Another Day, Another Lit Fest

Chef Vikas Khanna.

Just days after Literature Live, The Times of India have announced the schedule for their own version titled “Mumbai Fully Booked: The Times of India Literary Carnival”, which will be held from Friday, December 2 to Sunday, December 4 at Mehboob Studios in Bandra. Unlike the Lit Live speaker list, the ToI roster—curated by Times columnist Bachchi Karkaria and author Namita Devidayal—seems to span across vocations, including filmmakers, sportsmen, politicians and chefs. The good news is that like Literature Live, it will be free, though registration is required via the website timesliterarycarnival.com. The organisers tell us that once you register online, you will receive your entry pass via email, and will not have to register separately for each talk (a task that many complained about during Lit Live) at the venue.

No festival in India would be complete without the attendance of Shashi Tharoor, but we’re happy to report that in addition to the MP from Kerala, other speakers include HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, Mohsin Hamid, Mohammed Hanif, Patrick French, Aakar Patel, Suhel Seth, Shobhaa De, Sonia Faleiro, Sourva Ganguly, Fatima Bhutto, Geeta Anand, Madhur Jaffrey, Vikas Khanna, Abhinav Bindra, Anurag Kashyap, Sooni Taraporewala, Zoya Akhtar, Gyan Prakash and William Dalrymple. One of the highlights will be a talk by New Zealander Mark Inglis, the world’s first double amputee to scale Mount Everest. Though our personal favourite is undoubtedly a panel discussion by Jaffrey and Khanna (more commonly known for being the hottest chef in New York; see image) titled “Love In The Time of Karela”.

Venue A, the larger of the two auditoriums at Mehboob Studios, can fit in about 250-300 people, while Venue B has capacity for about a 100. To register, visit timesliterarycarnival.com.