Featuring dozens of literary conservations, book releases, film screenings, live music, art exhibitions, folk dances, and more, the second edition of LLAF saluted the resolute spirit of the Himalaya. By The Chakkar and Mussoorie Heritage Centre

Short story by Karan Madhok: “Now, Lady, Miss: Please take the flowers and lean into your husband, like this, as if you are falling into him. Just a little. That’s why in English they say, ‘falling’ in love, no? Bas, gir jao unpar!”

Visit us for the 2^nd edition of the Landour Literature and Arts Festival on September 26-27, 2026, a weekend of arts, film, literature, music, and much more, featuring speakers and artists from the hillside and beyond. By The Chakkar and Mussoorie Heritage Centre

In a detailed interview, Karan Mahajan spoke about exploring the uneven spaces between love and lust in the characters of The Complex, the prism-like perspectives of an extended Indian family, and how Delhi inspires his literary work. By Karan Madhok

In Lavanya Lakshminaryan’s The Ten Percent Thief, a dystopic Indian future serves as the setting to explore existential dilemmas of human creativity in the face of an authoritarian technocracy. By Karan Madhok

Last year, a road-widening project for access to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple upended the lives of many residents and traders in Varanasi’s historic Dalmandi area. On Eid al-Fitr, Karan Madhok visited the alleyways among the rubble of demolition.  

The crimes are bigger and bloodier in Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders, and the motives even messier; but at its core, the film is a hollow reproduction of its genre predecessors, a familiar formula traced into an inferior product. By Karan Madhok

Sanjana Ramachandran’s debut Famous Last Questions investigates the clash of the personal with the sociopolitical. The author speaks about masking and unmasking herself, finding comfort in contradictions, and the flawed institutions of marriage, relationships, and work. By Karan Madhok

With a handful of fiery singles and show-stealing features, Shillong-based Reble is on the cusp of becoming a force in Indian hip hop—and your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper. By Karan Madhok

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. By Karan Madhok

Editorial: With the intention of promoting the arts borne and inspired from Landour, Mussoorie, and the Garhwal region, The Chakkar and the Mussoorie Heritage Centre [MHC] are launching the Landour Literature & Arts Festival. The first edition of LLAF will shine a light upon history, literature, art, music, poetry, film, and more. By Karan Madhok

Despite a lack of narrative focus, Anisha Lalvani’s Girls Who Stray (2025) is a welcome, urgent entry to contemporary Indian literature, a poetic voice echoing the angsts of a generation of Indians, and specifically, of Indian women who refuse to be assigned to their roles. By Karan Madhok