The HLF, held annually in January, is a multidisciplinary, multilingual event that draws over a hundred writers, artistes, academics, scholars, and publishers from India and abroad.
In its first edition, in 2010, HLF was focused on one genre — poetry. “We had at least about 70 poets. It evolved and literature and art were also included,” shares T Vijay Kumar.
One of the things that the festival lacked was a permanent venue. “This year, we have moved to the tech part of the city. And the number of visitors has increased phenomenally,” he says.
In the past 14 years, HLF’s unique feature has been the inclusion of one foreign country as a guest nation. Additionally, one local Indian language is given a special focus.
Till 2023, HLF had 12 independent streams. This year, Climate Conversations, Science and City, and Indigenous and Endangered Languages are the three additions to the streams.
Worried about the dangers of extinct languages, Kumar and his team are using the festival as a platform to spread awareness about the dangers of language extinction.
The idea is to celebrate linguistic diversity — weather it is Dakhni, or Banjara, Lambada, Koya or Kui. “More languages do not mean a disorganised society,” he signs off.