Tavleen_Si​ngh_says_O​ur_country​_does_not_​have_a_str​ong_enough​_political​_leader_to​_even_go_u​p_against ​an Italian​ housewife​ at India Non Fictio​n Festival

Tavleen Si​ngh says O​ur country​ does not have a str​ong enough​ political​ leader to​ even go u​p against ​an Italian  housewife​ at India ​Non-Fictio​n Festival !

Day One at Asia’s first non-fiction festival – the India Non Fiction Festival

“Our country does not have a strong enough political leader to even go up against an Italian housewife”, said Ms. Tavleen Singh at the Inaugural Session of the India Non Fiction Festival. Mr. R Jagannathan said, the theme of Be Bold Stay Real is wasted on Indians as we have to be bold and very real as the survival in our country is an effort for all of us, to which Mr. Kiran Karnik reiterated that in India we have no choice but to be bold and hence stay real while talking about the problem of social sustainability and Prof. Vivek Dahejia added that the country’s youth are bold but they are stymied by institutions which hold them back.

During the session For Real, Blogging is Non-Fiction, India’s most popular blogger Ms. Malini Agarwal talked about her essentials of blogging; about respecting your reader, having fun with it and never posting what you would not read.

Being Bold With Our Digital Lives: Cool and interesting things you can do with your smartphone, social media and much more where Mr. Ankit Fadia had a fun filled though sometimes serious conversation with  Mr. Suresh Venkat, talking about some fun tricks you can use for your electronic devices while talking about cyber crime and the question of privacy. Meena Menon and  Harish Nambiar were engaged in an intense discussion with  Mr.  Naresh Fernandes on the topic ‘Politics, Communalism and the social fabric of India’ talking about the social fabric of the country in the aftermath of riots analyzing the polarizing opinions and actions of the people affected by it. During the session, Non Fiction for an informed electorate and better policy making: How Data Journalism can help Mr. Govindraj Ethiraj alongside Mr. Ajit Ranade talked about the need to know about important facts which will lead to the raising of pertinent questions which can lead to a discourse.

The Panel on Bold Cinema for Real India was presided over by Mr. Mahesh Bhatt who raised the question to his panelists about whether there is anything which is bold about cinema or is it just functioning under the prescribed limits. Mr. M K Raghavendra commented that films were bolder 15 years ago due to the need to facilitate consumption is reducing the current boldness, to which  Ms. Bhawana Somaaya stated that the industry cannot be compartmentalised and that every decade someone would emerge as a mould breaker. Contemplating that a cinema lover must be both close and distant to different types of cinema irrespective of the general consensus was Mr. Rahul Bose, to which Mr. Sanjay Gadhvi stated that a bold step is for the filmmaker making the film at a particular time and the audience for watching it; winding up the discussion,  Ms. Minissha Lamba stated that everything bold has been done before and the audience has been desensitized to it.

A conversation ensued with bestselling Authors, Branding and India experts Mr. Santosh Desai and Mr. Anand Halve during the episode ‘India: Real Consumers, Markets and Bold Brands’. Just as the above, another stirring session was taking place on ‘Leadership in Imperfect Times: Daring. Spirited’  where author and  founder Chairman of Prasanna Trust,  Shri Swami Sukhobodhananda and leadership author Dr. A K Khandelwal were in heated discussion with author, TataLog and MD of Tata Global Beverages, Mr. Harish Bhat.

As celebrations around day one winded down, there was an atmosphere of sheer excitement and anticipation of what is to come in the two ensuing days of the non-fiction festival. Day 2 of the festival, going into the weekend gets in renowned names of non-fiction literature for a cross section of activities. Starting with the launch of Mr. Vijay Santhanam’s book ‘A Stroke of Luck’, a solicitous parenting session with  Mr. Sanjeev Kapoor accompanied by  Ms. Sudha Menon, a thought provoking management session by  Mr. Devdutt Pattanaik  along with Ms. Rama Bijapurkar and many more; the second day promises to be an exciting affair.

Entry to the festival is free and will be on a first come first serve basis.

The partners of the India Non Fiction Festival consist of: Knowledge@Wharton, The American Center & Library, Harvard Business Review, Crossword Book Stores, IndiaSpend, Harper Collins, Sage, Jaico, Random House, Hachette, Penguin, Aiesec, Westland and the British Council.