FOR THE LOVE OF THE WORD

The Anil Dharker Session - INAUGURATION OF LITERATURE LIVE! The Mumbai LitFest 2025, followed by

TRUTH. TRUST. TESTIMONY.

Their value in the Age of the Individual

Christian Stöcker, Shehan Karunatilaka, Venki Ramakrishnan

Chair: Anish Gawande

HOLDING GROUND

Reflections on living through change

Tarini Mohan in conversation with Preetham Gandhi Sunkavalli

Presented by Godrej DEI Lab

SLEEP ON IT

75 simple ways to rest easy

Luke Coutinho in conversation with Amrita Raichand

QUEER DIRECTIONS

Writing Indian LGBTQIA+ non-fiction

Workshop by Dhamini Ratnam, Dhrubo Jyoti, Parmesh Shahani

Presented by Godrej DEI Lab

GODREJ LITERATURE LIVE! POET LAUREATE 2025 

Presentation to Sitanshu Yashaschandra

followed by a conversation with Atul Dodiya

BOOKED!

My experiments with form and fantasy

Shehan Karunatilaka in conversation with Jerry Pinto

ROOM-i-Nation

An exploration of identity and tradition using mesmerising music and storytelling

Performed by Aditya Prakash

Performance Partner : Florintree

THE GREAT DEBATE : INDIA AND CHINA MUST BE FRIENDS

For the motion: Lt. Gen. S L Narasimhan, Vappala Balachandran

Against the motion: Sandeep Unnithan, Sriparna Pathak

Chair: Govindraj Ethiraj

MUMBAI BOOKIES

Silent reading, surrounded by fellow booklovers

MYTHS & FACTS

Happy news about the future of energy

Straight talk by Christian Stöcker

Supported by Goethe Institute Max Mueller Bhavan

LEFT BRAIN, RIGHT BRAIN

From the empirical to the novel

Amrita Mahale, K Sridhar

Chair: Dilip D'Souza

AN ODE TO NATURE

Words and imagery

Workshop by Zingonia Zingone

INDELIBLE

Launch of Swati Pandey's INVISIBLE IN PLAIN SIGHT, followed by incredible stories of hope and change

Ashok Alexander, Swati Pandey

Chair: Yogesh Pawar

BOOK IN FOCUS

An audience participative discussion on Scott Fitzgerald's THE GREAT GATSBY

Arjun Raj Gaind, Clara Nubile, Rehana Munir

Chair: Hrishi K

Presented by Art Deco Alive

SUPER-VISION

Launch of Roopa Kudva's LEADERSHIP BEYOND THE PLAYBOOK, followed by a discussion on when leaders think out of the box

Arundhati Bhattacharya, Roopa Kudva

Chair: Shereen Bhan

SNAP, CRACKLE, AND POP

The sound of a mind breaking free

Cathy Sweeney, Helene Flood

Chair: Rashmi Palkhivala

FOREVER MORE

The advances of longevity and the dilemmas of immortality

Venki Ramakrishnan in conversation with Vidita Vaidya

Supported by Paula and Ravi Mariwala

'SUBJECT' MATTERS
Writing someone else's story

Workshop by Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta

ODE-O-METER

Poems from around the world

Amlanjyoti Goswami, Clara Nubile, Dion D'Souza, Jennifer Sigler-Robertson, Zingonia Zingone

EQUALITY, FRATERNITY, JUSTICE

Launch of Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud’s Why The Constitution Matters and Shashi Tharoor’s Our Living Constitution: A Concise Introduction And Commentary, followed by a discussion on the importance and enduring relevance of the Indian Constitution.

Presented by Blue Star

POETRY IN THE PARK

An open mic event hosted by Poets of Mumbai

IN SAFE HANDS

Launch of Jerry Pinto's A GOOD LIFE, followed by readings and a discussion on palliative care

Jerry Pinto, Jim Sarbh, Soha Ali Khan

Chair: Faye D'Souza

CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE?

