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March 02, 2024 12:15 pm | Updated 12:16 pm IST – PUDUCHERRY
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Auroville is hosting its first French LitFest on Saturday and Sunday at the Unity Pavilion, International Zone, to mark Sri Aurobindo’s sesquicentennial celebrations.
“Le Féstival de Littérature Française” is part of exploring through the medium of literature in all four languages—English, French, Tamil and Sanskrit—designated by The Mother, who founded the universal township in 1968.
In August 2023, Auroville, regarded as a city of universal culture with residents from 60 nations, had successfully hosted its first literature festival that featured an array of eminent writers and thinkers as well as cultural events, Anu Majumdar and Sudha Prabhu, festival coordinators said.
The event will highlight Sri Aurobindo’s works, his views on the emerging world and France, its political history, literature and spirit. It will also bring together writers who have a special affinity with Puducherry, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville.
French author David Thomas will deliver a guest oration on the opening day. Sessions will include the rich and special voices of French literature. There will be a discussion on interculturalism based on Mauritian linguist Issa Asgarally’s book, prefaced by Nobel laureate Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio. Another session is a deep dive into the “Yoga of the Cells—in view of the last scientific discoveries”.
The other high points include the screening, followed by a discussion of “Kali Yuga”, a short film by Tanguy Malik Bordage, and a play by Jean-Paul Sermadiras “Sri Aurobindo Nous Parlons de Napoleon” (Sri Aurobindo Speaks to Us About Napoleon).
The festival has been curated in way to offer participants a chance to discover the French language, literature, the sensibilities of French culture, and the sessions would be kept bilingual to the extent possible to benefit a larger audience, organisers said.
The sessions will be from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. No prior registration is needed. Participants can register at the venue.
The 150th anniversary programmes are being held under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture, with the support of the Auroville Foundation.
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