Photos: Speakers and artists from the hillside and beyond attended the first edition of the LLAF in Landour to shine a light upon literature, history, art, music, poetry, film, and more.

- Karan Madhok

For generations, the hillside towns of Landour and Mussoorie have been a heartbeat of the arts, featuring writers, poets, artists, filmmakers, and thought-leaders who have left an indelible impact on the region and the rest of the country. On Sunday, September 28, Landour celebrated its long legacy of arts and culture with the first-ever Landour Literature and Arts Festival (LLAF) at the Devdar Woods Hotel. Organised by The Chakkar and the Mussoorie Heritage Centre, the LLAF shone a light upon a variety of interests, including history, literature, art, music, poetry, film, and more. Some of our speakers were from the local area; some have adopted it as their second home; some have been inspired by Landour, Mussoorie, the Himalaya, the Garhwal region, and more of Uttarakhand in their work; and some arrived for the first time to find inspiration in the creative energy of the hillside.

“Mussoorie and Landour has a rich literary and artistic community, and we are happy for the opportunity to promote the work of local artists, keeping them in conversation with some of the best writers from the rest of the country,” said Surbhi Agarwal, the founder and curator of the Mussoorie Heritage Centre. “After the recent cloudburst and disaster in the region, it was our hope that the LLAF provide a sense of solace and community through art.”

“Mussoorie and Landour have always served as a beacon of inspiration for creative souls, and the great impact of authors who have called this place their home - including Ruskin Bond, Stephen Alter, Ganesh Saili, Hugh Gantzer - and many more,” said Karan Madhok, the editor and founder of The Chakkar. “We have also dedicated the first edition of our festival to the great writer and explorer Bill Aitken, who called Mussoorie his home for many decades.”

The festival was supported by LVB Devdar Woods, Landour Lecture Series, Cambridge Book Depot, VR Landour Art Space, and Ivy Bank.

Anil Raturi, a retired IPS officer, administrator, author, and poet spoke to journalist Prerna Raturi about Mussoorie and the uniform. He discussed his time living in Mussoorie, where he remembers a town impacted by the British presence, as he also attempted to keep alive his own Garhwali subconscious. “Walking to Foxhill while in St. George's College, it was a very difficult-to-explain feeling, while looking at the beautiful landscape, almost as if it were reaching out to you.”

Amit Ranjan, the author of John Lang: Wanderer of Hindoostani, Lawyer for the Ranee spoke to Surbhi Agarwal about the Australian explorer, writer, and Indophile, his works, and his relationship to the Mussoorie region.

The event featured poetry readings by Shikha Saklani Malaviya and Kunal Narayan Uniyal, as well as an art exhibition featuring Mussoorie-based artists Desna Sharma, Sterre Sharma, and Shubhdarshini Singh. A special poetry and art contest was held for school children on the theme of the deodar tree.

The historian Narayani Basu spoke to Karan Madhok about the nationalist, academic, diplomat, and journalist KM Panikkar. She discussed the care with which she had to interact with Panikkar’s extensive writing. “He came from a generation and time where there was a lot more space for flexible ideas of what India should be like, which has now significnantly reduced.”

Authors A.M. Gautam (Indian Millennials: Who Are They Really?), Siddhartha Kapila (Tripping Down The Ganga), and Karan Madhok (Ananda: An Exploration of Cannabis in India) held a writers’ roundtable where they discussed the craft choices that inspired their work, from the inception of a story to the impact of place in literature—from Landour and Haridwar to the far regions of the Char Dham.

Poetry reading by Kunal Narayan Uniyal and Shikha Saklani Malaviya. *Photo: Karan Madhok*

Surbhi Agarwal, the convenor of the Mussoorie Heritage Centre, spoke to Sameer Sewak about the literary legacy of Mussoorie and Landour.

The eventful day ended with two short films by Mussoorie-based filmmaker Sanyukta Sharma: “Buzz Buzz Bee” and “Jungoo and Dooah”, followed by live music by Milan Sudzuk and Prateek Santram.

Q&A with former IPS officer Anil Raturi. *Photo: Karan Madhok*

Poetry writing and art competition. *Photo: Karan Madhok*

Amit Ranjan in conversation with Surbhi Agarwal. *Photo: Karan Madhok*

Narayani Basu speaks about the legacy of K.M. Panikkar. *Photo: Karan Madhok*

Art installation by Desna Sharma. *Photo: Karan Madhok*

A.M. Gautam, Siddhartha Kapila, and Karan Madhok discuss the creative process. *Photo: Karan Madhok*

Surbhi Agarwal and Sameer Sewak speak about the literary history of Mussoorie. *Photo: Karan Madhok*

Sanyukta Sharma presents her short films. *Photo: Karan Madhok*

Live music by Milan Sudzuk and Prateek Santram. *Photo: Karan Madhok*

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Karan Madhok is a writer, journalist, and editor of The Chakkar. He is the author of Ananda: An Exploration of Cannabis In India (2024) and A Beautiful Decay (2022), both published by the Aleph Book Company. His work has appeared in Epiphany, Sycamore Review, Gargoyle, Fifty Two, Scroll, The Plank, The Caravan, the anthology A Case of Indian Marvels (Aleph Book Company) and The Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English 2022 (Hawakal). You can find him on Twitter: @karanmadhok1 and Instagram: @karanmadhok.

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