The 10th anniversary
edition of the Goa Arts and Literature Festival (GALF) will be held at the International Centre Goa
(ICG), Dona Paula between December 5-7 this year.
GALF
2019 will be an historic celebration of the milestone achievements of this
extraordinary homegrown festival, which has become beloved by delegates and
audiences alike, and achieved a stellar international reputation even while
retaining its strict independence and integrity, and remaining
volunteer-driven.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Founded
in 2009 by co-curators Damodar Mauzo and Vivek Menezes of the Goa Writers
group, with the consistent partnership, support and organization of ICG, the
GALF is amongst the premier gatherings in the nation’s intellectual calendar,
with a dazzling list of achievements over the past decade.
Many
of its prominent well-wishers and supporters will return for the anniversary
celebrations, including the novelist and translator Jerry Pinto, eminent Hindi
writer Mridula Garg, award-winning Kannada writer Vivek Shanbhag, the acclaimed
poets Keki Daruwalla, Arundhathi Subramaniam, Ranjit Hoskote, Hemant Divate and
Sumana Roy, and the brilliant journalists of Goan origin, Samar Halarnkar and
Naresh Fernandes.
GALF
2019 will be inaugurated by the great writer of Arunachal Pradesh, Mamang Dai,
and the highly reputed scholar, Harish Trivedi. The inaugural will also see the
unveiling of the official 10th anniversary artwork, exclusively created by the
versatile author/artist Savia Viegas.
GALF
2019 will host exclusive launches for the highly commended ‘Insurgent Empire:
Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent’ by Priyamvada Gopal, Amruta
Patil’s newest graphic novel ‘Aranyaka’, Keshava Guha’s debut novel ‘Accidental
Magic’ and the extraordinary diaspora memoir (originally written in Norwegian)
‘Stranger at My Table’ by Ivo de Figueiredo.
The
Canadian-Goan author Derek Mascarenhas will also be making his India debut at
the festival, alongside writers from Australia (including Goa’s own Suneeta
Peres da Costa), Spain, New Zealand, the United States, Ireland, Cuba and
Afghanistan.
The central theme of
GALF2019 will be deliberations and discussions about ‘Different Ways of
Belonging’ – an idea and concept derived from a poem by the late, great Eunice
de Souza, which has animated the festival philosophy throughout the past
decade. Throughout the programme schedule, this topic will be examined,
discussed and debated from pluralistic viewpoints and a consistent emphasis on
what is usually considered the margins: Dalit voices, the economically
disadvantages, the North Eastern states, Kashmir, and our own tiny Goa.
A
range of exclusive bookstalls – including Broadway, the official bookstore for
GALF 2019 – will offer the broadest selection of books available in Goa, from
local publishers to international, distributed across a wide range of genres. As
previously, Young GALF will present daily programmes for school children of all
ages, every morning on the ICG lawns, featuring poetry, journalism, art and
activities suited for young people. Entry to all festival sessions is free and
open to the general public.
