CLF Literati 2025 concludes with insightful sessions and prestigious book awards

The concluding day of CLF Literati 2025 (Chd LitFest), organised by the Chandigarh Literary Society (CLS), featured several engaging and insightful literary sessions. Two book launches during the ‘Book Buzz’ segment added to the excitement for book lovers. The highlight of the day—and the festival—was the announcement of the CLF Literati Book Awards instituted by CLS.

Dr Sumita Misra said, “Today is a moment of pride for all of us as Chandigarh now has its very own national-level book awards. We plan to announce these awards during CLF Literati every year, thereby making the festival a truly holistic national literary event.”

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She added, “We have been able to create a significant buzz in literary circles not just in the region but across the country by bringing together acclaimed authors, celebrities-turned-authors, poets, and leading thinkers, analysts and academics. They come together year after year to discuss new books, literary trends, and pressing issues. This has helped Chandigarh emerge as a national literary destination.”

Dr. Misra thanked the speakers and authors for sharing their insights, stories and wisdom. “All of you enriched our minds and touched our hearts,” she said. She also expressed gratitude to the interlocutors, the audience, and the team members and volunteers of the Chandigarh Literary Society.

The concluding day began with a ‘Creative Writing Workshop’ conducted by Sonika Sethi and Deviyani Singh. Literary exchanges commenced soon after, beginning with ‘Spiritual Chords: Stories of Change and Choice’. In this session, author Shalini Modi, who has written Rasas in Divine Relationships and Immortality: A Boon or a Curse, and Krishnapad Das Krishna, a spiritual mentor from The Akshaya Patra Foundation, engaged in a conversation with Annurani Sharma, a bilingual poet, writer and devotional singer.

This was followed by ‘Roots and Recipes: A Wellness Conversation’, featuring India’s leading nutritionist and public health advocate Rujuta Diwekar in discussion with academic and author Urvi Sharma. ‘Bihar Diaries and Ground Zero: Real Heroes, Real Stories’ presented IPS officer and bestselling author Amit Lodha, known for Bihar Diaries, Life in the Uniform, and Police Affairs. His book Bihar Diaries was adapted into a widely watched OTT series.

Lodha was joined by former national hockey player Veena Raman, wife of the late IPS officer Vijay Raman—renowned for eliminating athlete-turned-dacoit Paan Singh Tomar as SP Bhind. His memoir Did I Really Do All This?, co-authored by Veena Raman, was also discussed. Both were in conversation with IPS officer and author Arsh Verma.

The day continued with the launch of two books—Life, Love and Us by Sonia Vashisht Oberoi and Echoes of the Soul by Ravee Pandher.

Following the book launches, sessions resumed with ‘India’s Living Constitution: The Interplay of Law, Rights & Reality’, in which eminent lawyer, thinker, author and veteran parliamentarian Dr. Ashwini Kumar was in conversation with senior journalist Manraj Grewal.

In ‘Telling Tales, Touching Lives’, award-winning authors Shobha Tharoor and Mona Verma spoke with Sonika Sethi. ‘Saaz Aur Sama: The Art of Qawwali’ featured classical dancer and creator of Sufi Kathak Manjari Chaturvedi; Affan Yesvi, founder-director of Rhyvers Publishing Group and Sufi columnist; and Sufi musician Dhruv Sangari, popularly known as the “Prince of Qawwali”, in conversation with poet, translator and researcher Dr. Vishakha Goyal.

‘Seedha Samvaad’ showcased a discussion between prolific Hindi writer Balram and Vijay Kapoor, a renowned poet, storyteller and playwright. ‘From Krishna to Chanakya: Retelling Bharat with a Twist’ presented English fiction author Ashwin Sanghi in conversation with Aradhika Sharma, author of Sunita Williams: Astronaut Extraordinaire.

The festival concluded with the CLF Literati Awards Ceremony, where awards in Fiction and Non-Fiction categories in both English and Hindi were presented by Dr. Sumita Misra and Team Literati. Three books received the coveted honours: The Undying Light: A Personal History of Independent India by Gopalkrishna Gandhi (Aleph Book Company) in the English Non-Fiction category; The Ayodhya Alliance: Bharat Collection 8 by Ashwin Sanghi (HarperCollins Publishers India) in English Fiction; and Shubh Din by Balram (Rajkamal Prakashan Pvt. Ltd) in the Hindi category.