Festive mood mingles with cool air rustling through pines

KASAULI: The charming hill town smiles as festive mood picks up to greet the seventh edition of the three-day Khushwant Singh Literary Festival (KSLF) which opens in the Kasauli Club on Friday morning.

The club is dressing up for the big event and many old Kasauli homes have opened their doors to host guests as well as lay out lavish spreads of lunch and dinner to the early bird speakers, anchors and organisers.

It is also time for sharing the lore of the writer and columnist Khushwant Singh who did much of his writing in Raj Villa, his home on the Mall Road. Looking back, writer-journalist Raul Singh, son of Khushwant, says: “When festival director Niloufer Bilimoria told dad of the plan of starting a literature festival he smiled and said that he was indeed flattered but added with wry humour that who would come?

It was Khushwant’s modesty in saying so because the popularity of the Lit Fest has grown with every year and the number of listeners of this boutique festival has grown.

Photographer Ajay Bhatia, who has been documenting the fest for the past four years, says: “The KSLF has two dimensions for the local people. For the elite it is a social event with a difference and is not to be missed. For the shopkeepers it season once more with footfall to the heritage market brisk and the hotels all booked.”

Memories of the writer, who held forth with malice to one and all, are to be found in the nooks and corners of the town. Go to Barjinder Singh Halwai’s shop and he says, “Khushwant ji was the first to write about the bunsamosa snack which we introduced for students of boarding schools.” In fact Khushwant had called it “The Indian alternative to the burger or hot dog”.

Narinder adds, “When he would be here in summer months he would order once or twice the bun-samosa dinner for his friends.”

Many memories of the writer, the only one to have festival in his name in the country, return: nature walks, monkey pranks, family of spiders in washroom which he recounted with relish. Writer Robin Gupta who is here participating in a session of tributes to the legendary writer, says: “Kasauli and Khushwant were one and therein lies the charm of this literary festival with a difference.”