Kolkata, Jan 10: The 17th edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF) commenced today with a vibrant and thoughtfully curated first day, unfolding across the historic Alipore Museum and Oxford Bookstore, Park Street. Rooted in the city’s cultural ethos and shaped by a global literary vision, the opening day set the tone for three days of sustained dialogue, reflection and creative exchange.
The festival opened at Alipore Museum with an inauguration by Usha Uthup and Madhabi Mukherjee, two enduring cultural icons whose presence lent both warmth and gravitas to the occasion. Madhabi Mukherjee and Usha Uthup were accompanied on stage by Festival Director Anjum Katyal, Oxford Bookstore’s CEO Swagat Sengupta, Programming Head Neeta Sreedharan, and the Director of Alipore Museum Jayanta Sengupta for the ceremonial lighting of the lamp to kick off proceedings. Shortly after, Usha Uthup enthralled the full-house audience with a Shiv Vandana in her trademark style.
The inauguration was followed by the Kolkata launch of ‘Madhabi’s Garden’, the English translation of Madhabi Mukherjee’s autobiography ‘Madhabikanon’. Madhabi Mukherjee was joined by Usha Uthup, translator Arunava Sinha, and Oindrilla Dutt. The first session of AKLF began next, moderated by Oindrilla Dutt, with Madhabi Mukherjee reminiscing about her life through theatre and cinema. She recalled stories with stalwarts like Shishir Bhaduri, Chobi Biswas, Kanon Devi, and Ritwik Ghatak. Apart from paying a lovely tribute to Madhabi Mukherjee, Ushu Uthup stressed the similarities between the books and music. Arunava Sinha shared how taking up the mantle of translating ‘Madhabikanon’ was a no-brainer for him, considering the cultural impact that Madhabi Mukherjee has left on audiences worldwide.
Anjum Katyal, the Festival Director of AKLF, at the onset of the festival said,
“We begin 2026 with our 17th edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, by celebrating our rich legacy of books, cinema and music at our inauguration by two golden icons of our city, Madhabi Mukherjee and Usha Uthup. Over the next 3 days, expect an exciting journey of ideas as we go from centennial tributes to Mahasweta Devi and filmmaker Raj Khosla to new books by veteran writers like Shashi Tharoor, Shobhaa De, Jeet Thayil, Jerry Pinto and Anita Nair, to first-time writers with debut novels. We bring you history, mythology, the supernatural, gender issues and alternative life choices, philosophy, food culture, the voices of poets and writers for young readers, and more. Come join the interactions at Alipore Museum, Oxford Bookstore and The Park Hotel. All are welcome!”
The valued festival partners for the three-day literary celebration include the Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata, the Embassy of France in India, Institut Français en Inde, Alliance Française du Bengale, The Antonym Collective, Glenburn Penthouse Calcutta, and Sunrise Masala. Kenilworth Hotel, Kolkata, and The Park, Kolkata, are the hospitality partners, while Cha Bar and Cafe Coutume serve as the refreshment partners. 93.5 Red FM is the radio partner; Teacher’s Centre and The Heritage College, Kolkata, are the institutional partners. Balaji Ads, along with Navkrit Brand Solutions and Leven Events, complete the list as Outdoor Media Partners and Event Partners, respectively.
The day’s programme at Alipore Museum continued with ‘Past Present’, where Norm Coady, Prateek Dasgupta and Sumanto Chattopadhyay, aka The English Nut, in conversation with Amitabh Singh Baghel. The session explored innovative and engaging ways of approaching history and the written and spoken word, demonstrating how the past can be made accessible, playful and relevant.
Mythology and storytelling were next in focus with the session ‘The Sun God and Other Stories: Entering the World of Myths’, where Shalini Modi and Lopamudra Maitra engaged in dialogue with Oindrilla Dutt, examining the enduring power of myths, including those of the sun, and their contemporary resonances through science and knowledge.
