Talks
City and the Festival
Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran, Shinie Antony, Nitya Vasudevan, Ravichandar
Collective perceptions and experiences of a place help shape its identity. By challenging established ways of thinking about art, culture, literature, film and more, several festivals in Bengaluru create spaces that think innovatively about addressing urban challenges and work towards highlighting new or alternative histories of the city.
Join us for this conversation, moderated by Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran, where we talk to the people behind some of Bengaluru’s most cherished festivals – Shinie Antony (Bangalore Literature Festival, Bengaluru Poetry Festival), Nitya Vasudevan (Bangalore Queer Film Festival), and Ravichandar (BIC_Hub’ba). Through this session, we will learn more about the challenges and opportunities in conceptualising, developing, and realising their visions; how the festivals have evolved since their inception; and how interactions with the city of Bengaluru and its public helped it develop a unique voice.
This event is in collaboration with the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS).
Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran
Writer
Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran is a senior content writer with the city-based content agency, Don’t Be Content. She is also a regular contributor to Mint. Previously, she was a special correspondent with Times of India’s Bangalore bureau covering the culture and lifestyle beats. She has also had stints at DNA and Bangalore Mirror.
Nitya
Co-Director, Bangalore Queer Film Festival
Nitya teaches as part of the English faculty group at the School of Arts and Sciences, Azim Premji University (Bangalore). She is co-director of the Bangalore Queer Film Festival, which is seeing its thirteenth year in 2023.
Ravichandar
Honorary Director, Bangalore International Centre
Ravichandar is currently the Honorary Director of Bangalore International Centre and is part of the core team that organises the Bangalore Literature Festival annually. Since 2000, Ravichandar has been involved with pro bono initiatives with the State, Central Government and Civil Society on urban issues starting with the Bangalore Agenda Task Force. In Bangalore, he advocated the Self Assessment Scheme of Property Tax, Tender SURE Roads and reimagined Bengaluru’s Governance as a member of the BBMP Restructuring Committee.
Ravichandar has a Mechanical Engineering degree from BITS, Pilani and an MBA from the IIM, Ahmedabad.
Shinie Antony
Co-Founder, Bangalore Literature Festival
Shinie Antony has written several short-story books, including Barefoot and Pregnant, and The Orphanage For Words, as well as novels such as The Girl Who Couldn’t Love and When Mira Went Forth and Multiplied. She has also compiled the anthologies Why We Don’t Talk, An Unsuitable Woman and Boo. She is the co-founder of the Bangalore Literature Festival and director of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival. Her story A Dog’s Death won the Commonwealth Short Story Asia prize in 2002. She is currently working on her new novel Can’t, which is slated to release next year.
