Safdar Hashmi was a playwright and director, best known for his work with stirring political street theatre. In fact, he was killed on January 1,1989 while performing the street play, Halla Bol (Raise Your Voice!) by a gang of political goons. Three days later, his wife Moloyshree went with Hashmi’s Janam troupe to the location of the murder, and in a singular act of bravery, completed the performance.

Literature Live! will launch a book on his life, appropriately titled Halla Bol: The Death and Life of Safdar Hashmi by Sudhanva Deshpande, on Thursday, March 5 at 6.30 PM at NCPA’s Experimental Theatre. At the launch, Sameera Iyengar will be in conversation with Naseeruddin Shah, Moloyashree Hashmi and the author. There will also be a presentation of Jana Natya Manch’s classic play Machine.

Seating, as usual, is on a first come, first served basis, so do come early.

The next Literature Live! Evening features one of the best known names in Indian Classic Music.

T M Krishna is not only a wonderful musician, he is also an iconoclast who challenges many of the orthodoxies which had a stranglehold on the system. So whether you agree with him or not, you will find his ideas always highly stimulating.

We will launch his new book, Sebastian & Sons, A Brief History of Mridangam Makers on Monday, February 24th at 6.30 PM at Mahalaxmi’s G5A. He will be in conversation with Sumana Ramanan, journalist and student of Hindustani vocal music.

Seating, as usual, is on a first come, first served basis so do come early. And please allow some extra time for our truly horrendous traffic.

Literature Live! Evenings are not generally associated with music, but our next event features the launch of a book on Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite songs and bhajans.

In Singing Gandhi’s India: Music and Sonic Nationalism, the author Lakshmi Subramanian explores the Mahatma’s relationship with music, and how he made it a powerful tool to reach out to people and instill in them the idea of a secular nationalism.

Anil Dharker will be in a brief conversation with the author who will also make a presentation, but the evening will really belong to music with songs rendered by well-known singers Dr Prasanna Mhaisalkar and Pradeep Udhas.

Seating, as usual, is on a first come, first served basis, so do come early for this enthralling evening.

The next Literature Live! Event will feature the launch of a book on Hindi cinema’s superstar Sridevi. Following the launch of the book, its author Satyarth Nayak, Karan Johar and Boney Kapoor will take part in a discussion chaired by Anil Dharker.

Do come — but note the unusual timing. Th event will take place at 2.30 PM, but since 22nd December is a Sunday, you don’t have to miss work (only your afternoon nap!) Seating at Taj Land’s End hotel’s Salcette room will be on a first come, first served basis. The launch will be followed by high tea.

Literature Live! will launch Amitav Ghosh‘s much anticipated new novel, Gun Island on Monday, June 17, at 6.30 pm at Royal Opera House.

Now that our elections are drawing to a close, Literature Live! Evenings move away from poll-related books to something completely different.

The next Literature Live! Evening launches a book which was 20 years in the making. Ruchir Sharma, New York Times best-selling author, followed elections across every major state of the country over the last two decades, his journeys adding up to a full lap around the earth! The resulting book, Democracy on the Road, takes us close to the action, offering an intimate view inside the lives and minds of politicians and voters alike.

Ruchir Sharma is Chief Global Strategist at Morgan Stanley and has been on several international lists as one of the most influential people in the world. He will be in conversation with Shobhaa De, best-selling author and feisty columnist, at NCPA`s Godrej Theatre on Wednesday, May 15 at 6.30 PM. Seating, as usual, is on a first come, first served basis, so do come early.

The Election Commission has come in for a lot of flak recently for its spineless handling of incendiary and provocative speeches made by powerful politicians. It wasn’t always so: there was a time, starting from the first CEC, TN Seshan, when politicians feared the EC’s wrath if they stepped out of line.

Why have things come to such a pass? Hopefully Navin Chawla, the much respected former Chief Election Commissioner, can throw light on how the system works and how it can be manipulated. Literature Live! is happy to announce the launch of Mr Chawla’s  book “Every Vote Counts: The Story of India’s Elections” on Friday, May 10 at 6.30 PM at the Convention Centre, Sophia College, Pedder Road ( approach also available from Warden Road).

Seating, as usual, is on a first come, first served basis, so do come early.

Have you heard of ‘Heartfulness’? Here`s your chance to know more about the concept when Literature Live! launches The Heartfulness Way by Kamlesh Patel and Joshua Pollock on Monday, May 6 at 6.30 PM at Crossword Bookstore, Kemp`s Corner.
At the same event, we will also launch Designing Destiny by Daaji Kamlesh Patel. It`s an intriguing title because conventional wisdom says destiny is destiny, and there`s nothing one can do about it, let alone design it!
So for a completely different Literature Live! Evening, with an enlightening conversation between authors and Vinod Advani, come to Crossword on Monday!

To celebrate the centenary of legendary poet and lyricist, Kaifi Azmi, we will be screening Sumantra Ghosal`s wonderful film Kaifinama: A Celebration of the Art and Times of Kaifi Azmi.

The screening will be followed by a conversation between the film maker, Shabana Azmi and me. At NCPA`s Experimental Theatre on Tuesday, April 30 at 6.30 PM.

Seating, as usual, is on a first come, first served basis, so do come early.

Welcome to another exciting Literature Live! Evening when we launch a really topical book by the country’s leading psephologists Prannoy Roy and Dorab Sopariwala. Aptly titled THE VERDICT, it’s their attempt to decode India’s elections.