The Book Brahma Literature Festival at St. John’s Auditorium in Bengaluru recently concluded its inaugural event, Soul of South, which aimed to celebrate literary voices from across all South Indian languages. The festival broke the linguistic barrier that often limits literature festivals in the city to English and Kannada languages, offering a platform for authors, poets, and publishers from various South Indian states to come together and share their work.
The three-day festival was a vibrant and diverse event, structured around six venues on one campus. Each section offered a mix of panel discussions, performances, book launches, and interactive sessions, attracting a wide audience of literature enthusiasts. The festival showcased the rich cultural heritage and linguistic diversity of South India, highlighting the beauty and importance of regional literature.
One of the highlights of the festival was a soulful Hindustani classical vocal performance by Pandit M. Venkatesh Kumar, setting the tone for a day filled with engaging sessions and performances. Actor Prakash Raj’s performance, titled Diverse Languages, Same Feeling, explored the common threads that unite India’s diverse linguistic landscape through poetry in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam.
Key sessions at the festival included discussions on the latest trends in Malayalam poetry, the intersection of literature and cinema in Kannada, and the impact of generative AI on Indian writing. There were also sessions on contemporary Kannada novels, subaltern voices in Telugu literature, and the pluralistic dimensions of Karnataka’s languages. The festival provided a platform for authors and poets to discuss their work, share their experiences, and engage with a diverse audience.
In addition to literary discussions, the festival also featured sessions on contemporary theatre, the art of storytelling, poetry in cinema songs, and the beauty of languages within Karnataka. There were also sessions focused on the global prospects for South Indian literature, highlighting the challenges and opportunities of taking regional literature to a global audience. The festival also included activities for children, such as storytelling, art master classes, traditional board games, and art competitions.
Devu Pattar, editor-in-chief of Book Brahma, expressed his satisfaction with the festival, emphasizing the importance of including authors and poets from diverse linguistic backgrounds. He mentioned plans to continue hosting the annual festival, with the next event proposed for August 2025. Book Brahma aims to expand its work across all South Indian states, promoting and exchanging literature in various languages to create a more inclusive and diverse literary community.
Overall, the Book Brahma Literature Festival at St. John’s Auditorium in Bengaluru was a successful and enriching event that celebrated the literary voices of South India. By breaking linguistic barriers and showcasing the diversity of regional literature, the festival provided a platform for authors, poets, and publishers to come together, share their work, and engage with a wide audience of literature enthusiasts.