iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
The South Asian Literature and Art (SALA) festival makes a comeback in physical form this year with a two-day, multidisciplinary event on October 29 and 30, featuring presentations and panels by more than 40 highly-acclaimed local, national, and international authors and artists covering a variety of topics.
Organizers said SALA festival “aims to contribute to the literary and cultural life of the residents of Silicon Valley.”
For more information and registration, visit https://www.artforumsf.org/sala-2022
According to a media release, the 2022 event focuses on a theme of “Humanity” by examining how the world tends to put people in boxes, categorizing and generalizing communities of different color, class, gender, and caste. “The forums and conversations will examine and celebrate different points of view, while also recognizing that ultimately, it is a shared humanity that triumphs,” the statement said.
SALA is presented by Art Forum SF and Montalvo Arts Center in partnership with the Stanford University Center for South Asian Studies and the UC Berkeley Institute of South Asian Studies.
This event will represent South Asian culture to a broad Bay Area audience, SALA festival organizers said. “Discussions will take place in venues around Montalvo’s historic villa and property, and visitors can also enjoy book sales and author signings presented by Books, Inc., a marketplace, children’s craft activities, dance, music, poetry, and painting. Food will be available for purchase, and a bar will offer beer, wine, and soda.”
“Outside of India, there is very little awareness of the cultural diversity of the subcontinent. In terms of literature, barely any translations from South Asian languages make it out of the region. However, festivals such as SALA spotlighted an array of exciting work coming out of South Asia,” said Daisy Rockwell, 2022 Booker Prize-Winner for translating Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree.
“South Asian Literature captures the oral tradition of storytelling on the page so that we may gain a deeper understanding of our heritage and share that perspective with the larger world,” said Alka Joshi, author of The Henna Artist, a 2020 New York Times bestseller.
Here is a list of confirmed writers and artists:
Jaishtri Abichandani
Vikram Chandra
Dr. Suraj Yengde
Davan Maharaj
Rahul Mehrotra
Siddharth Mehrotra
TM Krishna
Annu Palakunnathu Mathew
Ranu Mukherjee
Sarah Ahmad
Apoorva Bakshi
Pavita Singh
Zuni Chopra
Ayad Akhtar
Dr. Anuradha Luther Moitra
Swara Bhasker
Tipu
Alka Joshi
Aarti Johri
Dr. Afzal Ahmad
Dr. Shireen Ahmad
Dr. Robert Mintz
Chef Ajay Walia
Ayesha Thapar (Ettan)
Neeta Mittal
Chef Ranjan Dey
Ritu Marwah
Amit Majmudar
Jenny Bhatt
Vishal Ganesan
Chef Kausar Ahmed
Chef Nik Sharma
Chef Preeti Mistry
Sonia Chopra
Devi Laskar
Sorraya Khan
Sandhya Gajjar
Thenmozhi Soundararajan
Rajisvini Bhansali
Daisy Rockwell
Moazzam Shiekh
Hetal Vasavada
Chitrita Banerji
Madhushree Ghosh
Vina Patel
Chaitali Sen
Salil Tripathi
Raji Pillai
Poorna Jagannathan
