Literary Festivals In India: Connection, Orality, Inclusion

The proliferation of Literary Festivals (LFs) across India over the past two decades marks a significant shift in the public engagement with literature. No longer confined to the quiet spaces of universities or libraries, literature has moved into public parks, historical palaces, and bustling civic squares, transforming the consumption of the written word into a communal, celebratory experience.  

The role of these festivals goes beyond book promotion. They function as vital cultural institutions that mediate between the author and the public, preserve ancient storytelling traditions, and, most critically, possess the potential to redefine the parameters of social and linguistic inclusiveness in a profoundly pluralistic nation, affirming the powerful truth that “culture is ordinary”. 

Bringing readers and writers together 

The foremost role of a literary festival is to democratise literature by creating a direct, physical connection between the text, its creator, and the general reader. In the highly intermediated world of publishing, LFs dismantle the distance between the celebrated author and the curious public. By hosting public interviews, question-answer sessions, and book signings, these events transform abstract literary figures into accessible, tangible individuals. This connection serves three key purposes. 

Firstly, it humanises the creative process, inspiring aspiring writers and motivating casual readers. Secondly, it fosters a culture of critical engagement, allowing readers to challenge, question, and ultimately deepen their understanding of a work directly with the source. LFs thus pull literature out of the academic or elite silo and establish it as a shared civic resource.  

The communal energy generated at these venues — the shared laughter, the spontaneous applause, the hushed intensity of a reading — reaffirms that literature is a public, living art form, essential to the intellectual health of the democracy. 

This act of democratisation directly embodies the principle that culture is ordinary. By celebrating writers who chronicle regional life, local customs, and the daily struggles of the common person, literary festivals assert that profound literary value resides in the everyday experiences and vernacular expressions of the masses. They validate the cultural and literary significance of the ordinary person’s life, transforming commonplace struggles, rituals, and histories into subjects worthy of intellectual celebration and national dialogue. 

Revitalising orality & the storytelling tradition 

India is fundamentally a civilisation rooted in orality. From the Vedic chants to the epic performances of the Puranas and the folk traditions of Katha and Dastangoi, the spoken word has always held primacy in the transmission of knowledge and culture. Literary festival plays a crucial modern role in reviving this ancient storytelling tradition. 

In an age dominated by passive, individualistic screen consumption, literary festivals compel communal listening. The sessions dedicated to poetry readings, dramatic readings of prose, and extemporaneous storytelling reconnect attendees with the rhythm, modulation, and emotive power of the human voice.  

This emphasis on performance is particularly vital for regional languages, where the oral tradition often pre-dates and remains more vibrant than the written tradition. Literary festivals provide a necessary stage for poets and storytellers to perform their work, ensuring that the sound and context of their language, the linguistic and cultural nuances, are conveyed directly, unfiltered by translation. This commitment to orality ensures the festivals serve not just as literary events, but as cultural preservation sites, keeping the flame of communal storytelling alive. 

Imperative of inclusiveness and diversity 

Perhaps the most challenging and consequential role of the Indian literary festivals is to foster genuine inclusiveness. Historically, these festivals have faced criticism for their urban, English-centric bias, leading to the systemic marginalisation of regional, vernacular, and marginalised voices. The true relevance of a contemporary literary festival, however, lies in its capacity to resist this tendency and truly reflect India’s unparalleled linguistic and cultural complexity. 

A socially relevant festival must be intentionally designed to promote interregional exchange. It must be a deliberate platform where Dalit writers, North-East chroniclers, and writers in languages like Tamil, Urdu, or Odia share equal footing with their English-language counterparts. This practice serves not only as a token gesture but as a necessary intellectual endeavour, allowing the diverse narratives of India to confront and inform each other. 

Furthermore, inclusiveness extends beyond language to thematic breadth. The festival must broaden the definition of literature to truly reflect that culture is ordinary, encompassing voices from activism, science, cinema, and social justice movements. By focusing on narratives of labour, caste struggles, rural life, and everyday resistance, these festivals demonstrate that the literary sphere is coextensive with the social sphere, challenging entrenched prejudices and promoting dialogue that mirrors the society’s deepest anxieties and brightest aspirations. Despite their immense potential, many literary festivals in India face key limitations. 

The ‘elitist’ trap 

The most glaring failure is the tendency toward linguistic and geographic elitism. Most high-profile festivals remain heavily dominated by English-language literature, both in terms of invited speakers and audience demographics. This focus marginalises the vast body of work being produced in the 22 scheduled languages of India and countless other regional dialects. Consequently, the discourse remains confined to an urban, educated, upper-class milieu, failing to adequately promote the vital interregional exchange necessary to celebrate India’s full cultural diversity. The focus on easy-to-market celebrity often overshadows the profound literary value found in lesser-known regional works. 

Superficial engagement & commercialisation 

The pressure to attract crowds and secure corporate sponsorship often leads to a focus on entertainment over deep intellectual engagement. Panels can become superficial discussions — a string of clever soundbites rather than sustained intellectual exploration. This commercial drive also means that discussions on hard-hitting topics such as caste violence, deep-seated political corruption, or indigenous rights are sometimes diluted or avoided entirely to maintain a neutral, marketable image. This reluctance undermines the idea that literature is a “mirror of society,” often presenting a polished rather than a truthful reflection. 

Failure to cultivate new talent 

While these events celebrate established authors, many fail to translate their platform into genuine, actionable support for hidden talents. The lack of institutionalised mechanisms, such as robust translation infrastructure, dedicated mentorship programs for rural or marginalised writers, or guaranteed publishing contracts, means that the festivals rarely move beyond being temporary showcases. They celebrate diversity briefly on a stage but do little to change the systemic barriers that prevent genuinely diverse voices from entering the publishing industry permanently. 

The promise and the limits 

Literary festivals in India is a phenomenon of profound cultural importance. Its enduring role is defined by its ability to create public connections between the writer and the reader, to revitalise the ancient art of oral storytelling, and to champion the complex narrative of a multilingual nation by embodying the principle that culture is ordinary.  However, for them to achieve their full promise, they must critically confront and dismantle their internal biases, moving decisively away from linguistic elitism and superficial commercialism toward genuine, proactive social and literary inclusiveness. When executed with vision, these events can become indispensable institutions that not only celebrate literature but actively participate in the critical and inclusive shaping of the nation's contemporary identity. 

The author is CEO, Kalinga Literary Festival

Views expressed are personal