Pune’s World Book Day , a meeting of lovers of the written word!

12th April, Pune: A motley of sessions, two days of non-stop literary buzz, spanning the history of Jammu and Kashmir, Readings through the Dhammapada, poetry, and publishing for the differently abled. Pune’s World Book Day had diverse sessions on reading, writing, publishing, and upholding equality in the sphere of reading and writing, surrounded by the energy of college students at MIT World Peace University. Stalls with MIT’s student film club, Crossword, and Scribido made the festival feel like home. MIT’s School of Liberal Arts is vigorously handling the production of Pune’s World Book Day. With students and even staff members actively anchoring and participating, a fun two days of culture, literature, and talk. Curated by Nukkad Cafe and MIT World Peace University, in 2025 the festival was a two-day affair.

Siddharth Kak, the famed anchor of Doordarshan’s Surabhi, opened the festival. He slowly took the audience through the happenings in parts in his book Love, Exile and Redemption.

His session was full of anecdotes and cultural history of Jammu and Kashmir from his grandfather’s time who was the Chief Minister of Kashmir. His book Love, Exile and Redemption was a conglomeration of letters between his grandmother and grandfather. Mr. Kak had a classic charm to his reading and interactions. And his session attracted lots of questions from the students.

Another session that we enjoyed was with translator Lalita Marathe. Lalita has a career spanning many years of translation from Indian languages to many foreign languages.

The session was a thoughtful one, where she took the audience across the process of translation. The possibility of essence being retained in the translated work. The difference between translation and transliteration.

She also expanded the scope of translation by giving examples of software like deepl.com to carry out translation across many international languages. Also, expanding the scope of work of translation to be aligned with dubbing, film writing,  and filmmaking, so that the flow of projects is constant. Also, she stressed the need to build a strong network to retain one's position as a much sought-after translator. She also mentioned that she rejected projects which did not echo with her or there was something inaccurate or anti-community about it.

Truth, objectivity and sticking to the essence were her yardsticks of nurturing a successful literary career. Her sessions attracted lots of questions from the audience which revolved around translation, information and truth. A fun, learning and thought-provoking session.

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