The festival with the theme ‘Confluence of Independent Thinkers’ was held in

Kusumagraj Smarak, a revered venue named after Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar, popularly known by his pen name Kusumagraj, in Nashik. The three-day festival concluded on 5 November 2017 with a live performance by neo-fusion rock band Kabir Café that beautifully fused the mystic saint’s age-old independent philosophy with a modern outlook. The festival also brought mesmerising live performances by music maestro Hariharan and illusionist Abhishek Acharya.

Total 72 eminent speakers fascinated audiences with captivating discussions and debates through 30 sessions covering diverse subjects including democratic polity, literature, mythology, medical ethics in literature, literature and social movement, graphic arts, tea and book pairing, fake news and even food archaeology.

Girish Agarwaal, promoter-director, Dainik Bhaskar Group, said “At Dainik Bhaskar, we believe that the quality of everything we do depends first on the quality of our thinking. This continues to be at the core of our operating philosophy from inception that has propelled us to often take contrarian steps which have helped us create great organisational value. We see leaders, professionals, parents, teachers and all individuals who understand this, are at the top of their fields and inspire some of the finest independent thinking in their environments.”

Agarwaal said this is the fundamental objective of Divya Bhaskar’s Marathi Literature Festival. “India’s economic success lies in its diversity. Divya Marathi’s Literature Festival is a way to expand understanding and improve the quality of decision-making by welcoming perspectives of people with varying views,” he added.

A special segment, ‘Celebrating the power of Independent Thinking’ felicitated highly-acknowledged personalities in Maharashtra for pursuing their passion led by independent thinking. Eminent speakers included Devdutt Pattanaik (mythological author), Savi Sharma (self-published bestselling author), Rajiv Dogra (diplomat and author), Sheela Reddy (journalist and author), Neelima Dalmia Adhar (bestselling author), Nilotpal Mrinal (Sahitya Akademy Yuva Puruskar winner), Aabid Surti (cartoonist and environmentalist), Niranjan Chapalgaonkar (former high court judge), Sambhaji Bhagat (social activist and revolutionary Poet), Uday Deshpande (mallakhamb player), Virag Gupta (cyber law expert), Ashish Chaudhary (contemporary Hindi author), Neelima Chauhan (popular Hindi writer) and Mahesh Kothare (Marathi actor and film producer).

This festival also hosted unique and interesting sessions on disappearing traditional games of India by Sreeranjini (founder, Kavade), blind photography by Partho Bhowmick (founder, Blind with Camera), Tea & Book Pairing by Snigdha Manchanda (India’s first tea sommelier), while workshops on blogging, Kavya Katta (Poetry) and reading added vigour to enchanting literary sessions.