A rollicking ride through the origin of words

Sumanto Chattopadhyay in conversation with Anuvab Pal

OPENING LINES

Writing the first page

Workshop by Cathy Sweeney

Supported by Consulate General Of Ireland

"REEL"ING US IN

Launch of Santosh Desai's MEMES FOR MUMMYJI,
followed by a discussion on how you got to hit different to slay! 😎 🤳🏻

Malini Agarwal, Santosh Desai

Chair: Hrishi K

AND HERE I AM

A bittersweet, dark political comedy based on one man’s true story and his odyssey in search of identity

Performed by Ahmed Tobasi

There will be a post show disussion chaired by Devashish Makhija

MUMBAI BOOKIES

Silent reading, surrounded by fellow booklovers

AND HERE I AM

A bittersweet, dark political comedy based on one man’s true story and his odyssey in search of identity

Performed by Ahmed Tobasi

There will be a post show discussion chaired by Ketaki Varma

PICNIC WITH PLAYWRIGHTS

A poet, a producer, and a performer walk into a garden...

Ashutosh Potdar, Kaizad Gherda, Shikha Talsania, Vinita Belani

METAPHRASE

Translating across cultures

Workshop by Clara Nubile

Supported by Istituto Di Cultura Di Mumbai 

FRAGMENTNATIONS

The launch of Sam Dalrymple's SHATTERED LANDS, followed by a discussion on the unmaking of the Indian Empire

Sam Dalrymple in conversation with Dinyar Patel

Presented by Forbes Marshall

WHEN A WOMAN WRITES

Sisters, female friendships, and Taiwanese history

Regina Lin, Yang Shuang-zi

Chair: Shubhangi Swarup

Supported by Taipei Economic & Cultural Center in India 

MIND GAMES

Writing crime fiction

Workshop by Helene Flood

Supported by Norway Consulate General in Mumbai

BETWEEN SOMEWHERE AND EVERYWHERE

Exploring family sagas across generations and geographies

Jeet Thayil, Omar Musa

Chair: Iffat Nawaz

A WISH UPON THE SKY

Rising voices in original performance poetry

Performed by Apeksha Jadhav, Arpit Yadav, Ashay Kadam, Ashu Bhoir, Faiza Shaikh, Jhankar Bhowate, Kalpesh Suroshe, Sagina Shaikh, Sheema Farheen, Shraddha Matal, Shraddha Mishra, Tahura Mulla

MUMBAI MONTAGE

Launch of Anindita Ghose's THE ONLY CITY, followed by a discussion on the city as a compelling literary inspiration

Anindita Ghose, Raghu Karnad, Ranjit Hoskote

Chair: Rehana Munir

YOU CHEEKY DEVIL!

The literary quiz

Cathy Sweeney, Gauri Sinh, Shabnam Minwala, Sam Dalrymple

Chair: Hrishi K

POINT OF ORIGIN

The iconic symbolism of SH Raza's art

Ashok Vajpeyi, Sangeeta Raghavan

Chair: Asad Lalljee

Presented by Hikal

STAGING CULTURE
Scripting change through art

Workshop by Ahmed Tobasi

LOVE BITES

Launch of Paromita Vohra's LOVE SEX AUR INDIA: The AOI Anthology, followed by stories of intimacy from across the country

Paromita Vohra in conversation with Neil Bhoopalam

Celebrating Women: The Shashi Baliga Memorial Session

ON BALANCE

The literature of working women

Amrita Mahale, Jane Borges, Pronoti Datta

Chair: Supriya Nair

Presented by Godrej DEI Lab

IN WIKI VERITAS

Why integrity matters to individuals and corporations

Jimmy Wales via video conferencing in conversation with Govindraj Ethiraj

POETRY IN THE PARK

An open mic event hosted by Poets of Mumbai

RHYTHMS 'N' RHYMES

Riffing to the beat of the word

Performed by Jeet Thayil, Omar Musa, Shehan Karunatilaka

CHANGING TRACKS

Launch of Rahul Bhattacharya's RAILSONG, followed by a discussion on the coming of age of a young woman and a nation

Alankrita Shrivastava, Rahul Bhattacharya

Chair: Supriya Nair

PASSION BETWEEN THE PAGES

Launch of Shobhaa Dé's THE SENSUAL SELF,

followed by Shobhaa Dé in conversation with Lillete Dubey

GODREJ LITERATURE LIVE! AWARDS 2025

Presentation of the GODREJ LITERATURE LIVE! LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD to Vinod Kumar Shukla  

Followed by the literary awards in fiction, non-fiction, and business categories.