The session ‘Shades of Grey’ examined contemporary fiction and moral ambiguity. Sundar Sarukkai and Aurko Maitra discussed their recent works, ‘Water Days: A Novel’ and ‘The Spider’ respectively, with Debanjan Chakrabarti, reflecting on ethical complexities of crime and accountability, narrative voices and the uncertain terrains of modern life. Bengal’s culinary imagination took centre stage after this in ‘Tok Jhaal Mishti: What Sets Apart Bengal’s Cuisine’, as food historian Chitrita Banerji and sociologist and artist Ishita Dey, in conversation with chef Auroni Mookerjee, explored food as culture, memory and identity.
Themes of migration, displacement and belonging were taken up in ‘The Green Green Grass of Home: Indians and the Diaspora’, featuring award-winning Malayali author Benyamin and social researcher Ashmita Khasnabish in conversation with Jael Silliman. This was followed by ‘To Be or Not to Be: The Influencer in Today’s World’, where Mallika Dua and Karuna Ezara Parikh were in dialogue with Sandip Roy and examined visibility, authenticity, the illusion of social media metrics and performance in the age of social media.
The evening sessions at Alipore Museum included Jeet Thayil in conversation with Ruchir Joshi on his latest work, ‘The Elsewhereans’, a genre-blending novel tracing family, migration, loss, and identity across continents through the lives of those shaped by departure and displacement. Literature and music often go hand-in-hand, and this was demonstrated with ‘Music Magic’, where Indian classical vocalist Priya Purushothaman spoke with Kathakali Jana on music, practice and performance. The day concluded with ‘Every Breath You Take: On Wellness, Inside and Out’, featuring Luke Coutinho in conversation with Jimmy Tangree, focusing on holistic health and mindful living.
At Oxford Bookstore, Park Street, ‘Aparna Sen Unplugged’ brought together Aparna Sen, Suman Ghosh and Kalyan Ray in conversation with Raju Raman, offering an intimate and wide-ranging reflection on Aparna Sen’s life in cinema and literature. This was followed by ‘Quo Vadis? Reflections on Language and Literature’, where Sundar Sarukkai and Jeet Thayil engaged in a thoughtful exchange on language, philosophy and literary practice.
The first day at Oxford Bookstore concluded with “Mahasweta Devi, Living Legacy: A Centennial Tribute”, where Anita Agnihotri, Ratnaboli Ray and Sudeshna Roy, in conversation with Anjum Katyal, reflected on Mahasweta Devi’s enduring literary and political legacy. The session included a dramatised reading by Poulami Chatterjee Bose, lending a performative dimension to the tribute.
The Oxford Junior Literary Festival (OJLF), held in collaboration with the Progressive Educational Techniques Society (Teacher’s Centre) at the Oxford Bookstores, Park Street, opened with storytelling and interactive sessions by Hemangini Dutt Mazumdar and Himanjali Sankar for students from Classes 2 to 5. This was followed by ‘Three-Dimensional: Bringing a Historic Figure to Life’, with Savie Karnel and Madhurima Vidyarthi, engaging middle school students from Classes 6 to 8 through performance and imagination.
The AKLF Poetry Café, presented in association with Alliance Française du Bengale at Alipore Museum, opened with ‘Remembering Rahim: On Rahim’s Dohas, led by Chandan Sinha. Subsequent ‘Poetspeak’ sessions featured Saheba Singh, Bashabi Fraser, Arundhati Ghosh, and Inam Husain Mullick, and the evening concluded with ‘Multi-Verse: Poets Read in Many Languages’, presented by The Creative Arts, a multi-disciplinary arts academy founded and headed by Ramanjit Kaur.
With a first day that blended literature, cinema, history, food, wellness, children’s programming and poetry, the 17th Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival began on a note that was both expansive and deeply rooted in Kolkata’s cultural imagination. The festival continues through 11 January 2026 with sessions across three venues.