Ooty Literature Festival 2025

The iconic Nilgiri Library in Udhagamandalam hosts the festival
| Photo Credit: SATHYAMOORTHY M

Who is an Indian? What defines identity in a land as diverse as India? A question that resonates across time kickstarts the conversation at the opening day of the Ooty Literature Festival 2025 on March 14 at the iconic Nilgiri Library in Udhagamandalam.

At a bilingual session in English and Tamil, Dr Ganesh Devy, a scholar, linguist, and cultural activist who has dedicated his life to documenting and preserving India’s linguistic heritage, explores India’s evolving identity. As the founder of the People’s Linguistic Survey of India, Dr Devy has been instrumental in mapping and safeguarding over 700 languages, ensuring that India’s diverse linguistic landscape is recognised and valued.

He will be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award. Writer Perumal Murugan received his Lifetime Achievement Award for fostering literary arts and culture in Tamil Nadu at the previous edition of the festival in 2023 that brought issues like climate change, gender sensitivity, and man-animal conflict to the forefront.

There will be an exclusive screening of The Speaking Hand, a documentary on tabla maestro Zakir Hussain
| Photo Credit:
MAYUR CHANNAGERE

OLF 2025 brings together leading thinkers, writers, and cultural icons to explore stories that challenge perspectives, ignite curiosity, and inspire change. There will be two days of thought-provoking discussions, immersive experiences, and transformative storytelling with some of the sharpest minds and creative voices. It covers topics across literature, history, music, politics and wellness..

Rajdeep Sardesai is one of the speakers at the OLF2025
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

While veteran journalists Rajdeep Sardesai and Sreenivasan Jain provide an in-depth analysis of the 2024 elections, breaking down the narratives that shaped India’s political landscape, a conversation with Mani Ratnam offers a glimpse into the art of Indian storytelling and cinema, exploring the director’s creative process and the evolution of filmmaking in India.

The Poetry Corner session brings together four poets — Michael Cerighton, Dion D’Souza, Akhil Katyal and Sukirtharani — as they weave stories of identity, love, resistance and belonging through verse.

Speakers like R Gopalakrishnan, Rama Bijapurkar and Shalini Kapoor debate the evolving dynamics of business in the AI era, exploring the balance between human intuition and machine intelligence. Kris Srikkanth relives India’s iconic victory at his session on life’s lessons from the 1983 World Cup win.

Besides conversations that shape our world, OLF 2025 celebrates and honours the legendary tabla maestro Zakir Hussain with an exclusive screening of The Speaking Hand, a documentary that captures his journey as one of the greatest percussionists of our time.

The screening will be followed by a discussion on the universality of rhythm, improvisation in Indian classical music, and Zakir Hussain’s contributions to global musical dialogue.

The festival also turns the spotlight on mindfulness, well-being, and self-reflection. Rashmi and Jehangir Palkhivala offer an immersive session on alignment, breath control, and holistic well-being at the Iyengar Yoga Workshop.

Another session titled The Fullness of Life: Gender, Disability & Mental Wellness, led by experts provides insights on identity, resilience, and mental health. A highlight of the festival is curated performative experiential sessions on Bhakti music featuring musician TM Krishna and Irula musicians.

This year’s festival also offers a deep dive into oral traditions, mythologies, and the art of narrative-building with storytelling sessions.  While Dr Siddiq Wahid brings to life the epic world of King Kesar of Ling, Tibet’s legendary warrior, Chandan Gowda, a scholar of comparative literature, joins him to discuss the enduring power of oral traditions and why these ancient narratives still matter in the digital age. There is also a hands-on workshop with storyteller Geeta Ramanujam.

The festival is on March 14, 15 at the Nilgiri Library, Udhagamandalam. For details, visit ootylitfest.in or follow @ootylitfest page on Instagram. Registration is mandatory