Khushwant Singh Lit Fest will highlight need to revive Indo-Pak ties: Director

Indo-Pak relations need a fresh renewal to nourish the bonds of neighbourhood as much as to reignite the spirit of cultural and social affinity, said Rahul Singh, director of the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival (KSLF) in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
Talking to media persons to deliver his curtain-raiser address for the 13th edition of the fest that takes off from October 18 to 20 in Kasauli, Rahul said there was an urgent need to revive people-to-people contact between the two Punjabs.
Recalling “Train to Pakistan” that his father Khuswant Singh wrote, Rahul said the thaw between India and Pakistan can be broken by rebuilding cultural and social ties. “This year, the theme of the festival is “Resilience and Renewal”, which resonates deeply with the times we live in,” added Rahul.
The list of speakers taking part in the festival includes William Dalrymple, Imtiaz Ali, Arundhathi Subramaniam, L Subramaniuam, Amitabh Kant, Anindya Roy, Devdutt Pattanaik and Chandigarh MP Manish Tiwari.
The fest began 13 years ago in the tiny hill station of Kasauli, where Khushwant Singh would articulate his ideas and vision in his villa here.