Mysuru Literature Festival enters 10th edition\u00a0<\/p>\n
At\u00a0a time when libraries were losing relevance with the rise of electronic gadgets, one woman in Mysuru\u00a0came up with\u00a0the idea of starting the Mysuru Book Clubs in 2010. The initiative was well-received by the city\u2019s people, inspiring her to launch the Mysuru Literature Festival in 2017. Since then, there has been no looking back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman behind the festival is Shubha Sanjay\u00a0Urs, Founder of the Mysuru Literature Festival. This year\u2019s edition marks the festival\u2019s 10th milestone. Ahead of the event, Star of\u00a0Mysore\u00a0caught up with Shubha to talk about the lit festival, its journey over the years and\u00a0what readers can expect this time\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Star of\u00a0Mysore\u00a0(SOM): This is the 10th edition of the Mysuru Literature Festival. How did you get the idea to start it?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shubha Sanjay\u00a0Urs:\u00a0When I was growing up, our home was always filled with books. So, when I wanted to do something for Mysuru, my hometown, it was only natural that it revolved around books. I started the Mysuru Book Clubs\u00a0in 2010. From then until now, it has been a long journey, and I have never looked back. We have grown step by step, reaching out to people from all sections of society,\u00a0not just in Mysuru but also in the surrounding areas, encouraging them to read,\u00a0write\u00a0and engage with literature.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SOM: Did you face any\u00a0initial\u00a0struggles when you started the literature festival?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shubha Sanjay\u00a0Urs:\u00a0I would not really call them struggles because I had already started with the book club, and it picked up momentum almost\u00a0immediately. We began with one book club, then another, followed by a Kannada book club and a children\u2019s book club.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later,\u00a0I felt it\u00a0was time to contribute more to society, so we started\u00a0book\u00a0clubs for orphanages, slums, special\u00a0schools\u00a0and senior citizens\u2019 homes. There has never been a dull moment. It has always been about asking,\u00a0\u2018What next?\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
After the book clubs came book releases, then author interactions, and eventually\u00a0I felt it\u00a0was time to launch a literature festival. That is how the Mysuru Literature Festival came into being.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SOM: How did you manage to raise funds for the book clubs and the literature festival?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shubha Sanjay\u00a0Urs:\u00a0That was a difficult decision initially. But I decided to seek support from friends and individuals rather than corporates. Mysuru is a city built on relationships and emotions. I felt a more personal approach would work better.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That is why, over the last 10 years, we have relied on friends and well-wishers instead of approaching corporate sponsors. We may consider corporate support in the future, but so far,\u00a0we have not.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SOM: How do you curate the list of Kannada and English authors?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shubha Sanjay\u00a0Urs:\u00a0Curation does not happen in a day, a week or even a month. It is a continuous process that takes months and sometimes years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many people may not know that I am a researcher, a textile\u00a0consultant\u00a0and a geneticist by profession. My work involves a lot of travel, both within India and abroad, and that gives me opportunities to meet authors and scholars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During one such trip, I met Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan and invited him to Mysuru. He agreed because one of his books was due for release and he was planning to visit India. However, the pandemic in 2020 disrupted\u00a0those plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We stayed in touch over the years, and in 2025, when he told me he would be visiting India, I made sure he came to Mysuru. We\u00a0organised\u00a0a standalone launch of his book \u2018Why We Die\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That is why I say curation does not happen overnight. It requires constant effort,\u00a0networking\u00a0and planning. People often ask me how I manage to bring together so many authors and speakers for a two-day festival, but it is the result of years of building relationships and staying connected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SOM: How do you manage well-known authors? Have you ever faced any\u00a0difficult situations\u00a0with them?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shubha Sanjay\u00a0Urs:\u00a0I have never come across such situations. When people refer to \u2018VIP authors,\u2019 they usually mean best-selling writers or those who come from prominent backgrounds. But none of the authors who have attended the Mysuru Literature Festival\u00a0has\u00a0ever created any trouble. I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have any unpleasant memories involving our guests.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SOM: What responsibility do literature festivals have in promoting regional languages and lesser-known writers?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shubha Sanjay\u00a0Urs:\u00a0At the Mysuru Literature Festival, we also\u00a0organise\u00a0\u2018Mysuru Sahitya\u00a0Sambhrama\u2019,\u00a0which gives equal opportunities to\u00a0emerging\u00a0authors. We believe every writer deserves a platform. At our festival, all participants are treated equally by the members of the Mysuru Book Clubs\u00a0and the trustees of the literary forum.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SOM: Critics often say literature festivals have become gatherings for already\u00a0established\u00a0voices. How do you respond to that criticism?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shubha Sanjay\u00a0Urs:\u00a0I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0think that is entirely true.\u00a0Perhaps some\u00a0of the larger festivals may focus more on established names, but I believe literature festivals across India\u00a0generally try\u00a0to give equal importance to everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the Mysuru Literature Festival, our focus has never been only on best-selling,\u00a0popular\u00a0or well-known authors. We also make a conscious effort to provide a platform for emerging voices.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2014 Team SOM\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mysuru Literature Festival enters 10th edition\u00a0 At\u00a0a time when libraries were losing relevance with the rise of electronic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-235467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}