Kalam: Hindi literary event set for London debut

With the onset of the Kalam series, poets and litterateurs from the world of Hindi literature will get an opportunity to meet with a select global audience in London, the organisers said.

Kalam is a literary event in which an eminent author engages in a free wheeling tete-a-tete session with a select audience comprising people from different walks of life.

“The first series of Kalam in London will have Pratishtha Singh as the guest author. She would also give away autographed copies of her latest book Voter Mata Ki Jai to the invitees. We look forward to having many eminent authors and poets from India in the days to come,” said Shivani Sethia of Vidyapath.

Vidyapath is a London-based non-profit organization. It also promotes Indian art and culture.

Kalam is the brainchild of social activist Sundeep Bhutoria, who is also the Trustee of Prabha Khaitan Foundation, a Kolkata-based NGO engaged in various social welfare activities, including promotion of Indian art, literature and culture.

“I started Kalam as an experiment to promote Hindi literature in India and it clicked with the authors and the audience. Kalam, as a literary event, provides an interactive platform to the Hindi authors and poets who are a disadvantaged lot compared to those who write in English. We are now planning to make Kalam a pan-India literary event,” said Bhutoria.

In India, the monthly Kalam meet is held in cities like Jaipur, Patna, Raipur, Udaipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, etc. 

So far, more than 50 Kalam sessions have taken place across India providing Hindi authors, poets and litterateurs an opportunity to showcase their work and reach out to the audience directly.

Shree Cement Ltd, one of India's leading cement manufacturing companies, is the sponsor of the Kalam series in India.

Recently, Prabha Khaitan Foundation took the first initiative outside India. It hosted the launch of An Inglorious Empire authored by Shashi Tharoor.

“We are overwhelmed by the immensely successful launch of Shashi Tharoor's book in London recently. Vidyapath will continue to associate with like-minded organizations such as Prabha Khaitan Foundation to bring more events like Kalam to London,” said Pooja Maru of Vidyapath.