The fourteenth edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF) was inaugurated by Priti Paul, Director, Apeejay Surrendra Group in presence of Maina Bhagat, Director, Oxford Bookstore and AKLF, and Anjum Katyal, Director, AKLF at Park Mansions, Kolkata.

The inaugural event was followed by the session named “Much More than a Bookstore” where renowned Kolkatans shared their relationship with the century-old Oxford Bookstore. The speakers were Anita Agnihotri, Dhritiman Chaterji, Jawhar Sircar, Sugata Bose, Suvaprasanna, and Barry O’Brien.

Speaking at the event, Barry O’Brien said “I have a great relationship with Oxford Bookstore. The place not only exposed me to amazing books but I also got my first whiff of romance at this bookstore”.

There was a hybrid session regarding ‘Restore, Renovate, Re-use’ which was on the occasion of 100 years of Oxford Bookstore. A discussion on the value of built heritage with the Director of Alliance Francaise du Bengale, Nicolas Facino, Director of Apeejay Surrendra Group, Priti Paul, and State Convener of INTACH Kolkata, GM Kapur was organized and this was moderated by Mukul Agarwal.

The Oxford ‘Para’: The presentation was on the revival of Park Street. It was presented by Monica Khosla Bhargava, followed by Barry O’Brien (The Anglo-Indians: A Portrait of a Community) on Anglo-Indians, ‘Calcutta 16’, and the city. The session was based on Park Street and its surroundings, with its rich built and intangible heritage which can be considered the heart of the city.

The inaugural day also hosted the international best-selling author Jeffrey Archer. “Jeffrey Archer Unplugged” saw the celebrated author in a virtual conversation with Barry O’Brien.

Poetry Café, a trademark segment of AKLF, began with “Verse and Converse: Poets in conversation, with readings” presented with IPPL, and was coordinated by Ananya Chatterjee, Nabanita Sengupta, and Sanghita Sanyal across three sessions.

The festival will continue till 15^th January.

Priyanka Dutta