints but carrying on an air of buffoonerry alongwith. The concluding remark by piyush jha, fostered au courant wave of optimism in me with his lines, when asked how he felt as a bestselling author today : “Nothing Much, The only difference is that yesterday i was there (pointing at the audience!), & today i am here! So, anyone of you can be like me, just start writing!!” Loved it a zillion times, & this is gonna be my motto-de-facto for my writings in future.
With this, once again, i was running short of time, so quickly made my way to the bookstore to catch up copies of “SHADOW PLAY (Shashi Despande)“, “BANKERUPT – Lucky enough to get it autographed by Ravi Sir himself” & post some BLF postcards to my cousin & the special someone!   The venue carried a serene yet festive aura with it, abuzz with a gush of fresh-air carrying the cloying smell of literature. The fest’s literary mouthpiece – BEANTOWN, was a quick & remarkable read…All said, here goes some photographs, which captures the bonhomie in vivid frames!!  

The official Logo – Was tempting enough to invite you over

Varun Agrawal , Preeti Shenoy @ THE FIRST BOOK CLUB panel discussion

Official Bookstore catering to the bookworms!!

Partners in Crime – Audience !

Nabanita Dev Sen

Shobhaa De, Vasanthi Hariprakash & Kishwar Desai

Edge of Darkness – Eshwar Sundaresan,Piyush Jha,Ravi Subramanian & Aroon Raman

Celebrating Life Through performance poetry –  Bas Bottcher

Happy Reading Folks… 🙂