On the occasion of the first anniversary of the well known series Kitaabnaama: Books and Beyond, Oxford Bookstore and Doordarshan celebrated its success by holding a panel discussion on 29 August. Jawhar Sircar (CEO, PrasarBharati) and Namita Gokhale (Curator, Kitaabnama: Books and Beyond) spoke about the one year long journey of the show.
Followed to the discussion was an another panel discussion on Talking Books, Watching Book with Ashok Vajpeyi (poet and author), Jaya Bhattacharji Rose, moderated by Jasleen Vohra.
Addressing literary issues of contemporary interest through dialogue and conversations, Kitaabnama: Books and Beyond has featured discussions, readings and encounters with writers, academics, journalists, filmmakers, publishers and intellectuals.
The 50th episode of the series was aired on 30 and 31 August that featured celebrated lyricist, poet and writer Gulzar Saheb in conversation with Yatindra Mishra. The discussion delved into Gulzar’s inspirations and journeys through the world of literature and art. The association of literature and cinema, reality and fiction and the true meaning of silence and writing were beautifully evoked by him. The discussion ended on a note anticipating future technologies of reading and writing and imagining new ways of understanding literature.
Conceived by writer and literary activist Namita Gokhale, the program showcases the multilingual diversity of Indian literature. ‘Kitaabnama: Books and Beyond is an unfolding kaleidoscope of books, authors and readings’, comments Gokhale.
The show features a diverse range of celebrated names including Ashok Vajpeyi, Amish Tripathi, Geetanjali Shree, Mahesh Dattani, Mahmood Farooqui, Uday Prakash, Mamta Kalia, Keki Daruwalla, Bhanu Bharati, Urvashi Butalia, Ramchandra Guha, Lord Meghnad Desai and Gloria Steinem.
The show is aired weekly on Saturdays at 5 pm on DD National and on Sundays at 8 pm on DD Bharati.