Green Initiative. The Hindu Lit for Life will go zero waste to reduce carbon footprint

Chennai’s most-awaited annual literature festival, The Hindu Lit for Life ( LFL ), is all set to become greener with a host of initiatives this year.

As part of moving towards a zero-waste programme, bottled water will not be available at the venue. Instead, visitors are encouraged to carry their own water bottles and make use of the water dispensers installed at various spots across the venue.

Also, to encourage a zero-waste practice, The Hindu LFL will introduce ‘BYOB — bring your own bottle, bicycle and bag — party’, under which people who reach the venue using public transport will be rewarded if they submit their travel tickets at the zero-waste counter.

“Festivals often end up hurting people unless it is planned well, and since this festival itself mentions life, we thought of introducing the initiative this year,” said environmental activist Nityanand Jayaraman, who and a group of volunteers are planning the path towards a zero-waste festival.

“All the 57 signages on the venue are being made with cloth banners painted by local artisans,” Jayaraman added.

The zero-waste counter will also host talks on topics such as composting, understanding the Tamil Nadu plastic ban, alternatives to plastic, quiz programmes and a soapbox for festival attendees to voice their opinion on various environmental issues.

Chennai Kalai Thiruvizha, a zero-waste festival by itself, is assisting The Hindu Lit for Life in moving towards a zero-waste environment.

“Zero waste essentially means reduced environmental footprint and enlarged social footprint,” Jayaraman said.

The ninth edition of The Hindu LFL , to be held between from January 12 to 14, will see eminent writers, novelists and artists from across the globe perform, converse, discuss and conduct workshops for literary enthusiasts in the city.

The festival, which began as one-day show in 2010, has expanded to a three-day festival, expanding it’s scope to cover fiction, non-fiction, politics, history, the arts, cinema and regional literature, and has been enriching the literary space in the city.

Since 2018, The Hindu Lit for Life has also been hosting a Tamil literary festival in association with The Hindu Tamil , which includes conversations and presentations with eminent Tamil writers.

Lit for Life also has a dedicated children’s fest to engage with children between the ages of five and 12 and inculcate them into the world of books. The children’s fest will have sessions such as story telling, workshops and interaction with writers and experts.

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