Coimbatore: The Western Ghats Literature Festival, themed “Bharat Fast Forward”, opened its 4th edition in Coimbatore today (November 1), inaugurating a two-day platform for Indic thinkers, writers, academics, spiritual leaders, and policy voices to explore civilisational knowledge, national identity, culture, ecology, and the future of Bharat’s intellectual narrative.
Hosted at The Grand Regent and presented by The Verandah Club, the festival convenes 32 speakers across literature, statecraft, spirituality, economics, heritage, media, military studies, and cultural renaissance. It is positioned as a major fixture in the growing Indic literary ecosystem, with organisers highlighting its aim to make Coimbatore a “consciousness capital” for India’s cultural conversation.
Festival director Shefali Vaidya set the tone, describing the Western Ghats Litfest as “rooted yet rational, emotional yet cultured, contemporary yet deeply civilisational.”
She stressed that while the litfest may not aim to be the largest, “we intend to be the best — deeper in dialogue, louder in purpose,” urging participants to “keep reading, keep questioning, and keep the flame of Dharma and dialogue alive.”
Renowned Indic scholar and author Dushyant Sridhar delivered the keynote, drawing on the Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa and the dialogue between Rama, Lakshmana, Sugriva, and Tara to illustrate ethical governance, promise-keeping, leadership restraint, and dharma-saṅkaṭa in public life.
He explained how the Ramayana exemplifies the four Purusharthas, Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha and applied Kauṭilya’s Saptāṅga model, Maṇḍala theory, and Ṣāḍguṇya diplomacy to highlight strategic clarity and ethical statecraft relevant to contemporary India.
Emphasising the primacy of ideas in civilisational battles, Sridhar cautioned against internal erosion: “Societies collapse first in mind, then in matter. To protect Bharat, we must defend philosophy with practice, confidence, and continuity.”
With 15+ book launches scheduled and multiple cross-disciplinary panels, organisers emphasised that Coimbatore now stands among cities reclaiming Bharat’s literary landscape through Indic-first consciousness.
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The Western Ghats Litfest brings together a distinguished list of 32 speakers, reflecting a wide spectrum of Indic scholarship and contemporary thought. Among the prominent voices are authors Ashwin Sanghi, Anuradha Goyal, Shefali Vaidya, and Sriram Balasubramanian; scholars Pankaj Saxena, Sampadananda Mishra, and Rithwik Subramanya; economists and policy experts including Prof P. Kanagasabapathi and Adv. M.R. Venkatesh; and military and strategic leaders such as Lt Gen Vinod Khandare and Maj Gen (Dr) Bipin Bakshi. Spiritual and cultural leaders including Swami Mitrananda, Swami Vigyananda, and Guru Vidushi Mridula Rai join media and public intellectuals like Priyam Gandhi Mody, Sandeep Singh, and Nandini Sengupta, alongside jurist Hon. Justice N. Seshasayee and veteran professionals including Wg Cdr B.S. Sudarshan.
S Jagannatha, speaking with Organiser said, “Across two days, the festival will explore themes ranging from civilisational statecraft, strategic culture, and soft power to temple traditions, heritage conservation, and ecology of the Western Ghats. Sessions will also focus on storytelling and Indian-language publishing, Ramayana and Itihasa-Purana studies, media narratives, and spirituality’s role in community building. With an emphasis on connecting ancient wisdom to modern challenges, the programme positions Coimbatore as a hub for civilisational and policy thought anchored in Bharatiya knowledge systems.”
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