Events

Morning Sessions

9:30 AM –10:00 AM | THE OPENING
Ceremonial tree planting by chief guests Thiru. Perumal Murugan, Geetha Srinivasan, Rohini Nilekani, and Dr. Mahesh Rangarajan with traditional Badaga dance welcome.

10:05 AM – 10:30 AM | INTRODUCTION TO OLF ’23 & LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Trustees speak on the journey to this year’s OLF. Thiru. Perumal Murugan is one of Tamil Nadu’s foremost writers and has championed the promotion of education and literary arts and culture in Tamil Nadu, sometimes against heavy odds. In celebration of his achievements, Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Climate Change & Forests, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, introduces Thiru. Perumal Murugan followed by the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to him.

10:40 AM – 11:40 AM | THE WRITER’S WORLD: SOME PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
Thiru. Perumal Murugan in conversation with Aravindan.

11:40 AM – 11:55 AM – TEA

11:55 AM – 01:00 PM | IS INDIAN CONSERVATION AT A CROSSROAD?
As the earth feels the ever-increasing stress of human presence, forests and animal species seem under threat as never before. Extinction rates of flora and fauna are reaching irreplaceable levels. India and the Nilgiris are no exception to this trend. Eminent panelists Dr. Mahesh Rangarajan, Dr. Shankar Raman, and Suprabha Seshan will be in conversation with Rohini Nilekani on the challenges and pathways forward for the conservation movement in India and the Nilgiris.

01:00 PM – 02:00 PM – LUNCH

02:00 PM – 03:00 PM | THRILLS & CHILLS: EXTREME JUNGLE ENCOUNTERS
Shafath Ali Khan and Vijay Kumar in conversation with Aroon Raman.

03:00 PM – 04:00 PM | SILVER SCREEN STORIES
Films in the World & The World in Films Kalki Koechlin & Raja Krishnamoorthy in conversation with Jerry Pinto.

04:00 PM – 04:15 PM – TEA

04:15 PM – 05:15 PM | START-UPS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
What’s the secret sauce to success? Ramesh Venkateswaran goes deep in discussion with a panel of eminent entrepreneurs, including Capt. G.R. Gopinath, the pioneer of low-cost aviation in India & Dr. Jairam Varadaraj, has built his industrial company to a global scale to learn some lessons.

05:15 PM – 06:15 PM | FOUND IN TRANSLATION
When words need to surpass themselves and become transcendent, they do so in poetry and song. Javed Akhtar will render his inimitable poetry in Urdu and Sumantra Ghosal will read them in English. They will then converse on the art and craft of poetry translations with Anjum Katyal.

Morning Session

09:50 AM – 11:20 AM | CARING FOR OURSELVES AND THE WORLD
Workshop with Vikram Sridhar – theatre personality and storyteller.

11:20 AM – 11:30 AM – TEA

11:30 AM – 01:00 PM | WHO ARE WE?

A conversation with the youth on identity – Apsara Reddy & Radhika Shastry.

01:00 PM – 02:00 PM – LUNCH

02:00 PM – 03:30 PM |PREPARING FOR THE LIFE AHEAD
Sudha Murty gazes into the life ahead with the students and shares invaluable insights from her life. This promises to be an extraordinary session with the Padma Bhushan awardee.

03:30 PM – 03:45 PM – TEA

03:45 PM – 05:00 PM | UP CLOSE WITH THE WILDLIFE
Madras Crocodile Bank will conduct an exciting workshop for students on some of the wonders of the natural world, including snakes and crocodiles – Indira Naidu & team from the Madras Crocodile Bank.

The Courtyard engagements will be hosted and coordinated by the team from Youth Conservation Action Network (YouCAN)

11:00 AM – 05:00 PM | A photo exhibition on the Social History of the Nilgiris

With beautiful, rare photographs collected from all over the world and from family albums in the Nilgiris, this exhibition takes you on a photographic journey through the many stories that coalesce in these mountains. From its stunning geological history and ethnography of the ancient tribes to the colonial history of tea plantations dotted with its charming multi-cultural towns.

The photos transport you, winding their way, much like a slow, beautiful journey on the heritage Nilgiri Mountain Railway, through the blue haze to the verdant hills with a colorful history.

Situated at the southern tip of the Western Ghats, the Nilgiris lies at the junction of the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats. With towering peaks and rocks that are two and a half billion years old, they are older than the Himalayas. The region is also one of the most bio-diverse in the world with an
an amazing number of endemic species of plants, birds, and animals.

The Nilgiris have a deep history too, a history best understood with a sociological imagination because it is a story of many people over many centuries. Some who lived in harmony with the mountains, some who conquered them, others who colonized them, and yet others who ventured up and made them home. Not many regions in the world can boast of the extraordinary diversity of cultures that have traversed the Nilgiri Mountains. From the indigenous tribes, each with a unique culture and language, that lived here in relative isolation, despite various conquering kingdoms, until colonization totally transformed the eco-cultural landscape in the last two centuries as people migrated here from the far corners of the Indian subcontinent.

Photo-documented by several ethnographers, archaeologists, scholars, and photographers over the years, some of which are exhibited here, the exhibition also includes a special section of photographs of Albert T. W. Penn (1849-1924).

The exhibition is curated by Jenny Pinto with photos and contributions by Christopher Penn, Dr. Tarun Chhabra, Dr. Paul Hockings, Dr. Sharada Srinivasan, Monisha Raman, Ramya Reddy, Shobana Chandrashekhar, Vasant Bosco, K. Mathimaran, Kannan Ramaiah, Arjun Cheyyur, Shawn Stephen, Basel Mission, Sarmaya Arts Foundation, and many generous people of the Nilgiris.

11:00 AM – 05:00 PM | Paul Fernandes An Artist Re-creates The Magic of Ooty
Paul Fernandes recreates the visual magic of the Nilgiris in his inimitable style. His masterworks take you on an enjoyable journey through the historic and the idyllic.