Yesterday was another day at the Dehra Doon Literature Festival the venue was a bit different , it was organised at the River Side Campus some distance from the Hyatt . The auditorium was full of people trying to catch a word from their favourite film maker and book writer . The list of speakers where long and the who is who of the literary world . Kiran Manral and Tahira Kashyap along with Imtiaz Ali the famous director of Jab we Meet and many such wonderful film . I was told that Ruskin Bond would be giving his talk through a video link as he would not be attending the festival in person .
I managed to catch an hour of Imtiaz Ali’s talk when he spoke about filmmaking and how he started off in the business , the road blocks he faced and how he managed to make films with such rebellious characters .
There was a team of cameramen recording the show and many a cheers when he narrated his journey in Bollywood . For young students this would be eye-opening learning and Imtiaz Ali is much loved by the people of Dehra Doon .
The downside was their was no food, all the food stalls had shut down by the time I arrived at around 7:30 pm at the venue . I was hungry having jogged 14 km in the evening , I was hungry after absorbing a full hour of Ali’s talk and meandered out into the open lawns of the Riverside Campus.
The campus is on the outskirts of the city and the entire place is a students area infested with small bun butter and charwomen shops. I wanted dinner and thus ventured out in search of food. I walked fifteen minutes on foot with no auto in the site and finally hopped on one at a distance of 10 km from the venue I managed to find Pahlwan ka Dhaba . That’s it I stopped over for a plate of Chicken Masala and Nan soon my partner in crime Rohit joined in and we had a heart meal .
I had never been to this side of Dehra Doon and the festival was an excuse for me to enjoy this side of the town along with the hospitality of the Grand Hyatt .
Today is the last day of the festival and I look forward to some more exciting talks.