at picturesque Victoria Memorial 

• Acclaimed novelist reminisces her days in Kolkata 60 years ago 
• The theme of the 3rd edition of TSKLM is ‘India at 70’
• New topics at the lit meet include topics like youth engagement, Writing of History and Trans-generational writing
• TSKLM will also explore Shakespeare @400

The  3rd edition of the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet (TSKLM) was inaugurated today at the iconic Victoria Memorial by renowned novelist Ms Anita Desai, in the presence of Mr Koushik Chatterjee, Group Executive Director (Finance & Corporate), Tata Steel.  An overwhelming number of people from Kolkata and across the country attended the inauguration ceremony. Following the inauguration, the audience was engaged in a conversation with Ms Desai in a session titled, ‘Writings of a Lifetime’. Towards the evening, the attendees were seen gearing up to be mesmerised by ‘Music Sutra’, where stalwarts such as Pt. Rashid Khan, Deene Khan, Bonnie Chakraborty, Alyssa Mendosa, and others were ready unfold their collective musical talent.

TSKLM is an element of Tata Steel’s consistent endeavour to connect with the youth with a view to promoting Indian culture and heritage. The literature festival resonates the company’s corporate philosophy of supporting initiatives that encourage intellectual and cultural pursuits in society.

In her inaugural address, Ms Desai recalled nostalgic memories of her days in Kolkata 60 years ago, a city she fondly described as “the only true metropolis of those days”. She recalled how Kolkata, then Calcutta, and intellectuals living in the city encouraged discourse and debate veering round literature and poetry.

In his address, Mr Koushik Chatterjee, Group Executive Director (Finance and Corporate), Tata Steel, said: “TSKLM is an important event for Tata Steel, because, for decades we have been supportive of individual talent, free thinking and debate in society. For us, it is not just sponsorship of the event. We put a lot of heart and mind in organising this event along with Gameplan and the Victoria Memorial Trust. I am sure that the next five days will be intellectually stimulating for all of you. A great line up of over 140 authors, thinkers, influencers and opinion makers awaits the audience who will surely gain in terms of constructive free thinking and  literary enrichment”.

The two new elements at this year’s TSKLM includes focus on youth engagement and the topic on Writing of History and the Trans-generational writing, which will bring  together writers from two different generations,  to be illustrated by mother and daughter author duo Anita and Kiran Desai, Nabaneeta Dev Sen and Nandana Sen, and the father and son author duo Shashi and Kanishk Tharoor.

Celebrated Hollywood actor Ashley Judd will speak at a session on Women’s Lives Matter, William Dalrymple and Anita Anand will have a discussion on the book Kohinoor with journalist Sagarika Ghose while Sunil Gavaskar is padding up to script an innings at TSKLM.

This edition of TSKLM will have a session titled Shakespeare @400, an intrinsic way to explore 400 years of the Bard’s  journey through literature. The literary extravaganza will be set against the backdrop of the iconic Victoria Memorial.  Two venues at the galactic monument, Son-et-Lumiere and Western Quadrangle, will host the sessions over the next five days of intense exchange of views on issues comprising literature, arts, sports, films, politics, and more. The prestigious Bengal Club and the Calcutta Club will play host to a few exhilarating `after words’ sessions of TSKLM as well.

Beginning in 2015, The Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet has hosted the best minds and personalities from the field of literature, art, journalism, cinema and theatre. This year’s edition of the Literary Meet will witness discussions by over 140 authors, thinkers and influencers in more than 60 sessions. The luminaries from the literary world will converge in the city and provide a platform for book reading sessions, discussions, debates, interactive workshops and cultural performances. In the years gone by, TSKLM has witnessed participation of celebrated personalities like Prof. Amartya Sen, Ruskin Bond, Devdutt Pattanaik, Amitav Ghosh, Javed Akhtar, Amish Tripathi, Rajdeep Sardesai, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Sugata Bose, Imtiaz Ali, Najam Sethi, Jairam Ramesh, Nayantara Sehgal and Barkha Dutt as also award winning actors like Soumitra Chatterjee and Tabu, among others.

Tata Steel Group stands among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 28 million tonnes per annum (MnTPA) and a turnover of US $17.69 billion in FY16. It is the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and commercial presence in over 50 countries. Established in 1907, the Group’s vision is to be the world steel industry benchmark in “Value Creation” and “Corporate Citizenship” through the excellence of its people, its innovative approach and overall conduct. Underpinning this vision is a performance culture committed to aspiration targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and transparency. Having bagged the Deming Application Prize and Deming Grand Prize for continuous improvement in 2008 and 2012 respectively, Tata Steel has now been recognised as the global ‘Industry Leader’ in ‘Steel category’ by Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Besides being one of ‘worldsteel’s’ Climate Action members, it has also been awarded the CII ITC Sustainability Prize, the ‘Time India award - 2016’ for ‘Best-in-class Manufacturing’ , the Prime Minister’s Trophy for the best performing integrated steel plant, many times, among several others.