DD’s Kitaabnama completes fifty shows
Prasar Bharti has issued a statement to announce 
that Kitaabnama: Books and Beyond, India’s only multilingual book show, has completed fifty episodes as on the 30th and 31st of August, 2014.
The 50th episode features celebrated lyricist, poet and writer Gulzar Saheb in conversation with Yatindra Mishra.
The discussion delves into Gulzar Saheb’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 are beautifully evoked by Gulzar Saheb. The discussion ends on a note anticipating future technologies of reading and writing and imagining new ways of understanding literature.
To mark the 50th episode of Kitaabnama: Books and Beyond, and also to celebrate one-year long journey of the show, a panel discussion will be held at Oxford Bookstore, Connaught Place, on Friday, 29th of August 2014, at 6.30 PM. Jawhar Sircar (CEO, Prasar Bharati) and Ms. Namita Gokhale (Curator, Kitaabnama: Books and Beyond) will speak about one year long journey of the show.
A panel discussion on ‘Talking Books, Watching Books’ will follow soon after with Shri Ashok Vajpeyi (poet and Author), Nilanjana Roy (Journalist and Novelist), and will be 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.
Writers in Hindi, English, Malayalam, Bangla, Santhali, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Asamiya, Oriya, Rajasthani, Kashmiri, Marathi, Santhali, Asuraand Khasi spoke about their writing and read from their books. ‘Kitaabnama’ also visited literary festivals across, and recorded conversations with international writers from France, Sri Lanka, Norway, the United Kingdom, America, Turkey, South Africa, Bangladesh and local voices.
Conceived by writer and literary activist Namita Gokhale, the program showcases the multilingual diversity of Indian literature. In recent years, there has been a renaissance in Indian literature. With 22 scheduled languages, 122 regional languages, 4 classical languages (Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu), thousands of mother tongues and countless dialects, India has a complex, composite literary legacy. The proliferation of literary festivals, has demonstrated the need and desire of audiences to connect with books and writers, and to resonate with the world of ideas.
“Kitaabnama: Books and Beyond’ is an unfolding kaleidoscope of books, authors and readings”, comments Namita 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.
Kitaabnama: Books and Beyond’ is aired weekly on Saturdays at 5:00 PM on DD National and on Sundays at 8:00 PM on DD Bharati.
