Corporate biggies rub shoulders with the writer crowd at the Tata Literature Live Festival

A literature festival may not always be just about book readings and esoteric discussions. The four-day Tata Literature Live festival held in Mumbai from October 30 to November 2 was a case in point. The festival, possibly in part due to its association with the Tata Sons, saw corporate biggies rub shoulders with the writer crowd. On October 31, author Gurcharan Das launched the book From Jagan Seth to the Birlas, which highlights the success stories of Marwari families and the secret behind their accomplishments.

Sharing a secret or two with Das was Shashi Ruia, chairman, Essar Group. And failure: ego amongst family members is considered the culprit of the collapse by the old Marwari trading families.



After the Marwari men, women took centre stage. R Gopalakrishnan, director, Tata Sons hosted an all-women panel on the contribution of women in making workplaces collaborative.

There was little Gopalakrishnan could disagree upon with the women he was in conversation with. Not surprising, given the ratio on stage, 1:3.

Many believe the session chaired by Tata Lit Live director, Anil Dharker on November 1 was added as a response to a city film festival losing a corporate sponsor last month. The panel discussed the relationship between India’s cultural landscape and corporate patronage. “Finding and securing sponsorship for cultural events is a tightrope walk, there is a constant fear of falling,” said Dharker. Dr. Nirmalya Kumar, member - group executive council, Tata Sons, was a part of the panel of course, to reiterate the group’s commitment to the lit fest.