Mountain Echoes Literary Festival 2016

It is now that time of the year when the breathtakingly beautiful mountains of Bhutan call to a fusion of art, literature, music and culture.

Set in a country known for its environmental conservation, the 7th edition of the Mountain Echoes Literary Festival 2016, to be held from August 26 to 28, an initiative of India-Bhutan Foundation will open with a conversation on the impact of climate change presented by acclaimed Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh, author of “The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable,” a non-fiction book that challenges people to confront the most urgent task of the world.

The festival will also include talks featuring a range of themes including women's voices, travel writing and love and relationships, according to the organisers.

This year the Bangladeshi poet, writer, and women's rights activist, Sadaf Saaz will be participating in the festival, as part of a particular focus on opening up conversations on what it means to be a woman in South Asia at a time of intense change. Saaz will be participating in the talk “Present Tense” building on her work exploring Bangladeshi women's experience, through poetry and monologues. Along similar themes, Anjum Hasan and Ira Trivedi will discuss an anthology that examines the Indian woman's experience, in the Women's Voices segment titled “Walking towards Ourselves”, in conversation with Namita Gokhale.

Çiler Ilhan, Anjum Hasan, Mridula Koshy and Sonam Wangmo Jhalani will debate the maxim 'write what you know', discussing how they have drawn upon personal experience in their writing.

Critically-acclaimed actress Tabu will speak with Kelly Dorji about asserting her position in the cut-throat world of Bollywood in the light of her recent films “Fitoor” and “Haider”.

In Travel Writing section, Pico Iyer will have a talk on “The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere,” but for the intrepid adventurer, Dhamey T. Norgay, Odd Harald Hauge and Ravi Singh will speak on the thrill of mountain climbing while Karma Lotay, Garab Dorji and Nyema Zam will share their experiences in trekking along the less-trodden routes of Bhutan's most ancient pathways.

The Festival will also have a session on “Love and Relationships” where Graeme Simsion will open the topic of love and relationships with his two books, New York Times bestsellers “The Rosie Project” and its sequel “The Rosie Effect.”

In “Lover is in the Air,” Ira Trivedi and Monu Tamang will trace relationships within the landscape of India and Bhutan where young people struggle with tradition and modernity as they fall in and out of love in the face of changing societal mores.

A variety of events will accompany the Festival including photographs by Dorji Dhradhul with a glimpse into the history, culture and natural splendour of Bhutan's Gasa region; workshops on telling a good story, creative writing, advertising and brand-building by renowned Indian adman Piyush Pandey; a guide to Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan by Yeshi Lhendup; and finally an Open Mic night and a special musical concert by Indian fusion rock band Indian Ocean.

Commenting on the seventh edition of the Festival, Chief Royal Patron and the Queen of Bhutan Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck said, “The festival has been a great a catalyst for the appreciation of literature in Bhutan.”

One hopes the deliberations of the Festival will continue to reverberate across the mountains of Bhutan long after they are over.